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Transparent will be taking a political journey when the Emmy-winning Amazon series returns for its fourth season, creator Jill Soloway announced two days after President Trump proposed a plan to ban transgender soldiers from serving in the U.S. military.
“We feel very lucky to get to make art inspired by themes of love, home and boundaries, and how they operate in both human beings as well as nations,” a joint statement from Soloway and the show’s cast began on Friday. In the statement, released to People, the team said they were “honored” to be sharing the trailer for the upcoming politically charged season, but that it is “painful” amid Trump’s “continued assault” on the transgender community.
“We are outraged that he announced in a tweet that transgender people would not be allowed to serve ‘in any capacity’ in the U.S. military. It is reprehensible to deny an estimated 15,000 current trans service members, and 134,000 trans veterans, the dignity, respect and safety that they deserve,” the statement reads. “At Transparent we believe in the integrity of the trans community, which we know firsthand because we are all either trans or allies to the trans community. It is a revolutionary act for a trans person to simply leave the house and walk down the street. We tap into the incredible history of survival the trans community has achieved against all odds, knowing that our fight is noble and on the side of justice and human rights.”
The statement continues, “To our trans community members serving in the military and to transgender veterans: We work in solidarity with you and will continue fighting and creating art for our community’s well-being and future. We hope that you’ll enjoy the trailer for season 4 because our visibility and our stories are more important than ever.”
The statement encouraged people to follow the work of GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project for the latest steps on how to to resist.
Soloway, who describes herself as a bisexual non-binary person, was inspired to create her critically acclaimed series after her parent came out as trans in 2011. “If my parent is trans — if my parent’s relationship to their gender has always felt fraught — this is maybe why my relationship to my gender has always felt fraught,” she recently told The Hollywood Reporter of the introspection that has come along with the past few years of her life.
On her show, Jeffrey Tambor has embodied the parent who comes out as trans to a Los Angeles-area family. The groundbreaking series has blazed a path for LGBTQ representation on TV, continuing last season with the romantic storyline between Jay Duplass’ Josh, a cis hetero man, and Trace Lysette’s Shea, a trans woman — something there was “no blueprint for,” Lysette told THR.
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The trailer for the fourth season, which premieres in September, shows the Pfefferman family taking off on a spiritual and political journey as they dig deep into their family’s history. Maura (Tambor) heads to Israel to speak at a conference and makes a startling discovery.
Before long the rest of the family joins her for an explosive adventure, according to Amazon’s synopsis. Adrift in the desert, Maura and her kids, Ali (Gaby Hoffmann), Sarah (Amy Landecker) and Josh, and ex-wife Shelly (Judith Light) ultimately set off on their own paths to find acceptance, love and truth.
At the end of the trailer, Maura, who has been hesitant about exploring intimate relationships thus far, tells Ali that she is dating and, much to Ali’s surprise, the person’s name is Donald.
Soloway described the new season as “crossing borders and boundaries” when taking to Twitter on Friday. Watch the trailer for Transparent, which releases its entire fourth season Sept. 22 on Amazon, below.
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