WILFRED is one of the weirdest shows on U.S. TV, which probably is why we love it. Turns out, though, that this heartwarming saga of a man and his neighbor’s dog is in danger of cancellation. Here’s what’s happening, and what you can do about it:
Please don’t let them put Wilfred to sleep
by The Bitter Script Reader
I’m going to ask you guys for a favor. If it is at all within your power, please check out the sitcom WILFRED this Thursday night at 10pm on the FX Network. I’ve heard rumblings that the show’s low ratings this season have cast doubt on the show’s chances for a renewal for a fourth year. In fact, this week could make all the difference for the show’s survival. If this season truly is the end of the line, then that would be a shame as WILFRED is one of the most unique shows on TV. In fact, it’s one of my favorite current shows. (Full disclosure: I’m friends with one of the actors, but I’d be a fan of the show regardless.)
I think of WILFRED as sort of an adult Calvin & Hobbes if Hobbes was a dog – and a Machiavellian sociopath. Elijah Wood plays Ryan, a former lawyer who starts seeing his neighbor’s dog Wilfred (Jason Gann) as a human in a dog suit. Wilfred has a biting sense of humor and a near omnipotent ability to manipulate a situation to his ends, even when Ryan thinks he’s seen through the dog’s agenda. Many of Wilfred’s schemes involve playing on Ryan’s crush on Wilfred’s owner Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann), with the dog alternately seeming to help Ryan look good in front of Jenna or often putting him in compromising situations for reasons that suit Wilfred’s ends. After another couple of seasons, TVTropes.com might have to rename “the Xanatos Gambit” to “The Wilfred Gambit.”
The announcement appeared – where else? – on Yule’s Facebook page as his friends swarmed it with every article ever written on the subject and the kind of sincere congratulations we thought existed only in our fantasies. While we don’t know Yule, he’s obviously a hell of a good guy and we’re happy as can be for him.
The problem with the idea of the “movie star” is that film studios buy into it. This results in good movies not getting made because they haven’t attracted a star and bad movies going into production because they did get a big name to sign on the line that is dotted. On almost every film I have produced, the final hurdle to being green-lit was getting a studio-approved actor to say “yes.”
by Herbie J Pilato