In not-so-surprising news, production for the Amazon hit series “Transparent” is being delayed due to star Jeffrey Tambor’s dismissal. It was just a couple weeks ago that we found out that Tambor was being fired from the show, much to his disapproval, and now we know that the plans to reconfigure the show are going to take a little more time than fans might have hoped.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, production isn’t scheduled to begin on the upcoming season 5 of “Transparent” until the end of the year, possibly in December. Logistically, that means that fans won’t get the next season of the show until well into 2019.
Originally, before the Tambor controversy, “Transparent” was scheduled to begin production this year, with an air date in 2018, but when the lead actor suddenly is gone from the series, changes had to be made. No one knows how Amazon and creator Jill Soloway plan to move forward without Tambor’s Maura Pfefferman.
Apparently, all the options are still on the table, with recasting even a possibility. Could this be the opportunity for Amazon to cast a trans actress for the role? Perhaps, they’ll conceive of a way to write the trans parent out of “Transparent.” Another streaming series, “House of Cards,” was in a similar situation, but with a much more obvious plan to move forward with Robin Wright. Tambor’s character has always been the creative linchpin of the series, with the supporting characters getting their own smaller arcs.
With the delay to figure out how to move forward, fans will have to wait almost two full years between seasons. The fourth season debuted in September 2017, and depending on when the new season begins production, season 5 could be a Summer 2019 release.
However, with the controversy surrounding “Transparent,” a delay isn’t an altogether bad thing, either.