Running Wilde
Encyclopedia
Running Wilde was an American comedy television series created by Mitchell Hurwitz
for the Fox Network
. It starred Will Arnett
as Steve Wilde, a self-centered, idle bachelor and heir to an oil fortune. The series followed Wilde's awkward attempts to regain the affection of his childhood sweetheart, Emmy, an environmentalist who had been living in the South American jungle, but whose young daughter did not want to return there and who secretly enlisted Steve's help to keep Emmy at his mansion, leading to farcical situations and misunderstandings.
had previously worked together on Fox's Arrested Development. Running Wilde had many stylistic similarities to Arrested Development, including frequent cutaway gags and a narrator (Emmy's daughter Puddle, played by Stefania LaVie Owen
) who comments on the character's motivations. Moreover, the series even appears to exist in the same universe as Arrested Development, as The Bluth Company is responsible for the design of the nightclub in the penultimate episode "The Pre-nup." The series also provided the first US network TV role for British actor-comedian Peter Serafinowicz
, who plays Wilde's idle-rich friend and neighbour Fa-ad Shaoulin.
The show premiered on September 21, 2010. The show was canceled mid-season due to low ratings, after producing just thirteen episodes. The last four episodes of the series were shown on FX in late April and May 2011.
The show was shot at Sands Point Preserve, Long Island, NY. Keri Russell commuted from her home in Brooklyn, NY, about 25 miles away, and Will Arnett commuted from his home in Manhattan.
), a self-centered billionaire who is clueless about most things in the real world. He has problems with depression and usually medicates it with excessive drinking
. Emmy Kadubic (Keri Russell
) is Steve's high school sweetheart. When the series opens, she is an activist who lives in a rain forest along with her "eco-terrorist" fiance Dr. Andy Weeks (David Cross
) and daughter Puddle (Stefania Owen). Puddle refuses to speak at first, as an attempt to get her parents to move out of the rain forest. Steve invites Emmy to a party where he is to accept an award. Surprised at the thought that Steve has finally become a better person, she decides to go. At the party, she soon finds out that he is giving the award to himself, which is more like what Emmy expected.
The next day Puddle speaks to Steve, while he's intoxicated, about her thoughts on living in the jungle. Steve briefly thinks that the conversation is telepathic, failing to realize her mouth is moving. Steve and Puddle stage an intricate scenario to fool Emmy into staying at Steve's mansion, which fails. Emmy scolds Steve about taking advantage of a young girl who does not speak, and Steve takes the blame for Puddle's plan. This causes Puddle to speak to her mother, telling her that Steve must have some morality left in him, since he took the blame without gaining anything. Puddle explains that she doesn't like living in a jungle, and she wants to stay with Steve. Emmy agrees to stay for Puddle, but only in the treehouse Steve originally built for her when they were young. As Steve tries to win back Emmy, Emmy vows to change him into a more selfless person.
and Joseph Nunez
were cast in the roles that Robert Michael Morris and Mel Rodriguez took over, respectively. The first version of the pilot was filmed with these two, but when the pilot was re-shot, the casting changes were made. Neither actor ever appeared in the finished product, but they are still credited in the first episode. Andrew Daly
played David Cross's part in the original pilot after the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull
volcano stopped Cross from traveling out of the United Kingdom in time for the shoot in North America; Daly, who was contracted to The Paul Reiser Show
, was hired with the knowledge he'd be replaced by Cross if Wilde was picked up as a series.
announced that no new episodes would be ordered. Although the five remaining episodes were to air through December, Fox postponed two of them to air at the end of the month. At the 2011 Television Critics Association
tour, FOX president Kevin Reilly confirmed the show's cancellation. The remaining episodes aired starting April 28, 2011 on FX.
Mitchell Hurwitz
Mitchell D. Hurwitz is an American television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom Arrested Development as well as the co-creator of The Ellen Show, and a contributor to The John Larroquette Show and The Golden Girls.-Birth and early life:Hurwitz was born...
for the Fox Network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. It starred Will Arnett
Will Arnett
William Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
as Steve Wilde, a self-centered, idle bachelor and heir to an oil fortune. The series followed Wilde's awkward attempts to regain the affection of his childhood sweetheart, Emmy, an environmentalist who had been living in the South American jungle, but whose young daughter did not want to return there and who secretly enlisted Steve's help to keep Emmy at his mansion, leading to farcical situations and misunderstandings.
Background
Mitchell Hurwitz, Arnett and fellow cast member David CrossDavid Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
had previously worked together on Fox's Arrested Development. Running Wilde had many stylistic similarities to Arrested Development, including frequent cutaway gags and a narrator (Emmy's daughter Puddle, played by Stefania LaVie Owen
Stefania LaVie Owen
Stefania LaVie Owen is an American child actress born in Miami, Florida. Owen is known for her role in Running Wilde as Puddle Kadubic and narrator. Owen lives in New York and New Zealand. She goes to Chilton Saint James School in Wellington, New Zealand, which is an all girls school...
) who comments on the character's motivations. Moreover, the series even appears to exist in the same universe as Arrested Development, as The Bluth Company is responsible for the design of the nightclub in the penultimate episode "The Pre-nup." The series also provided the first US network TV role for British actor-comedian Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School...
