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Running Wilde

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Running Wilde
Created byMitchell Hurwitz
Jim Vallely
Will Arnett
StarringWill Arnett
Keri Russell
Stefania LaVie Owen
Mel Rodriguez
Robert Michael Morris
Peter Serafinowicz
David Cross
Narrated byStefania LaVie Owen
ComposerDavid Schwartz
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersMitchell Hurwitz
Will Arnett
Jim Vallely
Eric Tannenbaum
Kim Tannenbaum
Paul Young
Peter Principato
Anthony Russo
Joe Russo
Production locationsVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesTantamount Studios
Principato-Young Entertainment
5 Hole Pictures
Lionsgate Television
Original release
NetworkFox (episodes 1-9)
FX (episodes 10-13)
ReleaseSeptember 21, 2010 (2010-09-21) –
May 21, 2011 (2011-05-21)[1]

Running Wilde is an American sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely and Will Arnett for Fox. It stars Arnett as Steve Wilde, a self-centered, idle bachelor and heir to an oil fortune. The series follows 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 does not want to return there and who secretly enlists Steve's help to keep Emmy at his mansion, leading to farcical situations and misunderstandings.

Background

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Mitchell Hurwitz, Will Arnett and fellow cast member David Cross 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 characters' motivations. Moreover, the series appears to exist in the same universe as Arrested Development, as the fictional Bluth Company from Arrested Development is responsible for the design of the nightclub in the penultimate episode "The Pre-nup". The series provided the first U.S. network TV role for British actor-comedian Peter Serafinowicz, who plays Wilde's idle-rich friend and neighbor Fa-ad Shaoulin.

The show premiered on September 21, 2010.[2] The show was canceled mid-season because of low ratings after just 13 episodes had been produced.[3] The last four episodes of the series were shown on FX in late April and May 2011.[4]

The show was shot at Sands Point Preserve, Long Island, New York. Keri Russell commuted from her home in Brooklyn, about 25 miles away, and Arnett commuted from his home in Manhattan. Production assistants searched for props at a Macy's in nearby Manhasset.[citation needed]

Plot

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The show centers on Steven Wilde, a self-centered billionaire who is clueless about the real world. He has problems with depression and often self-medicates with excessive drinking. Emmy Kadubic, Steve's high-school sweetheart, is an activist who lives in a rainforest along with her daughter Puddle and her "eco-terrorist" boyfriend Dr. Andy Weeks. Puddle refuses to speak as an attempt to force her mother to move out of the rainforest. Steve invites Emmy to a party where he is to accept an award. Intrigued that Steve may have finally become a better person, she decides to attend but discovers that his own company is giving him the award.

Liberated from the jungle, Puddle finally decides to speak and conspires with Steve to convince Emmy to stay at Steve's estate. Emmy agrees to stay for Puddle, but only in the treehouse that Steve had originally built for her when they were young. As Steve tries to win back Emmy despite Andy's interference, Emmy vows to change him into a more selfless person.

