Wilfred (American season 1)

The first season of Wilfred, premiered on FX on June 23, 2011. The season contains 13 episodes and concluded airing on September 8, 2011. The series is based on the original Australian series, Wilfred, and stars Elijah Wood, Jason Gann, Fiona Gubelmann and Dorian Brown.

Wilfred
Season 1
DVD cover
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkFX
Original releaseJune 23 (2011-06-23) –
September 8, 2011 (2011-09-08)
Season chronology

Synopsis

The season began with Ryan, an ex-lawyer, trying to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. His sister, Kristen, knowing that giving out pills to family members is unethical, decides to give him sugar pills without him knowing. At first, he does not know and thinks that Wilfred is just a hallucination, then after a visit from his sister, he finds out about the sugar pills, therefore it is unknown exactly why only Ryan sees Wilfred the way he is. Throughout the first season Wilfred puts Ryan in difficult situations including tricking Ryan into breaking into the neighbor's house while Wilfred steals the man's marijuana plants and defecates in his boots. Ryan confesses everything to his neighbor and is assaulted. Wilfred uses Ryan's growing crush on Jenna to convince Ryan to sabotage Jenna's relationship with her long-distance boyfriend Drew.

Ryan saves Wilfred after he learns that the doggy daycare manager, who he starts leaving him with, is molesting Wilfred, and Wilfred saves a stuffed teddy bear. Wilfred begins having sex with this stuffed animal, with whom he communicates in the same way Ryan communicates with Wilfred. Wilfred also pressures Ryan into pursuing a sexual relationship with a tightly-wound single mother, mainly because Wilfred is infatuated with her son's stuffed giraffe. Ryan also simulates sex with the giraffe on Wilfred pleading until the son sees him. Wilfred also helps Ryan understand that he was not responsible for the death of his childhood dog, Sneakers. The audience learns that Ryan's net ally unstable mother can see her cat, Mittens, in a similar fashion that Ryan sees Wilfred. Ryan discovers a man, Bruce, who claims to be able to see Wilfred the same way that Ryan sees Wilfred, and tries to convince Ryan to not trust Wilfred. After a struggle, Ryan learns that Bruce and Wilfred were playing a game to test Ryan's trust with Wilfred.

At the end of the season, Jenna accidentally ingests a marijuana-laced candy from Ryan’s house before her first time as an anchorperson and gets fired from her job, after which Ryan decides to represent her in a legal battle to get her job back. Although Ryan is used to digging up dirt on his opponents in order to win, he decides not to this time. However, Wilfred does instead and Ryan uses this evidence to get Jenna her job back.

Ryan uses his newfound "power" to break up Drew and Jenna, and gets a date with Jenna. When he finds out that she needs to take a drug test he blackmails his sister (with knowledge of a previous affair) into giving him her urine so Jenna will pass the test. This causes a wedge between Ryan and Kristen and she leaves for India. However, Kristen is pregnant, which shows up in Jenna's urine test. Jenna now believes she is pregnant so she gets back together with Drew. Wilfred gets into a car accident and gets amnesia and does not remember Ryan. The season ends with Ryan running back to his house remembering a will Wilfred was writing before the accident so Ryan would know what to do if anything happened to him. Ryan tries to open the door to his basement only to discover it is in fact a closet. A tennis ball (linking back to the first episode in the season) rolls out of the closet, leaving Ryan puzzled.

Cast

Main cast

Special guest cast

Recurring cast

Guest stars

Episodes
See also: List of Wilfred (American TV series) episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		US viewers
(millions)
11"Happiness"Randall EinhornDavid ZuckermanJune 23, 2011 (2011-06-23)XWL010012.55[1]

After a suicide attempt, Ryan forms a unique connection with his neighbor's dog, Wilfred.

Opening quote: "Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." – Mark Twain
22"Trust"Randall EinhornDavid ZuckermanJune 30, 2011 (2011-06-30)XWL010022.04[2]

Ryan betrays Wilfred's trust to gain favor with Jenna, but his deception yields an unexpected secret about her.

Opening quote: "Trust thyself only, and another shall not betray thee." – Thomas Fuller
33"Fear"Randall EinhornEric WeinbergJuly 7, 2011 (2011-07-07)XWL010041.52[3]

Ryan finally learns why Wilfred planted his wallet at the scene of the crime when Spencer comes around seeking vengeance.

Opening quote: "Fear has its uses but cowardice has none." – Mahatma Gandhi
44"Acceptance"Randall EinhornJason GannJuly 14, 2011 (2011-07-14)XWL010031.56[4]

Ryan's efforts to reconcile with his sister cause Wilfred to have a shocking experience at doggy day care.

Opening quote: "Happiness can exist only in acceptance." – George Orwell
55"Respect"Randall EinhornMichael GloubermanJuly 21, 2011 (2011-07-21)XWL010051.44[5]

Ryan and Wilfred volunteer at a hospice and discover Wilfred may have a remarkable secret talent.

Opening quote: "Seek respect mainly from thyself, for it comes first from within." – Steven H. Coogler
66"Conscience"Randall EinhornDavid BaldyJuly 28, 2011 (2011-07-28)XWL010061.74[6]

Wilfred persuades Ryan to help him get rid of Jenna's boyfriend.

Opening quote: "Conscience is the dog that can't bite, but never stops barking." – Proverb
77"Pride"Randall EinhornJason GannAugust 4, 2011 (2011-08-04)XWL010071.40[7]

Wilfred's pursuit of a new love interest forces Ryan to swallow his pride – among other things.

