Every week we’re bringing you recommendations for great movies or TV shows streaming on Netflix. This week’s selection is…
“Wilfred” (8 out of 10) – Based on the short film and Australian television series of the same name; Created by Jason Gann and Adam Swar; Developed for FX by David Zuckerman; Starring Jason Gann, Elijah Wood, Fiona Gubelmann, and Dorian Brown; Originally aired June 23, 2011.
“Wilfred” began as a seven minute short film in 2002. The short won awards for Best Comedy and Best Actor at Tropfest and was later shown at the 2003 Sundance film festival. After gaining success at film festivals the short film was expanded to a 20 minute pilot and shopped around before eventually finding a home on SBS One where it ran for two seasons.
Wilfred is a story of Australian mateship: “…it’s a story about two blokes; just one happens to be a dog
Eventually adaptation rights for “Wilfred” were sold Prospect Park and found a home on U.S. television on FX. Jason Gann, the actor who plays Wilfred moved to Los Angeles to develop the U.S. and reprise his role.
The two series resemble each other only in the character of Wilfred and his mysterious relationship to the human male lead. In the Australian series the plot centers on Wilfred doubting the addition of a new man to his owner’s life as well as Wilfred’s desire to bond with him. Zwar, the series co-creator, has stated “Wilfred is a story of Australian mateship: “…it’s a story about two blokes; just one happens to be a dog”
The U.S. interpretation lasted four seasons with Elijah Wood playing the second lead of Ryan, this series has a much heavier focus on mental health and the true nature of Wilfred as an entity, meaning that it often deals with heavy themes, though the humor is still largely derived from seeing an anthropomorphized form behaving as a dog.
Throughout the series Ryan struggles with depression and a family history of mental disease as well as wanting to develop a close relationship with his neighbor Jenna who is also Wilfred’s owner. As the series progresses the nature of Wilfred becomes less clear, implying that perhaps Ryan isn’t crazy and Wilfred really is exactly as he appears. Ryan attempts to figure out who he is, what the events of his life mean, and how to live a normal life with a best friend that no one else can see as he does.
Ryan and Wilfred spend a large majority of their time hanging out in a basement that may or may not exist, and while Wilfred might only be a figment of Ryan’s imagination, the advice and direction he provides more often than not tend to point Ryan in the right direction.
2014 saw the final season of “Wilfred” moving from FX to FXX and the mysteries the series laid out come to a head. That final season began streaming on Netflix recently and while the finale leaves some questions vague and largely unanswered, it provides a satisfying conclusion.
Disclaimer: binge watching Wilfred may cause feelings of detachment and questioning of reality. Watch with caution, or don’t, I’m not the boss of you.
Wilfred earns a score of eight out of ten for being one of the more hilarious and bizarre television series to come out in recent years and for exploring ideas of depression, what it might be like to be a dog, and making me have feelings for a character that probably doesn’t exist.