A romantic comedy teaming Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox, Wednesday’s “Merv” is not just the film’s title but its cuddly center, a dog.

It’s safe to say there’s never been a dog-centric movie quite like Merv, who is played with tremendous understatement by the aptly named Gus the Dog.

As the drama – and comedy – unfold, we find that this pooch has become seriously depressed since his family – Zooey’s Anna and Charlie’s Russ – have split and Merv must make do with alternating weekend visits.

“He does not have superpowers,” Deschanel, 45, conceded. “It’s like he’s underplaying and it’s a reverse super dog movie.”

As stars, did they have dog approval in their contracts?

“I knew they would choose a good dog,” Deschanel said diplomatically. “I think he had approval over us.”

While much of “Merv” is set on Florida beaches, the movie was filmed entirely in Wilmington, North Carolina.

“We both met Gus the Dog about a week before we started shooting,” Cox, 42, recalled.

Why was this leap into a romantic comedy that revolves around a depressed pooch so irresistible?

“I just loved it, I loved the idea so much,” Deschanel said. “I’d never seen a movie with this concept.

“And I love romantic comedies — and there hadn’t been a lot of them lately. I hadn’t seen a lot of rom-com scripts that were really interesting, with great concepts.

“So I read this, loved the idea and thought the dog element was really fun.”

“The three of us just got on so well. From Day One, we had such a blast together,” added Cox, who’s best known as the blind Marvel hero in the current, ongoing “Daredevil: Born Again” series. “We were all away from home, away from our families and we became each other’s family for that period of time.”

That sense of community extended to the end of the shoot when, “We all got animals at the same time. That’s what this movie did, turned us into serious pet people,” Cox said.

Deschanel, a self-described dog and cat person, now has three cats: Poppy, Dove and Pickle.

“They’re super sweet and affectionate.  Dove acts just like a dog. She licks your hand. She’ll get in your lap. She’s so sweet, she’ll follow you around.

“Our dog passed away a couple years ago, so we were ready for another animal.”

Cox got a dog. “One of the trainers on set had a Border Terrier. I’ve always loved Border Terriers, but they’re quite hard to find in the States. So this this trainer put me in touch with a breeder and I flew to Missouri to pick-up little Quinn.”

“Merv” streams on Prime Dec. 10

Gus the Dog stars in “Merv.” (Photo courtesy Prime)