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 Make season two even riskier, says Jill Soloway, creator and
director of "Transparent", which arrives on Amazon.com's
streaming platform on Friday.
The drama-comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor as a divorced father of
three adult children who comes out as transgender kicks off the
new season with a big family wedding.
But not everyone in the extended Pfefferman clan is happy.
"In this season, people are facing consequences a little bit,"
Soloway said. "They are getting everything they ever wanted and
are realizing it's not that simple."
Maura Pfefferman (played by Tambor) struggles with reactions
from the wider world to her transition, confronts people from
her past and finds a new love interest, played by Angelica
Huston.
Life also is far from breezy for Maura's children, with a new
baby on the way, ruptured marital ties and their own sexual
identities to explore.
"One person transitioning in a family makes it so everybody has
to begin a journey of becoming themselves," Soloway said. "One
person might be left out, who isn't moving as quickly as
everybody else. One person might be way ahead of everybody."
"Transparent" took popular culture by storm when it was first
streamed in 2014, winning multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Although the acclaim surprised Soloway, whose show was inspired
by the transition of her own father, it only encouraged her to
try new things, including flashbacks to the Berlin of 1933.
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"The fact the show has resonated with so many people - people who
don't even think about queerness or who aren't Jewish or who are
just loving the show because it's funny and about a family - is
totally wonderful and feels very surreal," Soloway said.
"If we were trying to replicate ... it would have been
nerve-wracking. Instead we took all the positive regard and said,
'OK, we have to keep being in our risk space... What is scary? What
will feel new? What feels shocking? What feels like I'm learning?'"
she said.
The casting of Tambor, rather than a transgender woman, in the lead
role has been criticized by some in the trans community but Soloway
defends the choice.
Since Tambor, the actor, is not going to take hormones, future
seasons of "Transparent" may help cast light on the challenges of
those who transition in later life.
"There are a lot of late transitioners, in their 60s or 70s, who
actually don't do surgery, don't do hormones, who never pass and
come off more as gender queer or gender non-conforming rather than
as a woman, and that may be Maura's plight because of the casting of
Jeffrey," Soloway said.
"It doesn't mean they are not beautiful, they're not human beings,
or that they shouldn't be able to use the bathroom when they go to
the mall."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bill Trott)
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