Review of Transparent

Well, when I first saw the first episode, I thought: Wow, that might be a great comedy! Great characters, promising actors, interesting setup, almost endless possibilities. I was sure there would be a lot of light hearted and fun scenes, mixed in with a little bit of bittersweetness. But boy, was I wrong. Upon watching about half of all of the episode I can say the following: It's a straight forward dramedy. Of course there is the funny and light stuff but that's merely the surface. Beneath it lies a far more interesting because way more colorful story. There is the dad, who was unhappy almost his whole life, now changing it and then realizing that this might not be what he hoped for. His new exiting lifestyle comes with a whole lot more problems than he might have anticipated. He's new to all of it, yet he doesn't seem to fit in in either world. Then there's the oldest of his kids. She is good looking, has a family, seems to be happy, then her long lost lesbian lover turns up and before you know it, her whole life turns upside down as well. She leaves everything behind for her new/old girlfriend and realizes that it might not be as easy as she though. Next there's the son. Successful, a lot of women, a lot of sex, loads of money. But as the story progresses you get to see more and more that he is desperately looking for someone to connect with. Maybe have a family, just change his whole lifestyle. And last but not least, the youngest daughter. She is quirky and awkward looking, a bit self conscious, not sure where she stands in life. She is intelligent yet unable to get a real job. She wants to change her appearances yet she is afraid of changing her looks. All in all it goes pretty deep into four troubled minds that seem to be unable to be true to themselves and find happiness along the way. What I like most about it is that although discussing or touching a lot of difficult topics along the way the series manages to stay pretty light footed and almost funny about it. Almost. I think what most people won't like is that it is neither a drama nor a comedy but kind of both. And therein lies the problem: People who want to watch a drama will be upset with the slow pace, serious topics and lack of big laughs, people who want to watch a drama will be upset because the series lacks the darkness, the heaviness and yes, the drama. But for me and everyone else who is okay with that, go ahead and enjoy the fine acting and story and of course the very good soundtrack. Plus there is the whole LGBT-topic which is new in a series, at least for me. Really liked it, hope for more!