Aside from what I presume is a plethora of shrimp and Barbies, Australia has a couple other things going for it. Add tv show about a talking, pot-smoking dog that doesn't require animation or fancy effects to the list. The show in question is called Wilfred, and amazingly it has been around for a while, but since I'm American, and for the most part ethnocentric, I was unaware of its existence until now.
Why now you might ask? Because they're making a US version for FX. On top of that it looks like Frodo is leaving the shire for his first television series.
Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood is set to make his series debut with a lead role opposite Jason Gann in the FX comedy pilot Wilfred, which is based on the acclaimed Australian series of the same name, co-created and starring Gann. David Zuckerman, who wrote the adapted pilot script and serves as executive producer, describes Wilfred as comedy “about a guy, Ryan (Wood), the girl next door, and mixed-breed dog, Wilfred (Gann), who is part Labrador retriever and part Russell Crowe on a bender.” Randall Einhorn is directing the pilot, which will be filmed this summer. [via deadline]
Sounds good, and the clip below is definitely up my alley. Obviously I have a soft spot for people in dog costumes that are ridiculously smug and have bongs made out of water bottles, but honestly who doesn't? Elijah Wood can actually be kind of funny when he's trying to so hopefully this is as good as it sounds like it could be.
Here's some of the original Australian show. Keep in mind Jason Gann, the guy playing the dog, will also be occupying that role in the Americanized version.