Transparent is an American comedy-drama 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 the person they knew as their father Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) is a transgender woman named Maura. Transparent's full first season premiered on September 26, 2014. The show was renewed for a second season on October 9, 2014, which premiered on December 11, 2015. On June 25, 2015, Amazon renewed the show for a third season consisting of ten episodes. In August 2017, Amazon renewed the series for a fifth and final season, which ultimately took the form of a feature-length finale titled the Transparent Musicale Finale. It does not include Tambor due to sexual harassment allegations.
As of September 21, 2017, 40 episodes of Transparent have been released, concluding the fourth season. A film conclusion was released on September 27, 2019.
Series overview
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | February 6, 2014 (2014-02-06) (premiere) September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| 2 | 10 | November 30, 2015 (2015-11-30) (premiere) December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) | |
| 3 | 10 | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) | |
| 4 | 10 | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) | |
| Film | September 27, 2019 (2019-09-27) | ||
Episodes
Season 1 (2014)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Joey Soloway | Joey Soloway | February 6, 2014 (2014-02-06) | |
|
Maura Pfefferman can't gather the courage to announce that she wants to become a woman. She, nevertheless, announces her retirement and intention to sell the family house. Shelly Pfefferman (Maura's ex-spouse) says that the home had been bought for $83,000 in 1972. Maura attends counseling sessions at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Letting Go" | Joey Soloway | Joey Soloway | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| Maura begins coming out to her children and continues to embrace her true identity. Sarah introduces her husband to her ex-girlfriend Tammy as tensions begin to rise. Ali becomes close with her trainer, as Josh is reminded of his past with a visit to his ex-babysitter, Rita. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Rollin" | Joey Soloway | Bridget Bedard | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| Complications arise for the Pfefferman family as Sarah’s marriage begins to strain, Josh is fired, and Ali struggles to find meaning in her life. Maura’s early exploration with her identity shines through in flashbacks. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Moppa" | Nisha Ganatra | Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| Maura Pfefferman faces verbal harassment in the women's restroom at a shopping mall. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Wedge" | Nisha Ganatra | Ali Liebegott | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| Shelley’s husband, Ed, is missing and the Pfefferman children team up to find him, only to be faced with questions of their past. Josh discovers Maura’s truth, and Maura begins to find community within her support group. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Wilderness" | Joey Soloway | Ethan Kuperberg | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| While grappling with their feelings about Maura, Josh seeks guidance from Rabbi Raquel. Ali takes a gender studies class with Syd, and Sarah is faced with questions from her children after they meet Maura for the first time. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Symbolic Exemplar" | Joey Soloway | Faith Soloway | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| Josh explores his relationship with Rabbi Raquel while Ali explores her relationship with her transgender teaching assistant in her Gender Studies program. The Pfefferman children join together to support Maura’s performance singing in a talent show, only for their romantic and personal lives to disrupt their attendance. Maura overlooks the crowd, saddened to find all of her children have left. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Best New Girl" | Joey Soloway | Bridget Bedard | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| In a flashback sequence, Mort and Mark attend a cross-dressing retreat. Thirteen-year-old Ali is left home alone after Josh leaves with Rita, and Mort leaves for the camp. Ali hangs out with an older man she finds at the beach. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Looking Up" | Nisha Ganatra | Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| Maura and Shelley confide in each other as Maura is upset with her children and Shelley deals with Ed’s end of life care. Sarah questions if she made the right decision leaving Len for Tammy, and Josh and Raquel discover their feelings for each other. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Why Do We Cover the Mirrors?" | Joey Soloway | Joey Soloway | September 26, 2014 (2014-09-26) | |
| The Pfefferman family unites for Ed’s funeral where Maura, Shelley and the children revisit old relationships and family secrets. Sarah and Len have an intimate talk in a private room. Josh sees his teenage babysitter for the first time in almost 20 years, and it is revealed that he has a teenage son. Ali gets into a fight with Maura, but at the end of the episode, the family comes back together for a meal. | ||||||
