[1] The story revolves around a Los Angeles family, the Pfeffermans, and their lives after learning that their parent (Jeffrey Tambor) is a trans woman now going by the name Maura.

Transparent moves away from a solely transition-centred narrative and represents Maura's story in her role as a trans parent, grandparent, professor, partner, ex-spouse, sibling, and as an older person transitioning.

[20] The series had faced earlier criticism regarding the initial casting of Tambor, a cisgender man, in the role of a trans woman.

[29][30][31] Tambor had previously portrayed transvestite judge Alan Wachtel on the police procedural television show Hill Street Blues in the 1980s.

Joey Soloway, the series' primary creator, is Jewish and consulted Rabbi Susan Goldberg of Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

There's a mandate among religious and spiritual thinkers to be thinking about the binary, the gendered, the feminist, the goddess, and Amichai reminds me of that every day.

"[36] Soloway said that they hoped to use the series to explore ideas of gender identity through a "wounded parent being replaced by a blossoming femininity" and that they pictured Tambor as Maura when writing the character.

[37] As part of the making of the show, Soloway enacted a "transfirmative action program", whereby trans applicants were hired in preference to non-trans ones.

[57] He added:"... [The] show looks gorgeous and displays an instant command of both tone and this particular pocket of life in Los Angeles; Soloway is incredibly confident in introducing us to the parts of the show that are more universally relatable (a marriage gone sour, a disappointing child), knowing that we'll then follow her into more unfamiliar territory—not just with Maura, but the many disreputable behaviors her kids get tangled up in.

The site's critical consensus read: "Transparent's second season ups its dramatic stakes while retaining the poignancy and humor that have made the series such a consistently entertaining example of the best that modern serial drama has to offer.

The site's critical consensus read, "Uniquely its own, and compelling and poignant as ever, Transparent continues to transcend the parameters of comedic and dramatic television with sustained excellence in its empathetic portrayal of the Pfefferman family.

The site's critical consensus read, "Transparent's fourth season forsakes tight narrative discipline for an absorbingly unwieldy continued exploration of the show's uniquely ambitious themes.

The site's critical consensus read, "Though it won't be for everyone, Transparent's singular musical finale grants its audience closure while giving its groundbreaking characters something they never expected: something resembling a happy ending"[53] while Metacritic granted the finale an average rating of 55 of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".