# Wilfred (2011)

> A depressed young man sees his neighbor's dog as a crude, foul-mouthed Australian in a dog suit, and the surreal friendship pushes him to face his fears.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/36299

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 49
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Adam Zwar, Jason Gann
- Network: FX, FXX
- Cast: Elijah Wood, Jason Gann, Ed Helms, Fiona Gubelmann, Dorian Brown Pham, Chris Klein, Robin Williams, Rhea Perlman
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1703925/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: surreal, deadpan, irreverent, bleak, wistful, absurd

## What critics say

Audiences broadly regard Wilfred as a darkly absurd, surreal comedy whose strange premise and committed lead performances win it a loyal following, though its quality is seen to ease in later seasons.

## Synopsis

Wilfred (2011-2014) is an American surreal dark comedy created by Adam Zwar and Jason Gann for FX, later FXX. Elijah Wood plays Ryan Newman, a lost, anxious man whose life stalls after a breakup, and Jason Gann plays Wilfred, the crude, surly, irrepressibly honest Australian who appears to everyone else as an ordinary dog. The engine of the show is simple and strange: Ryan wants to get his life back in order, while Wilfred keeps pushing him into misadventures, bad decisions and uncomfortable confrontations with his fears. Each episode is a self-contained comic misadventure that still builds a serialized arc across four seasons and forty-nine half-hour installments. Fiona Gubelmann and Dorian Brown Pham fill out the household and social circle that watches Ryan unravel. The tone mixes bleak absurdity, awkward suburban comedy and sudden moments of sincerity, with a deadpan, slightly melancholic register. Fans of Atlanta, Maniac and Tuca and Bertie will find the same mix of surreal premise, sharp humor and emotional honesty.

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