'Wilfred' Premiere Episodes

Wilfred takes a unique premise and squanders a lot of its potential, going the safe sitcom route too often instead of taking advantage of the comedic possibilities of a man who sees his neighbor’s dog as a person in a dog suit.

Based on an Australian series that aired in the U.S. with little fanfare on IFC, Wilfred certainly starts out with a unique premise: To most people, the title character is an ordinary dog, but neurotic slacker Ryan (Elijah Wood) sees Wilfred as an adult man in a cheap-looking dog suit, played by actor Jason Gann (who co-created and starred in the Australian version). Ryan’s neighbor Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann) is Wilfred’s owner, and naturally Ryan has a crush on her (and, in keeping with time-honored TV conventions, she of course has a jerk boyfriend). Once Ryan gets over his unique perception of Wilfred, which happens fairly quickly, he and the dog-man establish a pretty familiar dude-bonding dynamic, sitting around drinking, smoking pot and talking about what Ryan plans to do with his life.

Wilfred settles into the role of the semi-antagonist friend who pushes the nervous, insecure Ryan to take more chances with his life. While that can take the show to some dark places, it ultimately falls back on a lot of familiar jokes and sitcom devices (the main storyline of the second episode involves Ryan promising never to lie to Wilfred, and then immediately being put in a situation in which he has to do just that). There are some funny bits that take advantage of the clash between Wilfred’s canine nature and human appearance, including an amusing scene in which he chases the light from a laser pointer, but most of the time the show is like any other about two friends with differing personalities. That’s not to say that decent acting and strong character development couldn’t make it worth watching, but Wilfred doesn’t quite have that yet, either.

Jenna is little more than an unattainable cipher for Ryan to pine after, and Ryan’s sister Kristen is a stereotypical nag. Even Ryan himself develops little beyond the fussy personality on display in the first episode as he embarks on a failed suicide attempt. Those hints at darker storytelling are generally brushed aside in favor of obvious hijinks, although later episodes may spend more time exploring the show’s more complex themes. Until then, the best it can offer is stoner jokes and the diminishing comedic potential of a guy dressed as a dog.

Disclosure: A review screener was provided by the network. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.