One of FX’s weirdest sitcoms ever is Wilfred, which ran for four seasons and starred Elijah Wood. Wood plays a mild-mannered man named Ryan Newman. After a suicide attempt, Ryan begins to hallucinate that his neighbor's dog Wilfred is speaking to him. Other people see Wilfred as a regular dog, but the audience and Ryan both see him as a man in a fuzzy dog suit. Wilfred is played by Australian comedian Jason Gann, who originally created the character for an Australian TV show, and then reprised the role for the American version.
‘Wilfred’ Pushes a Simple Premise to the Edge
The premise of Wilfred feels like classic sitcom stuff: The Odd Couple but with a talking dog in the vein of Family Guy; Family Guy writer David Zuckerman actually developed the show. But, the goofy premise is fully fleshed out by the writing team. The details in Wilfred will resonate with dog owners. This often means crude laughs, like Wilfred peeing when he gets scared or his ongoing sexual affairs with big stuffed animals. But, it can also tug at the audience emotionally. In the final season, Wilfred gets sick and scenes like the ones where he refuses to eat no matter what Ryan offers him are sure to hit hard for anyone who's loved a pet.
Wilfred frequently reminds the audience that "what if a dog started talking to you" is more than a goofy sitcom premise, it's an idea with scary connotations. Ryan’s fears that he’s losing his mind are treated genuinely and questions arise throughout the series about exactly why Ryan has the gift — or curse — to talk to this dog. Ryan's concern that he's going crazy leads to frank discussions with his family, reopening old familial wounds. Mary Steenburgen plays his mother, Catherine, who also struggles with mental health. Dexter's James Remar plays his controlling father, Henry, who once had her institutionalized. Both of these are strong performances that lean more dramatic than funny. During the scene where Ryan and his mother talk frankly about Henry's toxic ways of controlling them and wonder if he just wanted to protect them, it's hard to believe the whole plot kicked off because of the silly concept of Ryan being able to talk to a foul-mouthed dog. Wood’s performance sells the emotional journey of the show, navigating the serious material just as well as the slapstick.
Wilfred is as deeply sad and emotionally raw as any dramedy. But, despite the more serious aspects,Wilfed never forgets to be a cartoonish, gross-out comedy. Wilfred is reminiscent of the Hormone Monsters on Big Mouth as he gives Ryan raunchy, unfiltered, disgusting guidance in life. He also has a sadistic streak that leads to over-the-top hijinx, pulling stunts like putting a shock collar on Ryan in one episode.
For an example of how edgy and crude the show gets, look at the Season 1 episode "Pride." Ryan has an awkward date with a woman named Beth (guest star Jane Kaczmarek), who he's not interested in. When Beth implies that Ryan hooked up with her during the night, he's horrified to realize that Wilfred licked her, and she mistakenly thought it was him. The uncomfortable episode pushes cringe comedy to its absolute limits and shows how brazen Wilfred can be.
Wilfred belongs to Ryan’s neighbor Jenna Mueller, played by Fiona Gubelmann from The Good Doctor. Ryan has feelings for Jenna and their will-they-won’t-they consistently subverts sitcom expectations. Jenna’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Drew (Chris Klein) is a goofy himbo who Wilfred hates. In most sitcoms, a character like Drew would be an obvious temporary obstacle to Ryan and Jenna’s happiness, not a genuine threat. But, on Wilfred,Jenna actually goes through with marrying him. This is just one example of how unpredictable this sitcom can be.
When Wilfred becomes convinced that he has to get Ryan and Jenna together so that Ryan can be happy, it feels like a meta-commentary on sitcom will-they-won't-theys. Even as Wilfred is determined to make Ryan happy by setting him up with Jenna, Ryan has to face the reality that this is a fantasy. The show hammers home the message that relationships are messy and getting together with someone isn't a magical solution to anyone's problems. Wilfred is a truly unique show that's sure to leave a lasting impression. The FX series is unflinching in how hard it is on Ryan, almost never alleviating his suffering in the ways you would expect a sitcom to, and yet it delivers real laughs along with its melancholy exploration of depression.
Wilfred is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
Wilfred is a sitcom that ran for four seasons from 2011 to 2014. The series was created by Jason Gann and Adam Zwar and is based on the Australian television show of the same name. The plot follows a young man who forms a strange relationship with his neighbor's dog, who he sees as a crass-talking man in a cheaply-made dog suit, rather than a normal canine like everyone else.
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Image via FX 
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