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''Transparent'' is an American
comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...
series created by
Joey Soloway Joey Soloway (previously Jill Soloway; born September 26, 1965) is an American television creator, showrunner, director and writer. Soloway is known for creating, writing, executive producing and directing the Amazon original series '' Transparent ...
for
Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
that debuted on February 6, 2014. The story revolves around a
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
family, the Pfeffermans, and their lives after learning that their parent ( Jeffrey Tambor) is a
trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...
named Maura. ''Transparent'' tells the story of Maura's coming out, as well as her family's personal journeys in discovering their own identities and coming to terms with Maura's identity. ''Transparent'' moves away from a solely transition-centred narrative and represents Maura's story in her role as a trans parent, grandparent, professor, partner, ex-spouse, sibling, and as an older person transitioning. ''Transparent'' also holds space for other queer representation in the Pfefferman family. Sarah (
Amy Landecker Amy Lauren Landecker (born September 30, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman on the Amazon comedy-drama series '' Transparent'' (2014–2019), as well as her supporting roles in films ''Dan in Real Life'' ( ...
) explores her sexuality and works through relationship dilemmas throughout season one while Ali ( Gaby Hoffmann) explores their gender and sexuality. ''Transparent''s first season premiered in full on September 26, 2014, and its second season on December 11, 2015, third season on September 23, 2016, and fourth season on September 21, 2017. Amazon picked up the series for a fourth season ahead of the premiere of the third. The fourth season premiered on September 22, 2017. Shortly before the premiere, Amazon renewed the series for a fifth and final season, which ultimately took the form of a feature-length finale with the subtitle ''Musicale Finale'', which was released on September 27, 2019. At the
72nd Golden Globe Awards The 72nd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2014, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 11, 2015, by NBC. The ceremony was produced by Dick Clark Producti ...
, the show won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, while Jeffrey Tambor won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy and the
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. This is the first show produced by Amazon Studios to win a major award and the first show produced by a
streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
service to win a Golden Globe for Best Series. The series began airing on
Sundance TV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...
starting August 9, 2017. In November 2017, Tambor was accused of sexual harassment on the set. On November 19, 2017, Tambor stated, "I don't see how I can return to ''Transparent"'' after a second sexual harassment allegation was made against him. He was officially fired from ''Transparent'' a few months later, on February 15, 2018. The show had faced earlier criticism regarding the initial casting of Tambor, a cisgender, heterosexual man, in the role of a trans woman. The ''Transparent: Musicale Finale'' addressed the death of Tambor's character, Maura, and examined the lives of the Pfefferman family life through the lens of Maura's former spouse, Shelly ( Judith Light), and through music. The ''Finale,'' featuring music and lyrics by Faith Soloway, was developed through a series of concerts at Joe's Pub and, in addition to the regular and recurring cast, featured performers
Shakina Nayfack Shakina Nayfack (born December 8, 1980) is an American actress and transgender activist. She is most notable for her series regular role as Lola, a "trans-truther", on the second and third seasons of the Hulu television program ''Difficult People' ...
, Lesli Margherita,
Erik Liberman Erik Liberman is an American actor, author, and director. Early life and education Liberman was born in Miami, the son of social worker Marsha and Havana-born vision scientist and author Jacob. He attended New World School of the Arts, where he ...
, and Jo Lampert.


Cast


Overview


Main cast

* Jeffrey Tambor as Maura Pfefferman (Seasons 1–4), a retired college professor of
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
who finally opens up to her family about always identifying as a woman. *
Amy Landecker Amy Lauren Landecker (born September 30, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman on the Amazon comedy-drama series '' Transparent'' (2014–2019), as well as her supporting roles in films ''Dan in Real Life'' ( ...
as Sarah Pfefferman, the oldest sibling. She is married and has two children. She leaves her husband for Tammy, a woman she fell in love with in college. She is initially the most accepting of Maura's transition. Kelsey Reinhardt portrays Sarah as a teenager. *
Jay Duplass Lawrence Jay Duplass (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor and author widely known for his films '' The Puffy Chair'' (2005), ''Cyrus'' (2010), and ''Jeff, Who Lives at Home'' (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, ...
as Josh Pfefferman, the middle sibling. A successful music producer who has troubled relationships with women. He seems to have a hard time accepting Maura's transition at first. Dalton Rich portrays Josh as a teenager. * Gaby Hoffmann as Ali Pfefferman, the youngest sibling. She is perpetually unemployed and has a tendency to be immature for her age. Hoffmann also plays Maura's mother Rose in flashbacks. Emily Robinson portrays the younger version of both characters. In the series finale, Ali has come out as non-binary and changed their name to Ari. * Judith Light as Shelly Pfefferman, Maura's ex-wife and the mother of Sarah, Josh, and Ali. She has been aware of Maura's desire to express her inner femininity for years. * Kathryn Hahn as Rabbi Raquel Fein (recurring Seasons 1–2, main cast Season 3, Film), Josh's ex-fiancée and rabbi at the Pfeffermans' synagogue.


