Transparent (TV series)
Transparent is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Joey Soloway for Amazon Studios that debuted on February 6, 2014. The story revolves around a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery that their parent (Jeffrey Tambor) is a trans woman named Maura. "Transparent" tells the story of Maura's coming out, as well as her family's journey with her identity transformation. "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 in representing  queer aging. "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  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 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 service to win a Golden Globe for Best Series. The series began airing on Sundance TV 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, Lesli Margherita, Erik Liberman, and Jo Lampert. 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 judge Alan  Wachtel on the police procedural television show "Hill Street Blues" 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 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. 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 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 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.<ref name="Vulture-Girls/Trans-2014"></ref> 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 it received an overall score of 91%, and an overall score of 85 on Metacritic. 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, 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:"... [The] show 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 on January 27, 2015, and  all subsequent episodes premiered on streaming service Stan upon its launch. As Prime Video was not available in Canada at the time, the series launched on the Shomi platform. Awards. On December 11, 2014, the series was nominated for a Golden Globe Award 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 to the trans community, while Soloway dedicated their award to the memory of Leelah Alcorn.