Ted (TV series)

Ted (stylized in all lowercase) is an American fantasy comedy series created by Seth MacFarlane for Peacock. The third installment in the Ted franchise, it serves as a prequel to the feature films. It stars MacFarlane reprising his role as the voice of the titular character, alongside Max Burkholder, Alanna Ubach, Scott Grimes, and Giorgia Whigham.

Ted premiered on January 11, 2024. In May 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise
Set between 1993 and 1994, in between the opening sequence and main plot of Ted (2012), the series depicts the early life of a sentient teddy bear named Ted, as he lives with 16-year-old John Bennett and his family in Framingham, Massachusetts. In addition to John and Ted, the Bennett household includes John's father Matty, his mother Susan, and his cousin, Blaire, who is living with them while attending a college nearby. In the pilot episode, Ted is forced to attend school with John from then on, due to the trouble he causes while the rest of the family are at school and work.

Main

 * Seth MacFarlane as the voice and motion capture for Ted, a profane, free-spirited, anthropomorphic teddy bear and former celebrity whom John wished to life when he was a child.
 * Tara Strong as Ted's "I Love You" function.
 * Max Burkholder as John Bennett, a gullible yet well-meaning 16-year-old boy who is best friends with Ted and is near the bottom of the social ladder at John Hancock High. He was previously portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in Ted (2012) and Ted 2 (2015), and by Colton Shires and Bretton Manley in the opening sequence of Ted.
 * Alanna Ubach as Susan Bennett, John's impressionable, friendly, easygoing, stay-at-home mother. She was previously named Helen in the opening sequence of Ted, and portrayed by Alex Borstein.
 * Scott Grimes as Matty Bennett, John's fiery-tempered Republican father who is a Vietnam veteran and is prone to many paranoid theories and irrational fears. He was previously named Steve in the opening sequence in Ted, and portrayed by Ralph Garman.
 * Giorgia Whigham as Blaire Bennett, John's knowledgeable, sarcastic politically liberal cousin and Matty and Susan's niece, who attends Emerson College. In "Just Say Yes", it is revealed that Blaire is living with the Bennetts because of her own dysfunctional family, and attempts to look out for John and Ted and keep them out of trouble. In "Loud Night", Blaire reveals she is sexually fluid and is in a romantic relationship with Sarah, an Indian girl from her college.

Recurring

 * Marissa Shankar as Sarah, Blaire's girlfriend who sells marijuana to pay for tuition.
 * Ara Hollyday as Andrew, a classmate of John and Ted, and the boyfriend of Polly.
 * Liz Richman as Polly, a classmate of John and Ted, and the girlfriend of Andrew.
 * Jack Seavor McDonald as Clive, John and Ted's former bully.
 * Julius Sharpe as Mr. George, John and Ted's mentally unstable teacher who often overshares his personal life in front of the class. He is fired in "Desperately Seeking Susan".
 * Penny Johnson Jerald as Principal.

Guest

 * Mike Henry as Bank Employee
 * Charly Jordan as Sheila Borgwat
 * Ian McKellen as the narrator
 * Don Lake as Bert
 * John Viener as Dr. Frankel
 * Audrey Wasilewski as Muriel
 * Dana Gould as	Priest
 * Marc Jablon as Restaurant Manager
 * Brendan Jennings as Ostrich Owner
 * Danny Jolles as Will
 * Josh Stamberg as Professor Lucas Damon
 * Ivar Brogger as Father Odell
 * Jason Kravits as Mr. Maynard
 * Paul Schackman as Sandy
 * Bobby Strom as Dennis
 * Charlotte Fountain-Jardim as Bethany Borgwat
 * Tim Russ as ER Doctor

Production
It was announced in June 2021 that Peacock had given a straight-to-series order for a prequel series to the 2012 film. In addition to serving as executive producer for the series, Seth MacFarlane reprises his role as the titular character Ted. Due to the prequel nature of the series, film stars Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Amanda Seyfried were not expected to reprise their roles. In April 2022, Scott Grimes, Max Burkholder, and Giorgia Whigham joined the cast. In May 2022, Alanna Ubach rounded out the cast of the series.

MacFarlane stated that he was offered a chance to make a Ted television series by Universal, following the success of the films, and agreed to do it so long as the CGI on Ted was not "nickel-and-dimed." He ultimately decided on a prequel as opposed to a continuation from where Ted 2 left off, citing the greater story potential and Wahlberg's busy schedule. MacFarlane also noted the appeal of doing a streaming show in which the main character is CGI, something he had not really seen before. According to Burkholder, each of the main cast members had to walk around with a life-sized replica of Ted for three months to prepare for their roles before filming.

Filming began in August 2022 at the Universal Studios Lot. The show was produced with ViewScreen, a new program developed at Fuzzy Door Productions that allowed special effects to be viewed in real-time while filming instead of waiting to add them in post. The series consists of seven episodes. In November 2022, Seth MacFarlane confirmed that filming had wrapped.

In May 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.

Release
The show's premiere took place on January 10, 2024, at the AMC Cinema at The Grove in Los Angeles.

All seven episodes of Ted were released on January 11, 2024. Within the first three days after its premiere, the series became the most-watched original title on Peacock. In the UK, the series was released on Sky as eight episodes, with episode one split into two parts, premiering on February 9, 2024.

Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of 41 critics' reviews are positive for the series, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The silly old bear isn't quite up to new tricks with this foul-mouthed sitcom, but fans of Seth MacFarlane's caustic comedy will get plenty of kick out of Ted's latest antics." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 51 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Nick Schager of The Daily Beast gave the season a positive review, praising its humor and handling of political themes, even stating that the series "earns quite a few more chuckles than its big-screen counterparts." Chris Vognar of Rolling Stone was similarly optimistic, describing the show as "silly" and "juvenile" but full of laughs nonetheless. Neal Justin of Star Tribune described Ted as "actually kind of sweet––and noble", praising its comedy and heart.

Variety's Allison Herman was far more critical, describing the franchise as "not the kind of story that requires expansion" and criticizing the show's similarity to the movies and lack of identity. She also criticized the series' 40-minute runtime and low episode count, describing seven episodes as "when an actual network sitcom would just be getting started." Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter gave the show a mixed review, praising the casting and the chemistry between MacFarlane and Burkholder, but criticized the episodes' length and pacing. She stated that "for every element that clicks, there are a half dozen more that don't" and suggested that Seth MacFarlane might be getting in his own way. Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph awarded the series one star out of five, writing "MacFarlane's sweary Paddington has one joke… and it isn't big, it isn't clever and it's certainly not funny."