--- description: Amazon's Transparent is a gorgeous, nuanced story of a person undergoing change--and a sign of a TV business in transformation. title: Transparent Is the Best New TV Show of the Fall image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd47c1ecf3454add9/6986a1a63617606d3390dac8/amy-landecker-and-jeffrey-tambor-in-transparent.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Fall's Best New TV Show Is Not on a TV Network by [James Poniewozik](/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 2, 2014 1:08 PM CUT  Amy Landecker and Jeffrey Tambor in Transparent. Amy Landecker and Jeffrey Tambor in Transparent.Beth Dubber by [James Poniewozik](/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 2, 2014 1:08 PM CUT It’s been a momentous end-of-the-TV-summer while I’ve been on vacation–the Emmys [spun Sofia Vergara like a car-show model](http://time.com/3179558/2014-emmys-sofia-vergara/ "undefined"), Tony Soprano [lived](http://www.vox.com/2014/8/27/6006139/did-tony-die-at-the-end-of-the-sopranos "undefined") (or [maybe didn’t](http://time.com/3199270/david-chase-tony-soprano/ "undefined")), _Full House_ [might be coming back](http://www.people.com/article/full-house-reunion-revival-bob-saget-cast "undefined"). But Labor Day’s over, which means it’s time to put away the white shoes (unless [you’re Dr. John Thackery](http://costumedesignersguild.com/articles-videos/pick-of-the-week/the-knick/ "undefined")) and start thinking about fall. While I was away, Time published its fall preview, including my feature on [my top pick among the season’s new series](http://time.com/3204275/transparent-a-breasted-development/ "undefined"), _Transparent_, which premieres all 10 episodes Sept. 26 on Amazon Prime Video. I know we’re already well into the Netflix age, but there still seems something significant about the most promising pilot of the fall being produced on the e-commerce site of a massively embiggened bookstore. But Transparent would be worth seeking out no matter who made it. Created by Jill Soloway (_Six Feet Under_, _Afternoon Delight_), it stars Jeffrey Tambor as Maura Pfefferman, _née_ Mort Pfefferman, who is preparing to come out as transgender to the three adult children who have known her as a father their entire lives: --- > “” --- The full article requires a TIME subscription ([only $30 a year!](https://subscription.time.com/storefront/subscribe-to-time/site/td-52for30nong0514.html?link=1019480&fpa%5Foc=TD+Nongated+Control+Form-+Annual+Offer+Only "undefined")) but I’ll have more to say about the show when Amazon makes more episodes available for review before its premiere. In the meantime, I also recommend Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s [profile of Soloway](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/magazine/can-jill-soloway-do-justice-to-the-trans-movement.html "undefined") for the New York _Times_ magazine, in which Soloway (whose own father came out to her as transgender three years ago) talks about making a show that questions traditional gender pigeonholing–not just in the story but in the way that it’s made. (Which, she says, involves a “more feminine” approach to direction as well as hiring transgender cast, crew and consultants.) But above all, watch _Transparent_, whose pilot is [screening now on Amazon Prime](http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-HD/dp/B00I3MNF6S "undefined"). It’s a nuanced, gorgeous first half-hour, brilliantly performed and laced with melancholy and humor; you could confidently put it up against the best HBO or Showtime half-hour pilots of recent years. And the fact that platforms like Amazon now exist to give shows like this a chance says that not only Maura Pfefferman, but the TV business itself, is going through an exciting transformation. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3256184/transparent-amazon-best-fall-tv/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3256184/transparent-amazon-best-fall-tv/"},"headline":"Fall's Best New TV Show Is Not on a TV Network","datePublished":"2014-09-02T13:08:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:57:44.109Z","description":"Amazon's Transparent is a gorgeous, nuanced story of a person undergoing change--and a sign of a TV business in transformation.","url":"https://time.com/3256184/transparent-amazon-best-fall-tv/","keywords":["Television","Amazon","Transgender","TV","transparent"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd47c1ecf3454add9/6986a1a63617606d3390dac8/amy-landecker-and-jeffrey-tambor-in-transparent.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"James Poniewozik","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/james-poniewozik/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd47c1ecf3454add9/6986a1a63617606d3390dac8/amy-landecker-and-jeffrey-tambor-in-transparent.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TRANSPARENT","caption":"501B9172.CR2","creditText":"Beth Dubber","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3256184/transparent-amazon-best-fall-tv/","name":"Fall's Best New TV Show Is Not on a TV Network"}}]}] ```