Transparent (TV series)
Transparent | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Jill Soloway |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Jill Soloway |
Producer | Victor Hsu |
Production location | Los Angeles |
Editors |
|
Camera setup | Jim Frohna |
Running time | 27–31 minutes |
Production companies | Amazon Studios Pictures in a Row aka Picrow |
Original release | |
Network | Amazon Video |
Release | February 6, 2014 present | –
Transparent is an American comedy television series created by Jill Soloway for Amazon Studios that debuted on February 6, 2014.[1] The story revolves around a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery that the person they knew as their father Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) is transgender.[2] Transparent's first season premiered in full on September 26, 2014,[3] the second season on December 11, 2015.[4][5] The series has been renewed for a third season.[6]
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.[7]
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 about always identifying as a woman.
- 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.
- 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.
Recurring cast
- Melora Hardin as Tammy Cashman
- Alexandra Billings as Davina
- Trace Lysette as Shea
- Kiersey Clemons as Bianca
- Rob Huebel as Len Novak, the husband of Sarah and father of Zack and Ella.
- Zackary Arthur as Zack Novak, the son 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), Young Rose (Season 2)
- Dalton Rich as Teenage Josh
- Kelsey Reinhardt as Teenage Sarah
- Alex MacNicoll as Colton, the son of Josh and Rita
- Brett Paesel as Rita
- Cleo Anthony as Derek
- Carrie Brownstein as Sydney "Syd" Feldman
- Deborah S. Craig as Kristin
- Sawyer Ever as Zack
- Kathryn Hahn as Rabbi Raquel Fein
- Bradley Whitford as Marcy (Season 1), Magnus Hirschfeld (Season 2)
- Alison Sudol as Kaya
- Cherry Jones as Leslie
- Anjelica Huston as Vicki
- Hari Nef as Gittel
- Michaela Watkins as Connie (Season 1), Yetta (Season 2)
- Jason Mantzoukas as Dr. Steve
- Tig Notaro as Barb
- Luzer Twersky as Mendel
- Richard Masur as Buzz
Episodes
Series | Episodes | Originally released | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | February 6, 2014 September 26, 2014 | (premiere)|
2 | 10 | November 30, 2015 December 11, 2015 | (premiere)|
3 | 10 | September 23, 2016 | |
4 | 10 | September 21, 2017 | |
Film | September 27, 2019 |
Background
Soloway created the pilot Transparent for Amazon.com, which became available for free streaming and download on February 6, 2014 and was part of Amazon's second pilot season.[8][9] She was inspired by her father, who came out as transgender.[10] The show stars Gaby Hoffmann, Jay Duplass, and Amy Landecker as siblings whose father (played by Jeffrey Tambor) reveals she is going through a significant life transition.[11] The pilot for Transparent was picked up by Amazon Studios.[12][13] Tambor had previously portrayed transvestite judge Alan Wachtel on the police procedural television show Hill Street Blues in the 1980s.[14] Soloway wrote Hoffmann's role after seeing her performance on Season 3 of Louis C.K.'s show Louie.[15]
Transparent premiered all ten episodes simultaneously in late September 2014.[16] In Canada, where Amazon's video streaming service is not available, the series premiered on the Shomi platform on January 23, 2015.[17]
Production
Soloway has said that she hopes to use the series to explore ideas of gender identity through a "wounded father being replaced by a blossoming femininity" and that she pictured Tambor as Maura when writing the character.[3]
Soloway, the writers, and the cast developed, workshopped, and rehearsed both seasons with consulting producer Joan Scheckel at Joan Scheckel Filmmaking Labs.[18]
As part of the making of the show, Soloway enacted a "transfirmative action program", whereby transgender applicants are hired in preference to nontransgender ones.[12] As of August 2014[update], over eighty transgender people have worked on the show, including Zackary Drucker and Rhyhs Ernst who are transgender consultants and co-producers.[12][19] In 2014 Our Lady J was chosen as the first openly transgender person to be a writer for the show.[20] All the bathrooms on set are gender-neutral.[21]
The original pilot made available in February 2014 (with Gillian Vigman in the role of Tammy) was partly reshot after the series was approved.[22]
Reception
Transparent has received acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 98% with an average score of 8.8 out of 10 based on 54 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "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."[23] On Metacritic, the first season received a rating of 91 out of 100 based on 27 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[24]
Alan Sepinwall from HitFix calls Transparent the best new show of the fall 2014 season, and Amazon's "most impressive volley yet."[25] Sepinwall says:
"...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."[25]
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.[26]
Amazon Video is not, at present, available to Canadians, however the series is available in that country on the Shomi platform.[27]
Awards
Season 1 (2014)
On December 11, 2014, the series was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best TV Comedy.[28] On January 11, 2015, Transparent won two Golden Globe awards for the first season of the series. Tambor dedicated his win for Best Actor in a Comedy Series to the transgender community,[29] while series creator Soloway dedicated her award to the memory of Leelah Alcorn.[30]
Season 2 (2015)
References
- ^ "Amazon's new pilots: Which should you watch?". Entertainment Weekly. February 10, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ^ "Amazon Has Finally Made Its House of Cards". Slate. February 11, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (October 9, 2014). "Amazon Renews 'Transparent' For Season 2". HitFix. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ Travers, Ben. "'Transparent' Season 2 (Finally) Lands Release Date; Jeffrey Tambor, Jill Soloway Preview a 'Year of Revolution'". Indiewire. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 25, 2015). "'Transparent' Renewed For Season 3 By Amazon; Creator Jill Soloway Inks Overall Deal". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ "Amazon.com Announces Fourth Quarter Sales Up 15% to $29.33 Billion" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. January 29, 2015.