, who plays Wilde's idle-rich friend and neighbour Fa-ad Shaoulin.
The show premiered on September 21, 2010. The show was canceled mid-season due to low ratings, after producing just thirteen episodes. The last four episodes of the series were shown on FX in late April and May 2011.
The show was shot at Sands Point Preserve, Long Island, NY. Keri Russell commuted from her home in Brooklyn, NY, about 25 miles away, and Will Arnett commuted from his home in Manhattan.
Plot
The show centers on Steven Wilde (Will ArnettWill Arnett
William Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
), a self-centered billionaire who is clueless about most things in the real world. He has problems with depression and usually medicates it with excessive drinking
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Emmy Kadubic (Keri Russell
Keri Russell
Keri Lynn Russell is an American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe...
) is Steve's high school sweetheart. When the series opens, she is an activist who lives in a rain forest along with her "eco-terrorist" fiance Dr. Andy Weeks (David Cross
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
) and daughter Puddle (Stefania Owen). Puddle refuses to speak at first, as an attempt to get her parents to move out of the rain forest. Steve invites Emmy to a party where he is to accept an award. Surprised at the thought that Steve has finally become a better person, she decides to go. At the party, she soon finds out that he is giving the award to himself, which is more like what Emmy expected.
The next day Puddle speaks to Steve, while he's intoxicated, about her thoughts on living in the jungle. Steve briefly thinks that the conversation is telepathic, failing to realize her mouth is moving. Steve and Puddle stage an intricate scenario to fool Emmy into staying at Steve's mansion, which fails. Emmy scolds Steve about taking advantage of a young girl who does not speak, and Steve takes the blame for Puddle's plan. This causes Puddle to speak to her mother, telling her that Steve must have some morality left in him, since he took the blame without gaining anything. Puddle explains that she doesn't like living in a jungle, and she wants to stay with Steve. Emmy agrees to stay for Puddle, but only in the treehouse Steve originally built for her when they were young. As Steve tries to win back Emmy, Emmy vows to change him into a more selfless person.
Main cast
- Will ArnettWill ArnettWilliam Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
as Steve Wilde - Keri RussellKeri RussellKeri Lynn Russell is an American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe...
as Emmy Kadubic - Robert Michael MorrisRobert Michael MorrisRobert Michael Morris is an American actor. He is known for his co-starring role as Mickey Deane in the reality television spoof The Comeback and as Mr. Lunt in the short-lived series Running Wilde. Morris became a professional actor relatively late in life, having been a college theatre professor...
as Mr. Lunt - Mel Rodriguez as Migo Salazar
- Stefania LaVie OwenStefania LaVie OwenStefania LaVie Owen is an American child actress born in Miami, Florida. Owen is known for her role in Running Wilde as Puddle Kadubic and narrator. Owen lives in New York and New Zealand. She goes to Chilton Saint James School in Wellington, New Zealand, which is an all girls school...
as Puddle Kadubic - Peter SerafinowiczPeter SerafinowiczPeter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School...
as Fa'ad Shaoulin - David CrossDavid CrossDavid Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
as Dr. Andy Weeks
Casting
Jayne HoudyshellJayne Houdyshell
Jayne Houdyshell is a Tony Award–nominated American theater actress.-Life and career:Raised in Topeka, Kansas, she is the youngest of four daughters born to Galen "Buzz" Houdyshell and Louella Taylor...
and Joseph Nunez
Joseph Nunez
Joseph Nunez is an American actor and comedian most notable for his recurring role as Manche Sanchez on the show Prison Break. He also played a cleaner in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and the man who ran over Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness...
were cast in the roles that Robert Michael Morris and Mel Rodriguez took over, respectively. The first version of the pilot was filmed with these two, but when the pilot was re-shot, the casting changes were made. Neither actor ever appeared in the finished product, but they are still credited in the first episode. Andrew Daly
Andrew Daly
Andrew "Andy" Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for playing Principal Terrence Cutler in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down.-Early life:Daly was born in Mount Kisco, New York and raised in New Jersey...
played David Cross's part in the original pilot after the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull
Eyjafjallajökull
Eyjafjallajökull is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, situated to the north of Skógar and to the west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of . The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the last glacial period, most recently in...
volcano stopped Cross from traveling out of the United Kingdom in time for the shoot in North America; Daly, who was contracted to The Paul Reiser Show
The Paul Reiser Show
The Paul Reiser Show is an American television series that aired on NBC. In May 2010, NBC announced that it had green-lit the series for the 2010–11 television season, with the half-hour comedy expected to premiere as a midseason replacement. The series premiered on April 14, 2011, at 8:30 pm...
, was hired with the knowledge he'd be replaced by Cross if Wilde was picked up as a series.
Cancellation
The show was pulled from November sweeps and on November 30, 2010, FOXFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
announced that no new episodes would be ordered. Although the five remaining episodes were to air through December, Fox postponed two of them to air at the end of the month. At the 2011 Television Critics Association
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian journalists and columnists who cover television programming...
tour, FOX president Kevin Reilly confirmed the show's cancellation. The remaining episodes aired starting April 28, 2011 on FX.