Cast and characters

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Main cast

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Casting

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The first version of the pilot was filmed with Jayne Houdyshell and Joe Nunez in the roles of Robert Michael Morris and Mel Rodriguez, respectively, but when the pilot was re-shot, they were re-cast. Though neither actor appeared in the finished pilot product, they are both credited in it. Andy 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 that he would be replaced by Cross if Running Wilde was picked up as a series.[6]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"Anthony Russo & Joe RussoMitchell Hurwitz & Jim Vallely & Will ArnettSeptember 21, 2010 (2010-09-21)WLD-1015.87[7]
Puddle and Emmy arrive at Steve's house to protect their humanitarian cause but in Steve's attempt to win over Emmy, he ends up destroying her work instead. And Puddle helps Steve find a way to make Emmy stay.
2"Into the Wilde"Alex HardcastleDean LoreySeptember 28, 2010 (2010-09-28)WLD-1034.47[8]
Steve convinces Emmy to take a vacation with him, but Emmy's fiancé Andy arrives from the rainforest intent on winning her back.
3"Oil & Water"Troy MillerFranklin Hardy & Shane KosakowskiOctober 5, 2010 (2010-10-05)WLD-1043.86[9]
Emmy discovers that Steve is on the payroll at Wilde Oil and tries to get him to quit. When he goes to work for the first time ever, Steve discovers that he may actually like it. Emmy goes overboard with her plan to stop Wilde Oil. Steve and Emmy try to help Puddle with a science project.
4"The Junior Affair"Jeff MelmanFranklin Hardy & Shane KosakowskiOctober 12, 2010 (2010-10-12)WLD-1053.28[10]
Emmy decides to get involved in Puddle's love life when she finds her daughter facing the same problem that she did with Steve at Puddle's age. Steve decides to impress Emmy by standing up to the boy's father the way he never did to his own father, but ends up impressing the father in a very unintended way instead.
5"The Party"Troy MillerMitchell Hurwitz & Jim VallelyOctober 19, 2010 (2010-10-19)WLD-1022.92[11]
Steve and Emmy team up to throw a cheap, environmentally friendly soiree. Fa'ad tries to outdo Steve and Steve tries to pretend that the party is ironic while Emmy tries to prove that she is fun.
6"Best Man"Scott EllisRichard Day & Mitchell HurwitzNovember 9, 2010 (2010-11-09)WLD-1072.83[12]
Steve's feelings for Emmy prompt him to offer to host hers and Andy's wedding because he wants her to be happy. Steve plans an elaborate Renaissance-themed wedding, only to realize that he forgot to invite Andy.
7"Mental Flaws"John FortenberryMark DriscollNovember 30, 2010 (2010-11-30)WLD-1063.36[13]
Steve wants to bring Emmy to a charity gala, but Emmy worries that Steve is only concerned with appearances.
8"It's a Trade Off"John FortenberryGina Gold & Aururae KhooDecember 7, 2010 (2010-12-07)WLD-1084.07[14]
Steve and Emmy trade roles. Steve takes care of Puddle and helps her with her schoolwork, and Emmy lives Steve's life of parties and social events in an attempt to prove that she can maintain her integrity while being on the "A List".
9"One Forward Step"Scott EllisFranklin Hardy & Shane KosakowskiDecember 26, 2010 (2010-12-26)WLD-1093.00[15]
Steve's stepmother comes to cut off Steve's money, just when Steve is trying to give Emmy money for a charity that she had made up.
10"Jack's Back"John FortenberryJim VallelyApril 28, 2011 (2011-04-28) (FX)WLD-1100.45[16]
An old friend (Rob Corddry) of Steve and Fa'ad returns to their lives as a reformed man. But Emmy, mistaking Steve's intentions, assumes Jack is faking it for her benefit, and sets about pretending to seduce him, leading Steve in turn to mistake her intentions.
11"Alienated"Adam BernsteinChristine ZanderMay 6, 2011 (2011-05-06) (FX)WLD-111N/A
Emmy forces Steve to give Migo a holiday, and then convinces him to join her at a protest supporting immigrants' rights. While Migo follows his passion, Steve takes out his anger at the separation by joining the opposing team - the 'rich white men' opposing immigration.
12"The Pre-Nup"Troy MillerRichard DayMay 14, 2011 (2011-05-14) (FX)WLD-112N/A
While Steve and Fa'ad begin plans to develop a nightclub on the site of a recent flood disaster, a jealous Mr. Lunt convinces Emmy to sign a prenuptial agreement stating that she would not take Steve's money in the unlikely event that the pair get married, leading to a chain of mistaken impressions.
13"Basket Cases"Mitchell HurwitzJim Vallely & Mitchell HurwitzMay 21, 2011 (2011-05-21) (FX)WLD-113N/A
Wilde Oil causes an ecological disaster and Steve's father (Jeffrey Tambor) puts Emmy in charge of the cleanup. Eventually, Steve finds out that it's a plot to get Emmy away from him, and he joins her.

Cancellation

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The show was pulled from November sweeps and on November 30, 2010, Fox announced that no new episodes would be ordered.[17][18] Although the five remaining episodes were to air through December, Fox postponed two of them to air at the end of the month.[19][20] At the 2011 Television Critics Association tour, Fox announced that the show was officially canceled.[3] The remaining episodes were aired starting April 28, 2011 on FX.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "FX Scuttles Primetime Airings of "Running Wilde" For Final Three Episodes, But Will Still Burn Them Off - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. May 4, 2011. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  2. ^ Gorman, Bill (July 13, 2010). "Fox Announces Fall Premiere Dates For 2010-11 Season". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Kimball, Trevor (January 11, 2011). "Running Wilde: FOX Sitcom Cancelled; No Season Two". canceled + renewed TV shows - TV Series Finale. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Exclusive: FX to Burn Off FOX's "Running Wilde" Beginning Thursday, April 28". The Futon Critic. April 18, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  5. ^ "Running Wilde Cast & Details". TVGuide.com.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 19, 2010). "David Cross vs. The Volcano: The Peculiar Story Behind The 'Wilde'/'Arrested' Reunion". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  7. ^ "Private Site".
  8. ^ "Private Site".
  9. ^ "Private Site".
  10. ^ "Private Site".
  11. ^ "Private Site".
  12. ^ "Private Site".
  13. ^ "Private Site". Archived from the original on December 4, 2010.
  14. ^ "Private Site". Archived from the original on December 10, 2010.
  15. ^ "Private Site". Archived from the original on December 28, 2010.
  16. ^ "Private Site". Archived from the original on May 6, 2011.
  17. ^ Heisler, Steve (November 30, 2010). "Running Wilde: "Mental Flaws"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  18. ^ "Fox Mediocre No More". tvbythenumbers.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010.
  19. ^ "Exclusive: FOX to Drop "Running Wilde" from Lineup". The Futon Critic.
  20. ^ "Running Wilde - TV Times - Zap2it". Tvlistings.zap2it.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
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