Bruce Jenner’s gender transition gets a documentary series
With the announcement that E! will air a new documentary series this summer about Bruce Jenner’s transition from male to female, fans are eagerly awaiting bearing witness to the former Olympian’s journey.
The as yet not titled eight-part, one-hour series is set to premiere July 26. Jenner, who along with his family has starred in the hit E! reality series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” recently went public with the fact that he is transgender.
Here are a few things we hope the new show will offer:
Fans of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” often got to see the sometimes strained relationship between Bruce and his wife Kris. As the Kardashian family matriarch who also manages her kids’ careers, Kris butted heads with Bruce over everything from their children to his desire for more privacy.
The pair announced they had filed for divorce in September 2014 after some time of living apart. There has been plenty of speculation regarding Kris Jenner’s feelings about Bruce’s transitioning though she tweeted her support after he made the announcement Friday during an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer.
Before he was a realty television star, Jenner was a popular motivational speaker. He is already being hailed for bringing attention to the transgender community.
“Bruce is incredibly courageous and an inspiration, and we are proud to be entrusted with this deeply personal and important story,” said Jeff Olde, executive vice president of programming and development for E! “This series will present an unfiltered look as Bruce boldly steps into uncharted territory and is true to himself for the first time.”
According to E! Jennifer Finney Boylan, who is the national co-chair of GLAAD, will serve as a consultant on Jenner’s series.
“Orange Is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox, who is transgender, has also offered Jenner her support.
“I think a lot of people tuned in expecting to see a spectacle, and they tuned in and saw a profoundly nuanced, complicated, beautiful human being,” Cox told MSNBC’s Janet Mock.
Jenner is extremely close with his children.
He has six biological kids with former wives Chrystie Scott, Linda Thompson, and Kris Jenner. He also helped raise Kris Jenner’s four children — Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Robert Kardashian — from her first marriage.
“Those are the ones I’m concerned with and the only ones I don’t — I can’t allow, I can’t let myself hurt them,” Jenner told Sawyer during their interview about his fear in telling his children.
Many of his kids appear supportive of his transition and his two youngest, daughter Kendall and Kylie, released the following statement to ABC about their father: “We love our dad very much as he is an amazing father. We couldn’t ask for a better dad. He has the biggest heart and all we want for him is to be happy. If he’s happy, we’re happy.”
Jenner has long been one of the world’s most popular Olympic gold medalists. Viewers of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” often praised him for being so level-headed amidst all the paparazzi-fueled chaos.
But with his new series Jenner will be taking center stage and venturing into completely new territory at a time when some still grapple with issues of gender and sexuality.
He sounds like he is ready.
“We’re going to make a difference in the world with what we’re doing, and if the whole Kardashian show gave me a foothold into that world, to be able to go out there and do something good, I got not problem with that,” Jenner told Sawyer.
KIM KARDASHIAN SUPPORTS BRUCE JENNER ‘100%’
LOS ANGELES — After Bruce Jenner drew in 17 million viewers Friday night for his ABC special about his gender transition, his stepdaughter Kim Kardashian West spoke to “Today’s” Matt Lauer about her reaction to the situation.
“I support him 100%,” she said. “We all really support him. Is it a hard adjustment? Yes.”
See More:Bruce Jenner’s E! TV Series: The Risk to His New Reputation
The reality star went on to explain that her family experienced “every emotion you could possibly imagine” while processing Jenner’s decision, and that they handle their feelings through frequent family meetings.
“Say what you want about us, but we work out everything as a family and we have the best communication,” West said.
West said she and her family sought advice from organizations like the LGBT-focused GLAAD for guidance regarding pronoun usage and other questions. (GLAAD, along with other transgender equality leaders, has voiced its support for Jenner’s public announcement).
Review:Bruce Jenner Overcomes Hype in Diane Sawyer Interview
In response to Lauer wondering whether Jenner is prepared for any heightened attention that his transition might incite, West said she’s confident that he’s ready for it.
“When you’re finally ready to be your true self, then you’re prepared for anything.”
The announcement of Jenner’s new series about his process has already been met with the full array of reactions, including Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Andrew Wallenstein, who called the interview “a poignant, restrained, socially conscious portrait of a person looking to set an example.”