Recurring cast

* Melora Hardin as Tammy Cashman, Sarah's ex-flame *
Alexandra Billings Alexandra Scott Billings (born March 28, 1962) is an American actress, teacher, and singer. Billings is the second openly transgender woman to have played a transgender character on television, which she did in the 2005 made-for-TV movie '' Romy ...
as Davina, an educator at an LGBT center and Maura's best trans friend *
Trace Lysette Trace Lysette is an American actress whose most notable roles include Shea in the television series '' Transparent'' (2014–2019) and Tracey in the feature film '' Hustlers'' (2019). She also featured in the Netflix documentary ''Disclosure'' as ...
as Shea, an educator at an LGBT center and one of Maura's friends * Ray Abruzzo as Sal, Davina's boyfriend *
Carrie Brownstein Carrie Rachel Brownstein (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney. During a long hiatu ...
as Syd Feldman, Ali's best friend with whom she begins a sexual relationship *
Kiersey Clemons Kiersey Nicole Clemons (born December 17, 1993) is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2015 comedy-drama film '' Dope'', playing Cassandra "Diggy" Andrews. Subsequently, she went on to co-star in '' Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising ...
as Bianca, Tammy's daughter from her first marriage *
Rob Huebel Robert Anderson Huebel (born June 4, 1969) is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series ''Human Giant'' and for his role of Dr. Owen Maestro on the Adult Swim series '' Childrens Hospital''. He ...
as Len Novak, Sarah's husband and father of Zack and Ella * Zackary Arthur as Zack Novak, Sarah and Len's son * Abby Ryder Fortson (Season 1),
Julia Butters Julia Butters (born April 15, 2009) is an American teenage actress. She received critical acclaim for her role as Trudi Fraser in Quentin Tarantino's ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' and as Reggie Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's ''The Fabelmans'' ...
(Seasons 2–3), and Ashley Silverman (Season 4) as Ella Novak, Sarah and Len's daughter *
Lawrence Pressman Lawrence Pressman (born David M. Pressman; July 10, 1939) is an American actor, probably best known for roles on '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Ladies' Man'', a recurring role on '' Profiler'', the title character on '' Mulligan's Stew'' and as a ...
as Ed Paskowitz, Shelly's second husband. *
Amin Joseph Amin Joseph (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He stars as Jerome Saint on John Singleton's crime drama ''Snowfall''. Early life Joseph was born to Antiguan parents in Queens, New York City, but was raised in Harlem, New ...
as Mike * Noah Harpster as Francis *
Brett Paesel Brett Paesel is an American actress and author. She is married with two children. She played in '' Top Girls'', and was a recurring cast member in Amazon Studios’ '' Transparent''. She was also a recurring cast member on ''Mr. Show with Bob and D ...
as Rita Holt, the Pfefferman kids' former babysitter and Josh's ex-flame *
Jenny O'Hara Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''B ...
as Bryna, Maura's sister * Alex MacNicoll as Colton, Josh and Rita's biological son *
Brett Rice James Brett Rice (born April 20, 1954) is an American film, television, and theater actor. He is perhaps known for his roles in the films ''Forrest Gump'' (1994), '' Remember the Titans'' (2000), ''Monster'' (2003), '' Super 8'' (2011), '' Foxc ...
as Pastor Gene, Colton's adoptive father *
Meagen Fay Meagen Fay is an American actress known for her work in television. Best known as Roxy in '' Ohara'' (1987-1988), Principal Halloron in ''Life With Louie'' (1995-1998), and Gretchen Mannkusser in ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2002-2004) and Loot o ...
as Blossie, Colton's adoptive mother * Cleo Anthony as Derek * Deborah S. Craig as Kristin * Sawyer Ever as Zack * Bradley Whitford as Marcy (Season 1)/ Magnus Hirschfeld (Season 2) *
Alison Sudol Alison Sudol (born December 23, 1984) is an American actress, singer, songwriter and music video director. She is known as the singer A Fine Frenzy, and for her role as Queenie Goldstein in ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' (2016), as ...
as Kaya, Josh's ex-girlfriend and ex-client * Cherry Jones as Leslie Mackinaw, an academic with whom Ali wants to study *
Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nom ...
as Vicki, a cisgender woman who forms a connection with Maura * Hari Nef as Gittel (born Gershom), Maura's aunt who never made it out of Berlin * Michael Stuhlbarg as Chaim, Maura's grandfather * Michaela Watkins as Connie, the wife of a crossdresser (Season 1)/Yetta, Maura's grandmother (Seasons 2–3) * Jason Mantzoukas as Dr. Steve, the Pfefferman kids' marijuana dispenser * Tig Notaro as Barb, Tammy's second ex-wife * Jiz Lee as Pony, a professional dominatrix * Luzer Twersky as Mendel *
Alexandra Grey Alexandra Grey (born January 4, 1991), also known by her stage name Alexa Grey is an American actress, singer, songwriter and producer. She is best known for her roles as Melody Barnes on the Fox music drama series ''Empire'' (2015–2020), ...
as Elizah Parks (Season 3) *
Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...
as Buzzy Rackless, a synagogue board member * Kobi Libii as Duvid Ovadia, the cantor at the synagogue


