4.8 /10 1 Votes
Also known as 'All That Jazz Original language(s) English No. of episodes 12 Network TLC Language English | 4.7/10 IMDb Country of origin United States No. of seasons 2 First episode date 15 July 2015 Genre Reality television | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Jazz Jennings and family Awards GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program Similar I Am Cait, My Big Fat Fabulous Life, The Little Couple, Little People - Big World, Sister Wives Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I Am Jazz (announced as All That Jazz) is an American reality television series on TLC about a transgender girl named Jazz Jennings. The 11-part series features Jazz and her family "dealing with typical teen drama through the lens of a transgender youth."
Contents
I Am Jazz premiered on July 15, 2015, and has received very positive reviews.
Synopsis
Jazz Jennings, a South Florida teen, was assigned male at birth. Aged 5, Jennings was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in childhood, making her one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as gender dysphoric. Her parents, Greg and Jeanette, decided to support her female gender identity by her fifth birthday. Jazz has been in the spotlight since 2007, when at age 6, she did an interview with Barbara Walters discussing her gender identity. She did follow-up interviews, launched a foundation, and co-wrote a book, also called I Am Jazz. She has also posted videos about her life on YouTube.
I Am Jazz focuses on the "Jennings" family (the surname "Jennings" is a pseudonym, and any reference to the family's exact location is obscured) and their day-to-day lives. Jazz, who is about to go into high school, grapples with the usual teen angst in addition to her own challenges as a transgender girl. Her family, which includes her three siblings, parents and grandparents, also talk about their experiences.
Production
The 11-part series involved filming five days a week, including both days on the weekend. The series was initially called All That Jazz, but was retitled to I Am Jazz. The show takes its title from a 2011 documentary, I Am Jazz: A Family in Transition, that aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
The one-hour series premiere of I Am Jazz first aired at the same time Caitlyn Jenner was giving her acceptance speech for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2015 ESPY Awards on ABC.
Reception
Critic Brian Lowry of Variety praised I Am Jazz, calling it a "sensitively constructed series (in an admirable departure for the attention-seeking network)... Simply told and heartfelt, the show should add a welcome dimension to the education process, capturing the challenges associated with sexual identity at such a vulnerable age." James Poniewozik, in his review for Time magazine, stated that the reality show airing on the same network that recently pulled 19 Kids and Counting off the air feels like a "change of an era." Poniewozik writes, "I Am Jazz is an engaging story of a teen girl who has transitioned. But it is also the story of everyone else, transitioning." Marc Silver of the Washington Post wrote about the boom of transgender-theme shows on TV, including Jenner's upcoming reality show, I Am Cait: "I Am Cait will surely attract more viewers because of Jenner's fame. It's too soon to say how Jazz will fare. But with her humor and honesty, she's a tough act for Caitlyn Jenner to follow."
Awards
The show tied for best Outstanding Reality Program at the 27th annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Broadcast
Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on TLC on December 10, 2015.