Wilfred is an Australian comedy television series created by Adam Zwar, Jason Gann and Tony Rogers based on their award-winning 2002 short film. The story follows the lives of the eponymous dog Wilfred, his owner Sarah, and her boyfriend Adam, who sees Wilfred as a man in a dog suit. It was directed by Tony Rogers, produced by Jenny Livingston and stars Gann, Zwar and Cindy Waddingham.

Two series were broadcast on SBS One, the first in 2007 and the second in 2010. The series won three AFI Awards and was nominated for a Logie.

Independent Film Channel acquired the international broadcast rights to the original two series of Wilfred in 2010. An American remake premiered on the cable channel FX on 23 June 2011.

Background Wilfred creators, longtime friends Jason Gann and Adam Zwar, met at the University of Southern Queensland in 1990, where Gann studied acting and Zwar studied journalism. Adam Zwar later met future co-star Cindy Waddingham and director Tony Rogers in September 2001 while filming a commercial for HBA health insurance (he was the buck-toothed client who sprayed the slogan "Three for free").HBA Insurance: "Get three months extras free". YouTube.

The idea that became Wilfred came from a late-night conversation between Gann and Zwar in November 2001. Zwar told of how he was invited back to the home of a young woman whose dog became suspicious and jealous of him. The pair began improvising a scenario between a man and a protective dog, and quickly realized the story was a great basis for a short film – they wrote a script that night. With a self-funded budget of A$4,000, they shot the seven-minute film the following week, and two months later it won Best Comedy at the 2002 Tropfest, with Gann additionally winning Best Actor. In January 2003, the film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Despite some reservations about Wilfred's brief use of the word "cunt", it was well received by the American audience.

After the success of the short, Zwar, Gann, and Rogers worked with Melbourne production team Renegade Films to extend the 7-minute short to a 20-minute pilot, merging the original footage seamlessly into new. Networks were initially unenthusiastic about the pilot – according to Rogers, "Wilfred was rejected by every television network twice". It was eventually picked up by Matt Campbell at SBS. Commissioning editor Debbie Lee offered the team unusually wide artistic freedom, saying "Go as far as you want – the more bent the better". Finally, the 25-minute pilot episode was completed in 2006, comprising material shot over five years.

Production The first series of Wilfred was shot in and around Richmond, Victoria,Wilfred Series 1 DVD – Extras – Crew Montage 1 beginning in April 2006, with David Stevens as director of photography. It was shot in 16mm on a budget of A$1.6 million. Of this, $210,000 was provided by Film Victoria and $400,000 by the Australian Film Commission.

Film Victoria approved funding for a second series in early 2009. With Germain McMicking as director of photography, Wilfred II was shot in Kodak 16mm on an Aaton Xtera Super 16 using ARRI/Zeiss Ultra Prime lenses. Although he and director Tony Rogers considered using digital cameras, they were so happy with the film tests that they did not bother inquiring further about digital. The flexibility of film suited the production's modest budget and tight schedule. "Rebooting a RED camera isn’t something you want with actors under the lights in dog suits or in a taxing scene," said McMicking.

Series 2 was shot over eight weeks, finishing in August 2009. The second series also received federal funding, with Film Victoria contributing $294,048 and Screen Australia contributing $580,000.

Cast

Main Cast RoleDO NOT ADD ELIJAH WOOD, FIONA GUBELMANN, DORIAN BROWN OR ETHAN SUPLEE TO THIS LIST. SEE Wilfred (U.S. TV series). --> Adam Zwar AdamCindy Waddingham SarahJason Gann Wilfred Kym Gyngell Jack UnderwoodAngus Sampson Cyros Damian Walshe-Howling Keith Kate Jenkinson Caddy Kestie Morassi Kat Josh Lawson Spencer David Field Arthur

Guests Cast Role Episode Alex Menglet Orpheous 1 episode Angus Sampson Cyros 1 episode Damian Walshe-Howling Keith 1 episode Ditch Davey Clarance 1 episode Jessica Gower Annika 1 episode Kate Jenkinson Caddy 1 episode Kym Gyngell Dr Jack Underwood 3 episodes Paul Denny Tony 1 episode Samuel Johnson Sam 1 episode

Crew Crew JobAdam Zwar Writer/CreatorJason Gann Writer/CreatorTony Rogers Director/ProducerJenny Livingston ProducerJoe Connor Executive ProducerSam Mallet MusicDavid Stevens CinematographerRichard Hamer Film EditorRob Hornbuckle Production Sound MixerHelen McGrath Boom OperatorMike Cowap Project ManagerPaul Di Cintio Location Manager

Characters

Wilfred Wilfred, Sarah's dog, is nine years old and 1/16th dingo (the rest is a mix of German Shepherd and Labrador).Series 1, Episode 8 – This Dog's Life"Series 2, Episode 1 – "Kiss Me Kat"Australian Series 2, Episode 7 – Dog Star" He is protective of his owner, and insecure and manipulative towards her boyfriends. He smokes cigarettes and marijuana, drinks beer, eats junk food, and is prone to foul language, malapropisms, and sexual urges. While Adam (and the viewer) sees Wilfred as a man in a dog suit, to everyone else he is just a normal dog. He has been described as "extremely smart for a dog, but pretty dumb for a human."

