I always suspected that dogs had lecherous thoughts. Well, now I think it may just be the Australian ones.…

At first it appears that Ryan (Elijah Wood) is an over achiever. He attempts suicide and fails. Seems a bit bleak, right? Believe it or not, the exposition being absent actually lends humor to this failure! After some sort of “pill-smoothie” Ryan downs fails miserably, dumbfounded and sleep deprived he responds to the doorbell to encounter beautiful neighbor Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann) requesting that her beloved dog Wilfred stay in his yard. Instead of a furry faced pooch, Wilfred (Jason Gann) appears a fully grown man, 2-3 day growth of beard in a shabby gray dog suit who smokes and cusses. Nobody else can see Wilfred the way Ryan does, and so it begins.

There are so many moments within this premiere that made it watch worthy, it’s nearly impossible to pick one. So I’m not going to! Watching the interactions between Wilfred and Ryan are simultaneously deep, meaningful and full of nuggets of wisdom while being absolutely ridiculous when you realize that it’s a DOG that’s supposed to be participating in them. A dog. A DOG! I think everyone can remember a time when they’ve wondered what their pet (dog or otherwise) was thinking or feeling, hearing Wilfred’s confess heartfelt anxiety over owner Jenna’s departure to work being manifested in digging massive holes in the lawn of Ryan, then when assured that she’d be coming back, continued to dig because “It’s a good workout!” Of course! It’s so logical it’s almost stupid.

More of a rascal than a loyal mans’ best friend; Wilfred poses challenge after challenge to Ryan, pushing him beyond the confines of his own depressed existence. This show packs a huge punch and provides apropos metaphors in scene after scene, all compacted into a half hour dram-edy! I say dram-edy because while the concept is fanciful, the message is clearly sincere. Live your life the way you want to live it. I was thoroughly impressed and cannot wait to see what life lessons Wilfred and Ryan will learn (and teach) in the next episode!

WILFRED airs Thursday nights on FX – check your local listings for repeats of the premiere and second episode; episode 3, which features a gender snafu, airs next Thursday at 10/9c.