Transparent is an American comedy-drama web television series created by Jill Soloway for Amazon Studios that debuted on February 6, 2014. [3] The story revolves around a Los Angeles family and their lives. Death ( Jeffrey Tambor ) is transgender . [4] Transparent ‘ s first season premiered in full on September 26, 2014, [5] the second season on December 11, 2015, [6] [7] and the third season on September 23, 2016. [8] [9 ]
Amazon, the first edition of the third series. [10]
At the 72nd Golden Globe Awards , the Golden Globe Awards 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 services to win a Golden Globe for Best Series. [11]
Cast
Main cast
- Jeffrey Tambor as Maura Pfefferman (born Morton Pfefferman), a retired college professor of political science who finally opens up to her family.
- Amy Landecker 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 her father’s transition.
- Jay Duplass as Joshua “Josh” Pfefferman, the middle sibling. A successful music producer who has troubled relationships with women. He seems to have a hard time accepting his father’s transition at first.
- Gaby Hoffmann as Alexandra “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.
- 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 Rebbe Raquel Fein (recurring Seasons 1-2, main cast Season 3) Josh’s ex-fiancée and rabbi at the Pfeffermans’ synagogue.
Recurring cast
- Melora Hardin as Tammy Cashman, Sarah’s ex-flame.
- Alexandra Billings as Davina, an educator at an LGBT center and Maura’s best trans friend.
- Trace Lysette as Shea, an educator at an LGBT center and one of Maura’s friends.
- Kiersey Clemons as Bianca, Tammy’s daughter from her first marriage.
- Rob Huebel as Len Novak, Sarah’s husband and father of Zack and Ella.
- Zackary Arthur as Zack Novak, the sound of Sarah and Len.
- Abby Ryder Fortson as Ella Novak, the daughter of Sarah and Len.
- Lawrence Pressman as Ed Paskowitz, Shelly’s husband.
- Amin Joseph as Mike
- Emily Robinson as Teenage Ali (Season 1-present) / Young Rose (Season 2)
- Dalton Rich as Teenage Josh
- Kelsey Reinhardt as Teenage Sarah
- Alex MacNicoll as Colton, the sound of Josh and Rita
- Brett Paesel as Rita, the Pfefferman kids’ training babysitter and Josh’s ex-flame.
- Cleo Anthony as Derek
- Carrie Brownstein as Sydney “Syd” Feldman, Ali’s best friend.
- Deborah S. Craig as Kristin
- Sawyer Ever as Zack
- Bradley Whitford as Marcy (Season 1) / Magnus Hirschfeld (Season 2)
- Alison Sudol as Kaya, Josh’s ex-girlfriend and ex-client.
- Cherry Jones as Leslie, an academic with whom Ali wants to study.
- Anjelica Huston 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 Haim, 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
- Luzer Twersky as Mendel
- Richard Masur as Buzz, a synagogue board member
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 10 | February 6, 2014 | September 26, 2014 | ||
| 2 | 10 | November 30, 2015 | December 11, 2015 | ||
| 3 | 10 | September 23, 2016 | September 23, 2016 | ||
Background
Soloway created the pilot Transparent for Amazon.com , which became available for free on February 6, 2014 and was part of Amazon’s second pilot season . [12] [13] She was inspired by her transgender father. [14]
The pilot for Transparent was picked up by Amazon Studios. [15] [16] Tambor had previously portrayed transvestite judge Alan Wachtel on the police procedural television show Hill Street Blues in the 1980s. [17] Soloway wrote Hoffmann ‘s role after seeing her performance on Season 3 of Louis CK ‘ s Louie show . [18]
Transparent premiered all ten episodes simultaneously in late September 2014. [19] In Canada, where Amazon’s video streaming service was not available, the series premiered on the Shomi platform on January 23, 2015. [20]
Religious themes
The series depicts several Jewish characters and deals with spiritually and culturally Jewish themes. Jill Soloway, the series’ primary creator, is Jewish and uses Rabbi Susan Goldberg of Wilshire Boulevard Temple as a consultant for the show. They also seeks advice from Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie of New York, describing him as “a God-optional patriarchy-toppling Jewish modern mind. The goddess, and Amichai reminds me of that every day. ” [21]
Production
Soloway HAS Said That They hopes to use the series to explore ideas of gender identity through a “wounded father being white Replaced by a blossoming femininity” and That They’re pictured Tambor Maura When writing the character. [5]
Joan Scheckel at Joan Scheckel Filmmaking Labs. Soloway, the writers, and the cast developed, workshopped, and rehearsed both seasons with consulting producer. [22]
As part of the making of the show, Soloway enacted a “transfirmative action program”, whereby transgender applicants are hired in preference to cisgender ones. [15] As of August 2014 , over eighty transgender people have worked on the show, including Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst who are transgender consultants and co-producers. [15] [23]
In 2014, Our Lady J was chosen as the first openly transgender person to be a writer for the show. [24] All the bathrooms on set are gender-neutral. [25]
