Amazon has finally revealed how “Transparent” will address the firing of its star Jeffrey Tambor.
The upcoming series finale, which will be a movie musical titled “Transparent Musical Finale,” will begin with the death of Tambor’s Maura Pfefferman, and focus on how the rest of the Pfefferman family deals with the loss.
It will stream on Amazon sometime this fall.
“When the time came to bring the Transparent journey to a close, it was clear that saying goodbye to Maura was our path forward. In this musical finale, we dramatize the death of Maura in an odyssey of comedy and melancholy told through the joyful prism of melody and dance,” “Transparent” creator Jill Soloway said in a statement. “As we reflect on the process we began so many years ago to bring Maura Pfefferman to the screen, we hope this tribute to the meaning her story brought to the public consciousness also marks a moment in time where art-makers recognize the importance of trans actors playing trans characters. Everything changes, and we are grateful to make art that will live on as a bridge from this era to the next. As the world transforms, so does the Pfefferman family. ‘Transparent’ is not ending, it is transitioning into a musical, becoming itself over and over again.”
During the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in February, Soloway teased that the show will address Tambor’s exit with “one big answer,” as well as the decision to end the series with a movie musical.
“My sister Faith is an amazing musician and has been writing musicals for years, and as a family, we were always doing musicals,” Soloway said. “So that was kind of the first impulse was to use song. And then ‘Transparent’ came about and it was such a beautiful experience and in many ways, some people have said that ‘Transparent’ has always been a show that wanted to be a musical ’cause there’s these musical numbers and always these scenes about Maura, who wanted the kids to come see her sing, and Shelly singing on a boat.”
In November 2017, Tambor was accused of harassing two trans women on the “Transparent” set, including co-star Trace Lysette and Van Barnes, the actor’s personal assistant. A third woman unrelated to the production, makeup artist Tamara Delbridge, later came forward with her own accusation. Tambor was fired that following February and has denied the accusations.
As TheWrap previously reported, Soloway had considered using Tambor in the season in a flashback-only role as his pre-transition character Mort Pfefferman, but that idea was nixed.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the details of the musical series finale.