‘Transparent’ Season 2 to Debut This December
“Transparent” season two will debut on Amazon December 4.
The premiere date was announced at Monday’s Television Critics’ Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills, when a first look at the second season was shown to the room of journalists, reporters and critics. The teaser of the upcoming episodes showed a wedding, an ultrasound and Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) yelling, “Yas, Queen!”
At TCA, “Transparent’s” cast and creative team sat together on a panel, discussing the global phenomenon that the dramedy has become.
“Over the course of the past year, as it has become this tsunami in the zeitgeist, the most exciting part is the civil rights movement,” creator Jill Soloway said. “Even though we’re making a television show,” she added, “to feel like it’s all for a larger cause is the most exciting part of all of this.”
She continued to tell the story of how the streaming series, which was already renewed for a third season, came about. “It was very personal. The show was kind of writing itself in my mind, almost immediately after my parent came out,” Soloway said. “I’ve been a TV writer for 10 or 15 years, writing pilots every year and kind of just dreaming about having a show that mattered. I used to go on pitch meetings and say, ‘I want to write something that’s never been written before and write something that’s going to change the world.'”
Soloway — joined by exec producer Andrea Sperling, plus Emmy nominee Tambor and cast members Jay Duplass, Amy Landecker, Judith Light, Alexandra Billings, Bradley Whitford — reveled in society’s growing understanding of the trans community. “It’s kind of mind-blowing how our culture has caught up,” she said.
Light added that the trans community is helping culture evolve in “gender fluidity,” while Tambor mentioned that his life has changed for the better since the show premiered.
“I’ve had some wonderful conversations from there to here meeting wonderful people and people talking about their families, either on the street or people stoping me,” Tambor said. “Most often, they want to talk to me about their families, and that has enriched my life a lot.”
Asked by a reporter what Maura would think about Caitlyn Jenner, Tambor noted that the “Transparent” team has met the former Olympian. “We have met Caitlyn on a personal level. We love Caitlyn.”
Speaking about the upcoming season, Duplass said that his character’s journey gets dark. Meanwhile, Soloway said that the new episodes go to a whole new level and they don’t have to spend as much time explaining the trans community due to society’s now-greater sense of understanding.
“Having a trans woman in the writers’ room has really allowed us to tell the story more from her own place of subjectivity,” the creator said of Our Lady J.
As for what to expect in season two? “We’re taking the gloves off,” Soloway said. “Taking the bubble wrap off.”
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