The original pilot made available in February 2014 (with Gillian Vigman in the role of Tammy) was partly reshot after the series was approved. [26]
Reception
| Season | Critical response | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | ||
| 1 | 98% (54 reviews) | 91 (28 reviews) | |
| 2 | 97% (36 reviews) | 94 (28 reviews) | |
| 3 | 100% (26 reviews) | 90 (15 reviews) | |
On Rotten Tomatoes , the first season holds an approval rating of 98% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8 / 10. The site’s consensus reads: “As much as a personal change, Transparent raises the bar for programming with sophistication and sincere dedication to the human journey, warts and all.” [27] On Metacritic , the first season received an average rating of 91 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating “universal acclaim”. [28]
Alan Sepinwall from HitFix Calls Transparent the most new show of the 2014 season, and Amazon’s most impressive volley yet. [29] 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 disappointing child), knowing that we will then follow her into more unfamiliar territory-not just with Maura, but the disreputable behaviors her kids get tangled up in. ” [29]
The second season of Transparent received a 2015 Peabody Award . The second season holds a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 9.2 / 10. The consensus reads: ” Transparent ‘ s second season ups and 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.” [30] On Metacritic, the second season received an average rating of 94 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating “universal acclaim”. [31]
On Rotten Tomatoes the third season has an approval rating of 100% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4 / 10. The site’s critical consensus reads, “Understanding its own, and compelling and poignant as ever, Transparent Continues to transcend the parameters of comedic and dramatic television with sustained excellence in its empathic portrayal of the Pfefferman family.” [32] while Metacritic granted the season an average rating of 90 of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating “universal acclaim”. [33]
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 on its launch. [34]
Amazon Video, which was not available in Canada at the time, was launched on the Shomi platform. [35]
Awards
On December 11, 2014, the series was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best TV Comedy category. [36] On January 11, 2015, Transparent won two Golden Globe awards for the first season of the series. Tambor dedicates his work to a series of short stories about the transgender community, [37] while Soloway is dedicated to the memory of Leelah Alcorn . [38]
See also
- Normal (2003)
- Transgender in film and television
References
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- ^ Jump up to:a b Prudom, Laura (July 12, 2014). “Amazon’s ‘Transparent’ Season 1 to Debut Late September, ‘Bosch’ Premiering Early 2015” . Variety . Retrieved July 31, 2014 .
- Jump up^ Sepinwall, Alan (October 9, 2014). “Amazon Renews ‘Transparent’ For Season 2” . HitFix . Retrieved October 10, 2014 .
- Jump up^ Travers, Ben. ” ‘ Transparent’ Season 2 (Finally) Lands Release Date, Jeffrey Tambor, Jill Soloway Preview a ‘Year of Revolution ‘ ” . Indiewire . Retrieved 2016-02-28 .
- Jump up^ Haithman, Diane; Of Moraes, Lisa (August 7, 2016). “Woody Allen Series Gets Title, Premiere Date As Part Of Amazon Fall Comedy Push” . Deadline.com . Retrieved August 7, 2016 .
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- Jump up^ Wilson, Stacey (December 17, 2014). ” ‘ Transparent’ Boss Reveals the Moment She Decided to Make a Show About a Transgender Parent . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved December 25, 2014 .
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Brodesser-Akner, Taffy (August 29, 2014). “Can Jill Soloway Do Justice to the Trans Movement?” . The New York Times . NY Times Magazine . Retrieved August 31, 2014 .
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- Jump up^ Klein, Amy (September 2016). “Jill Soloway on Jews and ‘Transparent'” . Hadassah Magazine . Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc . Retrieved 17 May 2017 .
- Jump up^ Valentini, Valentina I. “Transparent Shooting: From Rehearsal to Lenses to Intimate Family Drama” . Indiewire . Retrieved 2016-02-28 .
- Jump up^ ROCHLIN, MARGY (November 27, 2015). “In ‘Transparent’, a Heroine Evolves Further Still” . New York Times . Retrieved April 12, 2016 .
- Jump up^ Dawn Ennis. ” ‘ Transparent’ Creator on Show First Trans Writer” . Advocate.com . Retrieved December 4, 2014 .
- Jump up^ Martin, Denise (September 2, 2014). “Gaby Hoffmann on Girls, Growing Up in ’80s New York, and Her Transparent Show Amazon” . Vulture . New York Magazine . Retrieved September 3, 2014 .
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- Jump up^ “Jeffrey Tambor Dedicates Best Actor Win For ‘Transparent’ To The Transgender Community” . The Huffington Post .
- Jump up^ ” ‘ Transparent’ Creator Jill Soloway Dedicates Best Comedy Series Win To Leelah Alcorn” . The Huffington Post .