Review: 'I Am Cait'

When reviewing a show like I AM CAIT, it's impossibe to separate the show from the very real personal turmoil that created it. It was probably always inevitable that when former Kardashian family step-dad Bruce Jenner underwent a very public gender transition and name change to Caitlyn that there would be cameras there to capture the event. After all, KEEPING UP WITH KARDASHIANS is a linchpin of the E! primetime lineup and there is a massive amount of public interest about the challenges Jenner has faced during a period which would be difficult for anyone. Much less someone who is very much in the public eye and who much of the public still remembers as an iconic American male Olympian.

I can't imagine how tough it has been coming to terms with your real self and finding the courage to reveal it to your family and the world at large. Caitlyn is a brave woman and for that, she certainly deserves our support.

Yet from what I've seen of I AM CAIT (just the first episode), being a courageous person doesn't always translate to having a story I'd want to watch every week. Although I suspect the show will be a huge ratings triumph for everyone involved. It's tempting to want to make the show some referendum on gender transistion and personal courage. But once you get past that and the occassional entertaining scene (like watching a very uncomfortable Kanye West try and figure out what to say), there isn't much to hold my attention.

Gender transition can be the basis for a great television series and if you want to see one, TLC's I AM JAZZ is a much more impressive show. For all of the personal challenges faced by Jenner, she has a huge amount of both professional and personal support. A gender transition is never easy, but Jenner's resources and support make I AM CAIT a much less compelling show.

I AM JAZZ is the story of a soon-to-be high schooler who has always felt that despite the body parts she was born with, she was born to be a woman. The series premiere does a wonderful job of explaining her decision and you get more insight into the challenges face by the average person contemplating gender transition in the first episode of I AM JAZZ than you probably will in the entire eight-episode season of I AM CAIT.

There's nothing inherently wrong with I AM CAIT and there is a certain voyeristic thrill to seeing such a familiar public figure undergoing a gender transition in front of the world. But if you want to understand the challenges faced by every other person in the world who has transitioned, then I AM JAZZ is a much better choice.

I AM CAIT premieres on E! on Sunday, July 26th.

I AM JAZZ airs Wednesdays on TLC at 10/9c.