Episodes


Background

Soloway felt inspired to create ''Transparent'' after their parent came out as trans. They created the pilot for Amazon.com, which became available for free streaming and download on February 6, 2014 as part of Amazon's second pilot season. Amazon Studios picked up the pilot for ''Transparent'' in March, 2014, ordering a ten-episode season. Tambor had previously portrayed
transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...
judge Alan Wachtel on the
police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eit ...
television show ''
Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
'' in the 1980s. Soloway wrote Hoffmann's role after seeing her performance on Season 3 of Louis C.K.'s show '' Louie.'' ''Transparent'' premiered all ten episodes simultaneously in late September 2014. In Canada, where Amazon's video streaming service was not available, the series premiered on the
Shomi Shomi (pronounced "show me") was a Canadian subscription video on demand service jointly owned by Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications. The service was viewed as a Canadian-based competitor to Netflix, with a library of 1,200 films and 1 ...
platform on January 23, 2015.


Religious themes

The series depicts several Jewish characters and deals with spiritually and culturally Jewish themes. Joey Soloway, the series' primary creator, is Jewish and consulted Rabbi Susan Goldberg of
Wilshire Boulevard Temple Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Wilshire Boulevard Temple's main building, with a sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine revival dome ...
. They also sought advice from Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie of New York, describing him as "a God-optional patriarchy-toppling Jewish modern mind. There's a mandate among religious and spiritual thinkers to be thinking about the binary, the gendered, the feminist, the goddess, and Amichai reminds me of that every day."


Production

Soloway said that they hoped to use the series to explore ideas of
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
through a "wounded parent being replaced by a blossoming femininity" and that they pictured Tambor as Maura when writing the character. Soloway, the writers, and the cast developed, workshopped, and rehearsed both seasons with consulting producer Joan Scheckel at Joan Scheckel Filmmaking Labs. As part of the making of the show, Soloway enacted a "transfirmative action program", whereby trans applicants were hired in preference to cis ones. Over eighty trans people worked on the show, including
Zackary Drucker Zackary Drucker (born 1983) is an American trans woman multimedia artist, cultural producer, LGBT activist, actress, and television producer. She is an Emmy-nominated producer for the docu-series ''This Is Me'', a consultant on the TV series ''T ...
and Rhys Ernst, trans consultants and co-producers. However, the main character Maura was played by the cis male actor Tambor. Soloway said the casting of a cis male in this type of role is unacceptable and they would not make the same casting decision again because of how trans women would feel about watching a cis male portrayal. In 2014, Our Lady J was chosen as the first openly trans person to be a writer for the show. All the bathrooms on set were gender-neutral. The original pilot made available in February 2014 (with Gillian Vigman in the role of Tammy) was partly reshot after the series was approved. On November 19, 2017, Tambor quit the show amidst sexual harassment allegations made against him.


Reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
it received an overall score of 91%, and an overall score of 85 on
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
.


Season 1

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season held an approval rating of 98% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The site's consensus read: "As much about a change in television as it is about personal change, ''Transparent'' raises the bar for programming with sophistication and sincere dedication to the human journey, warts and all." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the first season received an average rating of 92 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Alan Sepinwall from HitFix named ''Transparent'' the best new show of the Fall 2014 season and Amazon's "most impressive volley yet". He added:
"... heshow looks gorgeous and displays an instant command of both tone and this particular pocket of life in Los Angeles; Soloway is incredibly confident in introducing us to the parts of the show that are more universally relatable (a marriage gone sour, a disappointing child), knowing that we'll then follow her into more unfamiliar territory—not just with Maura, but the many disreputable behaviors her kids get tangled up in."


Season 2

The second season held a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 9.2/10. The site's critical consensus read: "''Transparent''s second season ups its dramatic stakes while retaining the poignancy and humor that have made the series such a consistently entertaining example of the best that modern serial drama has to offer." On Metacritic, the second season received an average rating of 94 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


Season 3

The third season held a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus read, "Uniquely its own, and compelling and poignant as ever, ''Transparent'' continues to transcend the parameters of comedic and dramatic television with sustained excellence in its empathetic portrayal of the Pfefferman family." while Metacritic granted the season an average rating of 90 of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


Season 4

The fourth season held a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus read, "Transparent's fourth season forsakes tight narrative discipline for an absorbingly unwieldy continued exploration of the show's uniquely ambitious themes." while Metacritic granted the season an average rating of 74 of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


Film

''Transparent: Musicale Finale'' held a 68% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The site's critical consensus read, "Though it won't be for everyone, ''Transparent'''s singular musical finale grants its audience closure while giving its groundbreaking characters something they never expected: something resembling a happy ending" while Metacritic granted the finale an average rating of 55 of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


International broadcast

In Australia, the first two episodes of the series premiered on the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
on January 27, 2015, and all subsequent episodes premiered on
streaming service Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
Stan upon its launch. As Prime Video was not available in Canada at the time, the series launched on the
Shomi Shomi (pronounced "show me") was a Canadian subscription video on demand service jointly owned by Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications. The service was viewed as a Canadian-based competitor to Netflix, with a library of 1,200 films and 1 ...
platform.


Awards

On December 11, 2014, the series was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
in the category Best TV Comedy. On January 11, 2015, ''Transparent'' won two Golden Globe awards for the first season of the series. Tambor dedicated his win for
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The award is presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy ...
to the trans community, while Soloway dedicated their award to the memory of Leelah Alcorn.


See also

* '' Normal'' (2003) * ''
Becoming Us ''Becoming Us'' is an American reality television series about a family with a transgender parent. It aired from June 8, 2015, to August 10, 2015, on ABC Family. The series centered on the Lehwald family of Evanston, Illinois, whose father has rec ...
'' (2015) *
List of transgender characters in film and television This is a list of films with transgender people and transgender fictional characters. This does not include documentaries, which are listed on the lists of LGBT-related films by decade or animated characters, which are noted on the List of ...


References


External links

* *
Emmy Award
* Funk, S., Funk, J. ''Transgender Dispossession in Transparent: Coming Out as a Euphemism for Honesty''. Sexuality & Culture 20, 879–905 (2016). https://doi-org.proxybl.lib.montana.edu:3443/10.1007/s12119-016-9363-0 {{Amazon Video original series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American LGBT-related comedy television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2014 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings Amazon Prime Video original programming Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners Bisexuality-related television series Television series about Jews and Judaism Lesbian-related television shows LGBT culture in Los Angeles Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Serial drama television series Television series about dysfunctional families Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Amazon Studios Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Transgender-related television shows Nonlinear narrative television series Television Academy Honors winners Television shows set in Los Angeles