7 Things We Learned About Transparent Season 2

Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent | Photo Credits: Amazon

This article, 7 Things We Learned About Transparent Season 2, originally appeared on TVGuide.com.

The cast and creator of Amazon's Emmy-nominated Transparent gathered at the Television Critics Association fall previews, and debuted a first look at the show's upcoming season, which premieres on Dec. 4. Here's what we learned:

1. The show hired a trans writer. In Season 2, the show has to do less educating, and can instead "take the bubble wrap off...letting Maura be as fallible as her children," Soloway says. To that end, she hired Our Lady J, a trans writer, to flesh out Maura's experiences. "Having trans writers and directors is important," Soloway says. "Trans people want to tell their own stories." Soloway credits an upcoming story in which Davina (Alexandra Billings) "re-genders" her childhood photos to Our Lady J's influence.

2. Sarah and Tammy are getting married. As you might expect, marriage only complicates things for the swift-moving couple. "It's going to be a year of revelation and maybe feeling some consequences I'm not sure she was in touch with last season," Amy Landecker teases. Specifically, the sneak peek shows that formerly sober Tammy (Melora Hardin) has fallen off the wagon.

3. Josh and Raquel are having a baby. In the Season 1 finale, Josh (Jay Duplass) met Colton, a beefy, pious Midwestern kid, the son he never knew he fathered with his babysitter Rita. But wait, there's more! In Season 2, he has apparently patched things up with Rabbi Raquel (Kathryn Hahn) and they're having a baby! But Duplass warns that not all is well with Josh. "Josh is a little bit of the whipping boy," he says. "Josh's journey this season - it definitely goes to a very dark place."

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4. Maura and Shelley are reconnecting... in the bedroom? As the former spouses try to navigate their new relationship, something crazy happens: They hook up! How exactly is unclear -- the sneak peek shows only a strategically edited foot massage and some writhing in a bathtub -- but it's clear that something has gone down. "So, are you guys lesbians now?" Ali asks her parents. "What you see is two people that have always loved each other and cared deeply about each other, and are deeply connected to each other," says Judith Light.

5. As are Ali and Syd! Ali rebuffed Syd's advances in Season 1, especially after she found out that Syd (Carrie Brownstein) had slept with Josh. But the mercurial, experimental Ali has apparently changed her mind about Syd in Season 2, because they are definitely together in this clip. (Strap-ons never lie.)

6. Bradley Whitford will be back... somehow. In a Season 1 flashback, Whitford played Maura's pal Marc/Marcy, with whom Maura attended cross-dressing camp. But now Whitford is back in Season 2, and according to Soloway, he's playing a new role, albeit also in a flashback. "It's very exciting," Whitford says. "It's like an actor recycling program."

7. Maura is no longer the central character. "She's sort of the gateway figure for so many stories that are evolving from this decision to be authentic," Jeffrey Tambor says. "[Transparent] is becoming more than just a story about a trans-parent or transitioning. It's about people seeking their freedom, all of us."

Transparent Season 2 premieres on Dec. 4. Are you looking forward to spending more time with the Pfeffermans? What do you want to see in the new season?

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