It's Apparent. What You Were Missing In Your Life Was Transparent

The best show on TV is not on TV - it's on Amazon. In fact, the place you can find groundbreaking shows now are on streaming giants like Amazon and Netflix. Working outside of the confines of censorship provides a sense of flexibility without a network. If creators are freer to express their vision - they don't need a television. They can bring us characters who need to be seen, because those characters represent real people who should be acknowledged in creative media, and often aren't. The actors who are given these career-defining roles can educate the masses through their major screen presence, thus cutting through stereotypes with each episode that passes. 

When the pilot for the new dark comedy-drama Transparent was released on Amazon this past August in hopes of being picked up for a full first season, after watching it, I knew it had nothing to worry about - because a show that good will find its audience. I "signed on" to Transparent initially because of Jeffrey Tambor, whom I loved on one of my all-time favorites, Arrested Development. Then there was also the show's creator, Jill Soloway, who was a writer/co-executive producer on another great American classic: HBO's Six Feet Under. I knew I was in good hands. However, I was not expecting even half of what I experienced watching Transparent, the premise of which a father (Jeffrey Tambor) to three grown up children holds a secret that she is transgender, and has been hiding the truth from her family that she is actually Maura. Throughout the season, we come to find that Maura is not the only character keeping things hidden. Television has depicted transgender characters before Transparent in mostly minor roles, but this is the first show that has ever had a main character who is transgender. It's about time that those issues were tackled with warmth, presented by Soloway. Given that the creator's own father is transgender, what is transparent when watching is that this material hits close to home. 

It's interesting to see Maura discover herself, giving us a glimpse into her struggle through flashbacks to when she was hiding from her family, but also how each of Maura's children respond differently to the unexpected announcement dropped on them. Never have I witnessed sibling relationships portrayed with such truth and conviction as that of the wanting-what-you-know-is-not-good-for-you music producer son (Jay Duplass), the daughter who is not yet grounded and exploring her sexuality (Gaby Hoffman), and the older daughter who takes a chance with a bold major life change (Amy Landecker). Along with strong support by veteran TV star Judith Light playing the ex-wife, you've got a house full (not under one roof) of complex characters that could very well have their own stand-alone shows. All members of this unapologetic Los Angeles family have their own secrets that they are hiding from others - from themselves at times. Each is asking their own questions along the way to Discoverhood. All of these actors perform seamlessly together as if they'd been doing the show for years. But the heart of this show belongs to Maura Pfefferman (Jeffrey Tambor), who when asked if their father is going to start dressing up like a lady all of the time now can delicately says things like, "all my life, my whole life, I've been dressing up as a man," and rip your heart out. Maura's journey to living as who she has always felt she has been - and at the age of 70 no less - is like watching a family member grow up in front of you. Having a trans parent seems so relative.