“Transparent” creator Jill Soloway confirmed that Jeffrey Tambor’s character will be killed off in the two-hour series finale, after the actor was fired from the show in 2018.
The upcoming musical finale will feature the death of Tambor’s main character, a transgender woman named Maura, and depict the Pfefferman family coping with the loss, Soloway told the Los Angeles Times.
“We were all in mourning in many ways, and we all had to process together,” Soloway said. “It was important [for the show] to go through all those stages. The show has always been a reflection of who we were, and we were mourning our own narrative.”
Tambor was fired by Amazon Studios last February, following accusations of sexual harassment on set by transgender actresses Van Barnes and Trace Lysette. Soloway had said they weren’t sure how to continue with plans of a fifth season without Tambor, and considered “it might be easier just to stop.”
However, they later decided to end the show with a musical finale, titled “The Transparent Musical Finale,” which will be released on the streaming service in September. Soloway directed and wrote the installment, with songs penned by their sister, Faith Soloway. Song titles include “Your Boundary Is My Trigger” and “Sepulveda Boulevard,” which is sung in the movie by Amy Landecker (who plays Sarah).
Soloway said the musical finale will allow family members Shelly (Judith Light), Sarah (Landecker), Josh (Jay Duplass), and Ali (Gaby Hoffmann) Pfefferman to deal with Maura’s death.
“People say when they’re making musicals that there are moments when the characters have to sing because they can’t put something into words,” Soloway said. “I think it’s the same thing with what our show went through: We felt like we needed a different way of looking at the family. And we did it through song.”
Soloway previously also discussed plans to take “Transparent” to Broadway, using these songs and telling the full story of the show.