TORONTO – Jason Gann has a piece of advice for anyone having trouble wrapping their head around the absurd premise of his offbeat TV comedy “Wilfred”: Just go with it.
The Wilfred in question is a surly Australian dressed in a bad dog suit who doles out life advice to his depressed neighbour Ryan, played by Elijah Wood.
Ryan may or may not be losing his mind – everyone else sees Wilfred as a regular old mutt. But for Ryan, his canine pal is a crude-minded lout with a penchant for busty waitresses, chasing motorcycle-riding goons and smoking pot.
“It’s up there with ‘Lost’ as far as what’s going on in the end,” Gann, the show’s star and creator, said Wednesday during a visit to Toronto to promote the launch of FX Canada.
“People (have been) trying to work out what ‘Wilfred’ is and that’s a lot of fun.”
“When we shot the pilot, people were kind of like, ‘Uh, OK.’ But it’s just one of those things, you know – you take a risk with comedy and in this case it seems to have paid off.”
The edgy sitcom is one of the marquee series heading north of the border as part of the FX Canada lineup.
It debuts as a sneak preview Monday on Citytv alongside FX Canada’s “American Horror Story” and “The League.”
Rogers’ new specialty channel debuts Oct. 31 with other series including the sharp-edged comedy “Louie,” the first two seasons of “Sons of Anarchy,” the critically loved boxing drama “Lights Out” and the acclaimed-but-cancelled series “Terriers.”
“Even though the FX brand has not been in Canada, it’s already known for standing for great quality content,” Rogers Media executive Scott Moore said at a promotional event later Wednesday, when company bosses took over a downtown theatre to screen episodes of “Wilfred” and “American Horror Story” for 400 ad buyers.
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“The launch of FX is … the latest part of an aggressive growth and investment strategy at Rogers Media in the broadcast group.”
The channel addition follows several recent overhauls at Rogers Media, which include the relaunch of Sportsnet earlier this month, the rebranding of Rogers sports radio stations in Toronto and Calgary and the launch of Sportsnet magazine.
Rogers Media president Keith Pelley said the company is focused on providing quality programs.
“Everything we’re going to do is going to involve world-class premium content,” Pelley vowed at the event, which also saw Gann and co-star Fiona Gubelmann, who plays Wilfred’s owner, briefly take the stage.
“And that’s why the group went out and pursued FX, which is an unbelievable channel.”
Earlier Wednesday, Gann admitted the premise for his surreal series began as “kind of a joke” – he imagined the voice of a dog who was overprotective of his female owner and made it his mission to scare off boyfriends. It evolved into a short film that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003.
The short was turned into an Australian sitcom that ran for two seasons and gained a cult following. Gann says that series was actually more bizarre than the one that made it to North America.
“In the Australian version, from the beginning it’s like, this is what he sees and that’s it. We don’t explain it and it’s more like a love triangle,” says Gann, who adds his U.S. showrunner had him tame more surreal elements, believing a U.S. audience wouldn’t follow along.
“(Here) we come in as a buddy comedy – it really goes into the psychology of what’s going on, why (Ryan) needs to see Wilfred.
“I guess the Australian version had more of a British comedy sensibility like ‘Young Ones’ or ‘The Mighty Boosh’ or shows like that where it’s kind of like, ‘Yeah, he’s dancing with an abominable snowman in this scene.’ … The Australian version was more like: ‘This just is.'”
The series kicks off with the despondent Ryan in the middle of a failed suicide attempt. When his beautiful neighbour Jenna drops by to ask him to babysit her dog, he finds himself strangely drawn to Wilfred and strikes up an unlikely friendship that slowly draws him out of his shell.
It’s an unlikely dark farce that Gann refers to as “traumedy.”
Wood’s turn is a stark departure from his big-screen persona as Frodo Baggins from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but Gann says he’s been impressed by his comedic instincts.
“From the moment I sat down with him, when I read off him, to me, he was the obvious choice,” says Gann.
“He just fed into the scenes with me. So many actors struggle to feed into a scene … especially in comedy. People come in with their own shtick and their own routine and I just found that he instantly was telling the same joke as me.”
“Wilfred” premieres Oct. 31 before moving to its regular time slot on Thursdays along with “The League.”
FX Canada’s other hotly anticipated import is “American Horror Story,” from “Nip/Tuck” and “Glee” producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The provocative series drew five million viewers when it premiered in the U.S. on Oct. 5 and stars Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”), Dylan McDermott (“The Practice”), Jessica Lange (“Grey Gardens”) and Frances Conroy (“Six Feet Under”).
It premieres Oct. 31 on FX Canada with two back-to-back episodes before moving to its regular time slot on Wednesdays.
“Sons of Anarchy,” about a notorious outlaw motorcycle club, debuts Nov. 1 while “Terriers,” centred on a retired cop turned low-rent private investigator, premieres Nov. 7.
Season 2 of “Louie” premieres in the winter of 2012 and features the observational humour of comedian Louis C.K.
FX Canada will be available to 1.7 million digital Rogers subscribers for a three-month preview period beginning Oct. 31, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
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