Wilfred (U.S. TV series)

Wilfred
Genre	Buddy comedy Philosophical fiction
Created by	Jason Gann Adam Zwar Tony Rogers
Developed by	David Zuckerman
Starring	Elijah Wood Jason Gann Fiona Gubelmann Dorian Brown
Composer(s)	Jim Dooley
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	David Zuckerman Rich Frank Paul Frank Jeff Kwatinetz Joe Connor Ken Conner Co-executive producers: Jason Gann Randall Einhorn
Running time	20 minutes
Production company(s)	Prospect Park Fox Television Studios FX Productions SBS Australia Starline Entertainment St. Western Films Zook, Inc. Renegade Australia
Broadcast
Original channel	FX
Original run	June 23, 2011 (2011-06-23) – present
Chronology
Related shows	Wilfred (TV series)
External links
Official website

Wilfred is an American sitcom television series which debuted on June 23, 2011, and is based on the Australian SBS One series of the same name. It stars Elijah Wood and series co-creator Jason Gann, reprising his role of the eponymous dog Wilfred. The series was adapted for the American television channel FX by Family Guy veteran David Zuckerman. It was picked up for a second season on August 6, 2011. ^[1]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Main cast 2.2 Recurring cast 2.3 Guest stars 3 Production 3.1 Development 3.2 Casting 4 Reception 5 International broadcast 6 References 7 External links

Plot

Wilfred follows a young man named Ryan (Elijah Wood) and his neighbor's dog Wilfred (Jason Gann). At first Ryan is suicidal, attempting to kill himself several times in the first episode. Ryan's female neighbor, Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann), asks him to look after her dog for the day. Ryan is taken aback as he sees Wilfred as an Australian man in a dog suit, while everyone else sees Wilfred as just a dog.^[2][3]

Cast

Main cast

• Elijah Wood as Ryan Newman, the depressed and looking-for-more-in-life protagonist. Originally a washed-up lawyer, Ryan was on the verge of suicide until he met Wilfred, who advises him to live life his way.
• Jason Gann as Wilfred, Jenna's seven-year old dog. He is protective of his owner and manipulative toward Ryan, to whom he becomes a mentor. He smokes cigarettes and marijuana, drinks beer, eats junk food, and is prone to various vices. While Ryan and the viewers see Wilfred as a man in a dog suit, he is a normal dog through everyone else's eyes.
• Fiona Gubelmann as Jenna, Ryan's perky, attractive neighbor and Wilfred's owner.
• Dorian Brown as Kristen Newman, Ryan's older and controlling sister.

Recurring cast

• Ethan Suplee as Spencer, the rude and loud neighbor.
• Chris Klein as Drew, Jenna's obnoxious boyfriend, whom Wilfred does not like.
• Gerry Bednob as Mr. Patel, the grumpy Indian neighbor.
• J.P. Manoux as Leo, Kristen's husband.

Guest stars

• Ed Helms as Daryl, a doggie day-care manager who supposedly molested Wilfred during his stay at the day-care.
• Rashida Jones as Lisa, who runs the local hospice.
• Chip Esten as Nick, Jenna's old friend who she once interviewed.
• Mary Steenburgen as Catherine, Ryan's mother.
• Jane Kaczmarek as Beth, a single mother with whom Ryan gets in a car accident.
• Dwight Yoakam as Bruce, a mysterious man from Wilfred's past. He is the only other character on the show who views Wilfred the way Ryan does.
• Rhea Perlman as Mittens, an anthropomorphic cat seen by Ryan's mother.

Production

Development

Wilfred is based on the critically acclaimed Australian series of the same name and was adapted for FX by Family Guy veteran David Zuckerman.^[4] Wilfred is produced by FX Productions while the executive producers include: Zuckerman;^[5][3][6] Rich and Paul Frank; Jeff Kwatinetz; and Joe and Ken Connor from the original Australian series. Wilfred co-creator Jason Gann and Randall Einhorn serve as co-executive producers. Einhorn directed 10 episodes of the first season and Victor Nelli, Jr. directed three.^[5] The pilot episode was filmed in summer 2010,^[3][6] written by Zuckerman, and directed by Einhorn.^[6] The show was shot primarily with the inexpensive Canon EOS 7D dSLR camera.

Unlike the Australian version—which concentrated equally on Wilfred, his owner, and her boyfriend—the American version is presented as a buddy comedy between Wilfred and Ryan.^[7]

Casting

The casting of Elijah Wood as Ryan was announced on June 29, 2010.^[3][6] Ryan is described as "an introverted and troubled young man struggling unsuccessfully to make his way in the world until he forms a unique friendship with Wilfred, his neighbor's canine pet."^[2] Series co-creator Jason Gann also reprises his role of the eponymous dog Wilfred, a character described by Zuckerman as being a mixed breed dog who is "part Labrador Retriever and part Russell Crowe on a bender".^[3][6] Fiona Gubelmann stars as Jenna, Wilfred's owner and Ryan's next-door neighbor, who works as a local news producer.^[8] Dorian Brown was then cast as Kristen, Ryan's controlling and condescending older sister.^[9]

Reception

Critical reception of the US adaptation of Wilfred was comparable to that of the original Australian series, with generally positive reviews. Review aggregator website Metacritic gives the series an average of 67 out of 100. Curt Wagner, writing in Redeye (The Chicago Tribune), said: "Stuffed with absurd situations and piles of bad taste, Wilfred is the strangest new show on TV. And the funniest."^[10] David Wiegand, in the San Francisco Chronicle, said: "Wilfred works on many levels, something that may not become apparent until after you stop laughing."^[11]

Some of the less positive reviews included Mike Hale, who wrote in the New York Times: "Some shows aspire to cult status; this one goes straight there, practically bypassing the need to be broadcast at all," but concluded: "Gann’s bits of doggie business ... are reliably humorous, but beyond that the show doesn’t offer a lot of bark or bite."^[12] Tom Gliatto of People Weekly also gave a less positive review, saying, "The show is The Odd Couple redefined by psychosis and whimsy. I'm not wagging my tail."^[13]

International broadcast

• Australia - Premiered on Eleven, June 28, 2011, in the Tuesday 9:30pm timeslot.^[14]
• Canada - Premiers on October 31, 2011, in the Thursday 10pm timeslot, as an anchor title for the launch of the FX Canada network.^[15][16]
• Ireland - Premiered on BBC Three, August 16, 2011, in the 10.30pm timeslot.^[17]
• United Kingdom - Premiered on BBC Three, August 16, 2011, in the 10.30pm timeslot.^[17]
• Latin America - Premiered on FX, November 13, 2011, in the 11.00pm timeslot.

References

External links

• Official website
• Wilfred at the Internet Movie Database
• Wilfred at TV.com

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