- ^ Fienberg, Daniel (February 15, 2014). "Interview: 'Transparent' creator Jill Soloway discusses her Amazon pilot". HitFix. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
- ^ Lyons, Margaret (February 13, 2014). "Talking to Jill Soloway About Her Wonderful Amazon Pilot, Transparent". Vulture. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Goodman, Tim (February 18, 2014). "Amazon's New Crop of Pilots, Including Chris Carter's 'The After': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Willmore, Alison (February 7, 2014). "Why 'Transparent' Creator Jill Soloway Feels the Amazon Pilot Process is 'Revolutionary'". Indiewire. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
- ^ Burlingame, Jon (April 11, 1990). "'Wiseguy' uncorks a rousing season finale". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
- ^ Katz, Jessie (March 11, 2014). "Pret-a Reporter: Dynamic Duos: Jill Soloway and Gaby Hoffmann are Ready to Inhabit Your Brain". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
- ^ Prudom, Laura (July 12, 2014). "Amazon's 'Transparent' Season 1 to Debut Late September, 'Bosch' Premiering Early 2015". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
- ^ "TV series Transparent coming to Shomi". Toronto Star, January 12, 2015.
- ^ Valentini, Valentina I. "Shooting 'Transparent': From Rehearsal to Lenses to Intimate Family Drama". Indiewire. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- ^ ROCHLIN, MARGY (November 27, 2015). "In 'Transparent,' a Heroine Evolves Further Still". New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ Dawn Ennis. "'Transparent' Creator on Show's First Trans Writer". Advocate.com.
- ^ Martin, Denise (September 2, 2014). "Gaby Hoffmann on Girls, Growing Up in '80s New York, and Her Amazon Show Transparent". Vulture. New York Magazine. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
- ^ ""Transparent" Original pilot". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ "Transparent: Season One". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ "Transparent: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan (September 24, 2014). "Review: Amazon's 'Transparent' clearly the best new show of the fall". HitFix. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
- ^ Knox, David (January 20, 2014). "Airdate: Transparent". TV Tonight. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "'Transparent' debuts in Canada as top series on shomi". Global News. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "Golden Globe Nominations: Birdman, Boyhood and Imitation Game Lead Film - Variety". Variety.
- ^ "Jeffrey Tambor Dedicates Best Actor Win For 'Transparent' To The Transgender Community". The Huffington Post.
- ^ "'Transparent' Creator Jill Soloway Dedicates Best Comedy Series Win To Leelah Alcorn". The Huffington Post.
- ^ "2015 Golden Globe Nominations". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- ^ Adams, Ryan. "GALECA'S 2014/15 Dorian Award Nominees and Winners". Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ^ "2015 DGA Awards TV Nominations". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ^ "2015 WGA Awards TV Nominations". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ Pond, Steve (December 1, 2014). "'Birdman' Leads Satellite Awards Nominations". Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ "Transparent – Awards & Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ "Critics' Choice 2015 Nominations Announced". Rotten Tomatoes. December 14, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "2016 Producers Guild Awards Nominees - Producers Guild of America". www.producersguild.org. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- ^ "2016 DGA Awards TV Nominations". Retrieved February 7, 2015.
External links
- 2010s American television series
- 2014 American television series debuts
- Amazon Video original programming
- American LGBT-related television programs
- Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners
- Fictional American Jews
- Jewish-related television programs
- Lesbian-related television programmes
- LGBT-related web series
- Serial drama television series
- Television series about dysfunctional families
- Television series shot in Los Angeles, California
- Transgender-related television programs
- Nonlinear narrative television series
- Television series about families