I Am Cait reviews round-up: A fake, forced, boring reality TV series despite earnest intentions to help promote trans issues

Caitlyn Jenner's E! documentary doesn't deal with trans issues as well as other US reality TV shows such as 'I Am Jazz', say US critics

Caitlyn Jenner’s reality TV series I Am Cait has been promoted by E! ever since her big “reveal” on the front of Vanity Fair in June.

The documentary promised to show an honest portrayal of the gender transitioning process, with trailers featuring Jenner putting on her make-up as she discusses what it means to be “normal” – a sensitive subject for a reality TV show.

But while the series' aim to highlight issues transgender people face have been recognised by critics, reviewers are more sceptical about the way in which the show's earnest intentions are often undermined.

I Am Cait: What the critics think

I Am Cait tries to convey just how serious trans issues are

The Hollywood Reporter - The show builds up to an especially poignant segment in which Caitlyn, after going to elaborate lengths to ditch pursuing paparazzi, meets with the family of Kyler Prescott, a San Diego transgender teen who had recently committed suicide. The scene — in which Caitlyn mostly listens quietly as Kyler's mother talks about her late son — effectively underscores the series' stated message.

But it is often undermined by fake reactions

The AV Club - Is the big payoff—the Kardashian daughters “meeting” Caitlyn after what Caitlyn says has been an awkward and pointed avoidance—perfectly staged? Of course. Anything else is beyond the story Caitlyn, E!, and the producers want to tell.

New York Times - There’s no reason to doubt Ms. Jenner’s sincerity when she cites statistics about suicide among transgender teenagers or consoles a grieving parent, but you also can’t help noticing how she seems to be reading from a script.

And the dramatic tension is forced

The Atlantic - In its editing and with its seemingly pre-rehearsed speeches for the camera, I Am Cait mimics typical reality TV by trying to force dramatic narratives onto day-to-day life. And while spotting the fakeness was part of the fun of the Kardashians, here it verges on counterproductive.

Making for a boring reality TV show

Slate - I Am Cait is a respectable TV show with noble motives that easily evades my worst anxieties for it. And in doing so, it slams into what I never, ever could have imagined for it: dullness.

The Kardashians shouldn't have appeared

Variety - Still, if this series is supposed to represent “Caitlyn’s journey,” as E! has consistently described it, that’s mucked up to a degree by bringing her famous daughters and stepdaughters into the mix, including a visit from Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. While Jenner’s interactions with her extended family are clearly part of the narrative, there’s a pandering quality to shoehorning the couple and daughter Kylie into the premiere, as if E! and the producers needed a security blanket to make sure they catered to that audience too.

Other shows portray trans issues better

The New York Times - Other current shows about transgender people, like TLC’s “I Am Jazz”(about the tremendously winning teenage girl Jazz Jennings) and ABC Family’s “Becoming Us,” are also generally upbeat but are more able to generate some tension and discord, perhaps because they focus on younger people and take place outside the celebrity bubble of affirmation.

Eight-part series I Am Cait continues on E! next Sunday.