Proving that maybe not all Australian television is destined for financial doom, Wilfred has been a signature fixture of the Australian landscape since its debut at Tropfest way back in 2002. To think that a low budget short film would see Jason Gann and Adam Zwar toppling to fame and success across three continents a decade later would have been unfathomable when Tropfest was still a fairly low-key Sydney icon, rather than the all-encompassing, international festival monster it is today.
But here we are. Wilfred will be receiving the fabulous Eastern European treatment, after Renegade Films signed a deal with the Ukraine-based Star Media Group. The biggest change is the series’ eponymous main character will be renamed as the completely non-Russian sounding Charlie.
With Wilfred’s success of bringing the potty-mouthed, bong-hitting strangely loveable man-in-a-dog-suit du jour OS into American home – traversing to another continent seems like a smart, lucrative move for the producers. However, seeing as FX and Jason Gann have found some of the Australian to US humour becomes haplessly lost in translation, could a Wilfred – sorry, Charlie – in Russia, a far-removed culture from the show’s Aussie roots possibly work? More importantly, isn’t the whole charm of Wilfred Jason Gann, so is there really any point?
The Office translated across continents successfully; Skins and that Kath and Kim remake we’d prefer to forget flopped. However, according to SMH, Renegade Films’ Joe Connor insists this is a good news for the (now franchised?) series, considering it “a great tribute to the original creators of the show, Adam Zwar and
Jason Gann, as well Tony Rogers and Jen Livingston, who directed and
produced the original.”
Via SMH.