Season 2 (2015)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Kina Hora" | Joey Soloway | Joey Soloway | November 30, 2015 (2015-11-30) |
| 12 | 2 | "Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump" | Joey Soloway | Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
| 13 | 3 | "New World Coming" | Marielle Heller | Faith Soloway | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
| 14 | 4 | "Cherry Blossoms" | Joey Soloway | Arabella Anderson | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
| 15 | 5 | "Mee-Maw" | Stacie Passon | Our Lady J | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
| 16 | 6 | "Bulnerable" | Silas Howard | Bridget Bedard | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
| 17 | 7 | "The Book of Life" | Jim Frohna | Ethan Kuperberg | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
| 18 | 8 | "Oscillate" | Andrea Arnold | Bridget Bedard | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
| 19 | 9 | "Man on the Land" | Joey Soloway | Ali Liebegott | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
| 20 | 10 | "Grey Green Brown & Copper" | Andrea Arnold | Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster | December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) |
Season 3 (2016)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | "Elizah" | Joey Soloway | Ethan Kuperberg | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 22 | 2 | "When the Battle Is Over" | Silas Howard | Jessi Klein | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 23 | 3 | "To Sardines and Back" | Joey Soloway | Faith & Joey Soloway | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 24 | 4 | "Just the Facts" | Silas Howard | Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 25 | 5 | "Oh Holy Night" | Stacie Passon | Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 26 | 6 | "The Open Road" | Joey Soloway | Bridget Bedard | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 27 | 7 | "Life Sucks and Then You Die" | Shira Piven | Ali Liebegott | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 28 | 8 | "If I Were a Bell" | Andrea Arnold | Our Lady J | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 29 | 9 | "Off the Grid" | So Yong Kim | Bridget Bedard & Stephanie Kornick | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
| 30 | 10 | "Exciting and New" | Marta Cunningham | Faith & Joey Soloway | September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) |
Season 4 (2017)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | "Standing Order" | Joey Soloway | Faith Soloway | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 32 | 2 | "Groin Anomaly" | Allison Liddi-Brown | Ali Liebegott | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 33 | 3 | "Pinkwashing Machine" | Allison Liddi-Brown | Our Lady J | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 34 | 4 | "Cool Guy" | Sarah Gavron | Gabe Liedman | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 35 | 5 | "Born Again" | Marta Cunningham | Stephanie Kornick | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 36 | 6 | "I Never Promised You a Promised Land" | Jim Frohna | Bridget Bedard | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 37 | 7 | "Babar the Borrible" | Gaby Hoffmann | Ali Liebegott | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 38 | 8 | "Desert Eagle" | Andrea Arnold | Ethan Kuperberg | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 39 | 9 | "They Is on the Way" | Joey Soloway | Bridget Bedard | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
| 40 | 10 | "House Call" | Rhys Ernst | Ethan Kuperberg | September 21, 2017 (2017-09-21) |
Film (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | "Musicale Finale" | Joey Soloway | Faith Soloway & Joey Soloway | September 27, 2019 (2019-09-27) |
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.
- Prudom, Laura (July 12, 2014). "Amazon's 'Transparent' Season 1 to Debut Late September, 'Bosch' Premiering Early 2015". Variety. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
- Spangler, Todd (October 9, 2014). "Amazon Renews 'Transparent' for Season 2". Variety. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- Travers, Ben (3 August 2015). "'Transparent' Season 2 (Finally) Lands Release Date; Jeffrey Tambor, Jill Soloway Preview a 'Year of Revolution'". Indiewire. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- Saad, Nardine (June 25, 2015). "'Transparent' gets season 3 order from Amazon; season 2 premieres in fall". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- "'Transparent' Renewed for Season 5". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
- Jeffrey Tambor Officially Dropped From 'Transparent' in Wake of Harassment Claims The Hollywood Reporter, February 15, 2018
- Lawrence, Derek (May 7, 2018). "Transparent to End with Fifth Season". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- Schwartz, Ryan (2019-06-05). "Transparent Musicale Finale: First Trailer Teases Maura's Death, Epic Performance by Judith Light — Watch". TVLine. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- A different version of the pilot streamed on September 26, 2014, with the rest of the season.