The first look at Transparent’s fourth season has arrived; and it turns out life does go on after your mother earnestly sings all of Alanis Morissette’s “One Hand in My Pocket” on a cruise ship stage.
The one-minute teaser trailer for the next chapter in Jill Soloway’s series spends a good 10 seconds bragging about the show’s many (quite deserved) accolades, before giving us glimpses into what’s happening with the Pfeffermans, i.e. how they’re supporting each other while also making each other very miserable. It truly is a teaser — more of a reminder that these characters exist and will soon be coming back in full than a platform for Season 4 plot revelations.
There are some good quotes — Jeffrey Tambor’s Maura gratefully talking about “getting to date life,” Amy Landecker’s Sarah emphasizing that “family’s gross, but it’s important.” But unfortunately the marketing behind this one is really trying to push sentimentality (which the show itself never does excessively), setting this trailer to a song that sounds like a collaboration between Of Monsters and Men and Hallmark.
Though the trailer alone might not reveal too much about what’s going to happen in the fourth season, Amazon also released a summary alongside it. Apparently the season, largely set in Israel, will see “the Pfeffermans [taking] off on a spiritual and political journey as they dig deep into their family’s history.” Some major discovery occurs when Maura goes to Israel to speak at a conference — and the other Pfeffermans join her for “an explosive adventure.” Again, odd marketing for a show that’s been more about the subtle social politics of love, gender, and family than a live-action The Wild Thornberrys.
Watch the trailer: