The show tells the story of Mort (Jeffrey Tambor), a seventy-year-old man who has decided to finally take the plunge and come out to his family as a woman. That is the last time I will be using masculine pronouns to describe her. Maura (that's her new name) is terrified to come out to her three grown children, who are all hideously self-obsessed human beings in their own special way. There's the eldest daughter, Sarah (Amy Landecker), who has two young kids with her husband, but is grossly dissatisfied with her stay-at-home lifestyle and is seeking to rekindle a romance with a former flame. The middle son, Josh (Jay Duplass), is a successful music producer but a fairly horrible and entitled person. The youngest daughter, Ali (Gaby Hoffmann), is smart but aimless, hitting her father up for money with no real life plans and ambition. The remaining member of the family is Shelly (Judith Light), Maura's ex-wife (they have been divorced for several years at this point), who is very Jewish and loud and equally fed up of her unhelpful children.
The series is brimming with plot - while Maura's coming out and transition to full time womanhood is obviously central to the show, her ex-wife and kids also have a lot going on in their own personal lives. At times, it seems like Maura might be the only stable one in her family, as she at least has decided to accept her true self and take control of her life. Tambor does an exceptional job playing Maura. His performance is so quiet and reserved, yet he is imbuing that character with years of frustrated femininity, fear, and finally acceptance. The show contains many flashbacks that give us some insight into Maura's early struggles to find a place for herself. It is an eye-opening and beautifully constructed look into the evolution of the LGBT community and the strange politics and rules within that world that manage to make Maura feel as unwelcome there as she does in the heterosexual sphere.
The other actors are all doing tremendous work as well. Landecker, Hoffmann, and Duplass keep straddling the line between likability and loathing, portraying three very human siblings who are extremely flawed but still care for each other and their parents in some twisted fashion. There are plenty of guest actors you will recognize from other shows (Rob Heubel, Melora Hardin, Bradley Whitford, to name a few), who are doing things you've never seen them do before, and doing it spectacularly. Of course, ultimate credit is due to the show's creator, Jill Soloway, who wrote the show as a way of processing her own father's coming out as trans. Each episode is a thoughtful, empathetic portrayal of the trans community, LGBT issues, and general family dynamics. Some moments are farcical and hilarious, some are deeply moving and sad, others are odd and thought-provoking. But it is never dull, and is a constantly surprising piece of television that challenges you to assume you know where things are going and then takes you somewhere else.
Transparent is a sprawling, messy, dramatic comedy filled with moments of hilarity, profoundness, and just plain weirdness. It contains brilliantly-realized characters, who all have deeply complicated and nuanced relationships with each other. It is challenging and absorbing, heartbreaking and funny, and simply lovely. You've never seen anything like it before, so watch it right away.
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