Wilfred in the U.S.

Fuck. I. Laughed. I don't think I've laughed this hard since.... Well I don't know. This is exactly the type of show I've come to expect from FX, and it is even the channel's highest rating debut ever. All based on the Aussie show of the same name. This version is tamer and not quite as dark, but it's better for it I think, and it has a charm that the Aussie one didn't have. Elijah Wood's character Ryan is a less awkward and more interesting character that the guy in the SBS series, played by series Co-Creator, Adam Zwar. Jason Gann as Wilfred is the other Co-Creator and so far seems to be a bit more likeable than the Aust. version, even though he's the exact same character, just in a different country.

Wilfred is a dog. Ryan and the audience see him as a man in a dog suit who drinks beer, smokes and tokes and has all the same characteristics of a dog. Like how in Family Guy, when it comes down to it, Stewie is still a baby.

Although when all is said and done, the two shows are completely different for different settings. The first episode follows roughly the same plot as the Strayan one though. Complete with dug holes and weed stealing.

Wilfred in LA.

Ryan, played by Elijah Wood, is a depressed ex-Lawyer who lives by himself and probably masturbates a lot. He pines after his next door neighbour who owns Wilfred and has a sister who lines up a job for him which he blows off because he's hanging around Wilfred.

Wilfred smokes pot and cigs and drinks beer, you know, what all Aussies do, calls people mate and says Oi. This is where I think the show is more effective than the Aussie counterpart as Ryan the American, sees him as this Aussie in a dog suit. The Aussie one is set here so it's less.... good.

The Aussie cast.

In summary, it seems as if the US version may stick around longer than the Aust. version and I'm fine with that because although my native one was an outstanding series, the premise works better in another country. It proves that not all Aussie shows are a piece of shit, but most before around 2006 or '07 were. That seems to be around the time that TV stations here decided to pull out their collective fingers and put in some fucking effort.

Not all American adaptions work though.