Little is revealed about Wilfred's past in the first series. It is implied that Sarah is not Wilfred's first owner, and that he served numerous stints at the pound before being adopted by her.Series 1, Episode 7 – "Barking Behind Bars"

In the second series, this backstory was changed. It is revealed that Wilfred in fact grew up with Sarah and her parents in Nambour. His grumpy father Arthur still lives there, but his mother left when Wilfred was a pup. Wilfred was the runt of the litter; his only brother, Walter, became an army dog and was killed in the Iraq War. Arthur thinks his only surviving son is a disappointment and blames him for his mother leaving them. Wilfred has been estranged from his father since Sarah first moved to Melbourne.Series 2, Episode 2 – "Dog Of A Town"

Adam Adam Douglas is an ordinary bloke from Ripponlea in Melbourne, Victoria.Adam's driver's license is shown after the credits in Season 1 Episode 2 – it lists his name as Adam D Zavont and his address as Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea He works occasionally as a media monitor,Series 2, Episode 5 – "The Ice Dog Cometh" but clients are scarce and he remains pretty much unemployed for the entire two seasons. He does not cause any trouble and trouble rarely comes his way – that is, until he meets Wilfred. His ability to talk to Wilfred at first leaves him nonplussed, but he soon accepts this as normal, and sometimes has trouble remembering that others do not see Wilfred the same way he does.

When Adam hooks up with Sarah, he is eager to please and to make their relationship work, but he has a love-hate relationship with Wilfred. Adam tries to be friends with Wilfred but usually – and ultimately – ends up being a victim of Wilfred's plots to sabotage his relationship with Sarah. Along the way, he always tries to do the right thing, but occasionally shows that he is capable of great evil.

Adam's parents were key witnesses in a murder trial when Adam was still at school; they were taken into a witness protection scheme. After some years of living with relatives and in foster care, Adam returned to the family home and brought up his younger brother Spencer on his own.Series 2, Episode 4 – "Honey, You're Killing The Dog"

The character's last name was changed from Zavont to Douglas for the second series. This was done to incorporate a backstory that Adam was once caught masturbating at school, leading to the catchphrase "Tugga-dugga-dugga".Series 2 DVD Extras – "The Making Of"

Sarah Sarah Pickford is Wilfred's loving owner, an attractive yet foul-mouthed young woman with some kind of undisclosed day job; she has been called the "straight man" of the series. From Sarah's point of view, Wilfred is an actual dog, rather than a man in a dog suit. She believes that Wilfred likes Adam and naturally doesn't suspect her dog of the manipulative behaviour experienced by Adam. Sarah becomes increasingly financially supportive of Adam as the storyline progresses, bringing the house, car and most of the money to their relationship.

Sarah grew up in Nambour, Queensland, with her nudist parents. Her previous boyfriend, Mark, died in an accident, and most of the first series takes place in his house as Sarah and Wilfred continue to live there. At the end of the first season, Mark's will is contested and Sarah and Wilfred are forced to move out of the house.

Overview

Series 1

The first series comprised eight episodes running from 19 March to 7 May 2007, broadcast on SBS One in the Monday 10:00pm timeslot. Each episode follows the story about a girl named Sarah, her dog Wilfred, and her boyfriend, Adam. After their first date, Adam goes home with Sarah and meets her scruffy pet dog Wilfred, but Adam (as well as the audience) sees the latter as a human dressed in an unconvincing dog costume. The dog develops a grudge against his owner's new boyfriend and tests him to see if he is capable of being his new "daddy". At the same time, Wilfred sees Adam as a potential companion. It is the tension between these two competing desires that sets up much of the conflict of the series. According to Zwar, Wilfred is a story of Australian mateship: "...it's a story about two blokes; just one happens to be a dog".

Series 2

Filming for the second series of Wilfred occurred in the second half of 2009. The series comprised eight episodes, also each Monday from 8 March to 26 April 2010, but in an earlier 9:00pm timeslot. The first episode finds the trio moving into a new house at 22 Dalziel St, Richmond. While the series begins with the familiar domestic dynamic that characterised the first series, the story quickly branches out to explore new settings, characters and tensions. When Adam decides to ask Sarah to marry him in the first episode, the impending wedding drives the story arc between one episode and the next in a manner quite different to the first series. It also explores themes of maturity that accompany marriage (such as meeting the parents, family holidays, being supportive, parenthood and financial trouble). The guest cast features many stars of Australian film, who enter the story in the form of "guest creatures" (also people in animal suits).

Critical reception

Domestic

Wilfred received generally positive reviews, and surprised critics by winning the 2007 AFI Award for Best Comedy over The Chaser's War on Everything, despite achieving only a tenth of The Chaser's audience. Adam Zwar also won the award for Best Performance in a TV Comedy for his portrayal of Adam.

The series was widely praised for its original premise. Melinda Houston, writing in The Age, called Wilfred "a magnificent creation, magnificently realised", and that "operating from a deeply non-PC premise, Wilfred manages to be both broad and subtle, hilarious and creepy, utterly obvious and way-way-way left-field". Phillipa Hawker, also in The Age, called Wilfred "An entertaining mixture of character-based comedy and quiet absurdity". Natalie Craig from the Sydney Morning Herald compared the show favourably with another successful suburban comedy, saying "while Kath & Kim was straightforward suburban satire, Wilfred is a more complex beast that deserves a tasty snack for effort and originality".