Opening quote: "In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes." – Steven H. Coogler
88"Anger"Victor Nelli, Jr.Sivert Glarum & Michael JaminAugust 11, 2011 (2011-08-11)XWL010081.23[8]

When Wilfred learns that Ryan feels responsible for the death of his beloved childhood dog, he goes to otherworldly lengths to help Ryan learn the truth.

Opening quote: "Anger as soon as fed is dead – tis starving makes it fat." – Emily Dickinson
99"Compassion"Victor Nelli, Jr.Patricia BreenAugust 18, 2011 (2011-08-18)XWL010091.18[9]

Ryan's resentment of his eccentric mother is exacerbated when Wilfred starts treating her like the mum he never had.

Opening quote: "Make no judgements where you have no compassion." – Anne McCaffrey
1010"Isolation"Victor Nelli, Jr.Steve Baldikoski & Bryan BeharAugust 18, 2011 (2011-08-18)XWL010101.04[9]

Wilfred uses Ryan's unhealthy habit of isolating as a means to rid himself of a neighborhood pest.

Opening quote: "Isolation is a self-defeating dream." – Carlos Salinas de Gortari
1111"Doubt"Randall EinhornReed Agnew & Eli JornéAugust 25, 2011 (2011-08-25)XWL010111.21[10]

Ryan begins to suspect that his friendship with Wilfred may be self-destructive.

Opening quote: "Doubt must be no more than vigilance, otherwise it can become dangerous." – George C. Lichtenberg
1212"Sacrifice"Randall EinhornSivert Glarum & Michael JaminSeptember 1, 2011 (2011-09-01)XWL010121.32[11]

Wilfred urges Ryan to sacrifice his newfound happiness for a greater good.

Opening quote: "Love is a willingness to sacrifice." – Michael Novak
1313"Identity"Randall EinhornDavid ZuckermanSeptember 8, 2011 (2011-09-08)XWL010130.90[12]

Ryan ignores Wilfred's advice, creating an existential crisis for both of them.

Opening quote: "The value of identity is that so often with it comes purpose." – Richard R. Grant

Production

Wilfred is based on the critically acclaimed Australian series of the same name and was adapted for FX by Family Guy veteran David Zuckerman.[13] Wilfred is produced by FX Productions while the executive producers include: Zuckerman;[14][15][16] Rich and Paul Frank; Jeff Kwatinetz; and Joe and Ken Connor from the original Australian series. Wilfred co-creator Jason Gann and Randall Einhorn serve as co-executive producers. Einhorn directed 10 episodes of the first season and Victor Nelli, Jr. directed three.[14] The pilot episode was filmed in summer 2010,[15][16] written by Zuckerman, and directed by Einhorn.[16] The show was shot primarily with the inexpensive Canon EOS 7D dSLR camera. The first episode of the show was included in the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 6 DVD.

Notes
  1. Gubelmann is only credited for the episodes she appears in.
  2. Brown is only credited for the episodes she appears in.

References
  1. Seidman, Robert (June 24, 2011). "Thursday Cable Ratings: Burn Notice, Swamp , Suits, NBA Draft, Wilfred top Night + Futurama, Louie & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  2. Seidman, Robert (July 1, 2011). "Thursday Cable Ratings: Pre-Holiday Slump for 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits' But 'Swamp People' Impervious + 'Wilfred,'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  3. Seidman, Robert (July 8, 2011). "Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits' Rise, But 'Swamp People' Still Tops Night + 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  4. Seidman, Robert (July 15, 2011). "Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Burn Notice,' Rises, Defeats 'Swamp People' + 'Suits,' 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  5. Seidman, Robert (July 22, 2011). "Updated: Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Suits' Rises and 'Burn Notice' Steady, But 'Swamp People' Back on Top + 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  6. Seidman, Robert (July 29, 2011). "Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Suits' Tops Night in Demo + 'Burn Notice,' 'Project Runway,' 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  7. Seidman, Robert (August 5, 2011). "Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Jersey Shore' Dominates + 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits,' 'Project Runway,' 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  8. Seidman, Robert (August 12, 2011). "Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Jersey Shore' Down But Dominant + 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits,' 'Project Runway,' 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  9. Seidman, Robert (August 19, 2011). "Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Jersey Shore' Rises & 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits,' 'Project Runway' Rise Too + 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama,' 'Louie' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  10. Seidman, Robert (August 26, 2011). "Thursday Cable: 'Jersey Shore' Gets Bigger + NFL, 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits,' 'Project Runway' and the Weather Channel". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 12, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  11. Gorman, Bill (September 2, 2011). "Thursday Cable: Even 'Jersey Shore' Repeats Can't Be Beaten; 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits,' 'Project Runway' & Lots More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  12. Gorman, Bill (September 9, 2011). "Thursday Cable: 'Jersey Shore' Takes A Hit, Still Dominates, 'Burn Notice,' 'Suits,' 'Wilfred,' 'Futurama' Finales & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  13. Knox, David (May 12, 2010). "Wilfred is coming to America". TV.com. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  14. "Wilfred Official Website". FX. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  15. Ausiello, Michael (June 29, 2010). "Scoop: FX snags Elijah Wood for new comedy 'Wilfred'". Inside TV. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  16. Lang, Brent (June 29, 2010). "Elijah Wood to the Small Screen, for FX's 'Wilfred'". The Wrap. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
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