Summer TV is about to go to the dogs (I know, very punny, couldn’t resist!) when Wilfred returns for its second season! We were already treated to an awesome preview episode with guest star Robin Williams, and it looks like we’re in for another crazy trip. Last week, Elijah Wood did a fun little press call, and here are some highlights from it!
Wilfred is very much the little devil on Ryan’s shoulder, and in spite of that, Ryan does remain loyal to Wilfred. Wood commented on that aspect of their relationship.
“I think that as much as Wilfred cannot entirely be trusted I also think that almost entirely those sorts of schemes and those lies end up in Ryan learning something and Ryan continuing to grow and advance as a person despite the method for getting him there. I think deep down Ryan has a sense that Wilfred does have his best interest at heart, even though his methods aren’t exactly to be trusted. I think he’s aware of the fact that he’s on a path of self-discovery and a journey to bettering himself, and it’s his friend, it’s the person that knows him the best, it’s the person that understands him the best, again, despite the difficulties present in their relationship sometimes. It’s the person that he can actually rely on and that can truly understand what makes Ryan who he is.”
At the end of last season, we saw Ryan’s dark side, and it even shocked Wilfred. Wood spoke a bit about that and whether we’d see this side of Ryan in Season 2.
“It was a lot of fun. It provided a color to the character that was very different from the character we were introduced to and that we’ve only kind of ever alluded to that side of him in the first season until we saw it at the end, so it was great fun to play. It provided another layer and sort of insight into the darkness that lies within him that ultimately led him to the place that we found him in at the beginning of the first season. We won’t necessarily see that darkness again. He allowed himself to get to the precipice a little bit, and in doing that he almost lost everything that was holding him together, Wilfred included, and so we see him now having come out of that space, and I don’t think it’s likely that he’ll return there any time soon. But we now are aware of the fact that that exists, and to a certain degree I guess more importantly that is ultimately what led to his initial downfall, it was that sort of selfish activity and doing things that he knew was wrong despite the fact that he knew them that put him in the place that made Wilfred come into his life in the first place.”
Wood addressed what he loves about Wilfred, and what he thinks it is about the series that has resonated with fans.
“The thing I love about the show, and I don’t know if this is why people respond to it so much, but what I love most about the show is that it can be enjoyed on multiple levels. And I think that it’s a very multi-layered show, and I think that it really became even more multi-layered toward the latter part of the first season. I love that there are some episodes that aren’t as reliant on comedy, that are actually about characters and internally what’s going on and there’s this underlying theme of the cerebral to the show that I love, and yet it can also be enjoyed on this level of just being hilarious, that a guy is talking to another guy in a dog suit. And I think it’s those things that I love most about it. I suppose that’s why people respond to it. I think it’s definitely unique. I don’t think that there’s anything quite like it on television.”
He added:
“I think those are some of the elements that I was most intrigued about and why I was excited to be a part of it. It doesn’t feel like a typical sitcom or comedy, it feels like we have the opportunity to take some interesting risks and to delve into stories that aren’t altogether common in the comedy space, which feels really exciting, and we have the freedom to do that on the network that we’re on. So maybe that’s why it feels to me like a breath of fresh air, not to be presumptuous, but I’m assuming that that’s probably why people like it. But at the end of the day it’s also a guy and another guy in a dog suit sitting around smoking pot, so that’s intrinsically funny as well.”
When asked what’s in store during Wilfred‘s second season, Wood had some interesting thoughts to share.
“In the first season obviously we came to know these characters, we came to know Ryan as he came to know Wilfred and accepted Wilfred into his life, and I think was a little bit more easily fooled because it was all new to him. I think what you’ll find this season is Ryan is less quick to be fooled. He’s wised up a little bit to Wilfred. Wilfred can still pull the wool over his eyes a little bit, but he has a little bit more sense of control and autonomy this season than he did in the first.
“There’s a little bit more of a push and pull now. As I was saying earlier, I think Ryan’s a little bit more aware of the ability for Wilfred to trick him, so I think he’s constantly trying to look ahead to any of the things that Wilfred’s suggesting as possibly being a trick or a manipulation. So there is a bit more of a fight between them, a struggle between the two of them this time around. The dynamic is that Ryan’s a little bit less passive. I think he’s a lot more active in trying to almost stay ahead of Wilfred. He’s not always successful, but he has his eye out. He’s keen on where Wilfred can potentially be taking him this time around.”
Spend the dog days of summer with Elijah Wood and the rest of the Wilfred gang! Season 2 tonight at 10pm on FX, and 9:30pm ET on FX Canada.
Photo Courtesy of FX Canada
