The Big Picture
The Ted prequel series on Peacock is sure to please fans of the films, with a lot of heart and delightful performances. The series feels like live-action Family Guy, complete with crude humor, cursing, and pop culture references. While it may become repetitive, the series is still watchable and enjoyable for fans of the Ted movies.
When Seth MacFarlane’s Ted first arrived on the big screen in the summer of 2012, R-rated comedies were all the rage. That same year also saw the release of hits like 21 Jump Street and Project X, while a year earlier, films like Bridesmaids and The Hangover Part II became commercial successes. In its opening weekend, Ted made a whopping $54.4 million, which is still the record for the highest original R-rated comedy opening in box office history. The movie was a sensation, and it made total sense why Universal was quick to greenlight a sequel. While Ted 2 was a modest success in 2015, it failed to generate the same buzz that the first film did. Alongside the critical and financial failure of MacFarlane’s other feature film, A Million Ways to Die in the West, it didn’t seem like we’d ever see the foul-mouthed teddy bear on screen again. At least not for a while.
Times have changed since the release of Ted 2, and R-rated comedies aren’t as prevalent on the big screen as they used to be. With MacFarlane leaving behind his longtime home at Fox, to team with Universal (who distributed the Ted films), it felt inevitable that the Family Guy creator would figure out a way to resurrect the franchise in some fashion. That brings us to Ted, a 6-episode “event” series that acts as a prequel to the first film.
Ted
In 1993, the sentient teddy bear Ted lives with the family of his owner John Bennett, who wished him to life.
Release Date January 11, 2024
Main Genre Comedy
Genres Comedy
Franchise(s) Ted
What Is the ‘Ted’ Series About?
Set in 1993, the Ted series operates as an R-rated family sitcom centering around the Bennett family. There’s John (Max Burkholder filling in for Mark Wahlberg), an initially innocent 16-year-old who is starting to feel as if he’s fallen behind the rest of his peers. John’s father, Matty (Scott Grimes) is a politically incorrect loudmouth who is constantly at odds with his very liberal niece Blaire (Giorga Whigham), who is staying with the family while attending college. Matty’s wife Susan (Alanna Ubach) is almost his polar opposite, a sweet, soft-spoken stay-at-home mother who always comes with the best of intentions. Then there’s the potty-mouthed teddy bear himself, Ted, who is now being forced to attend school with John.
Throughout the series, Ted assists John in smoking weed for the first time, losing his virginity, dealing with bullies, and helping him navigate his dysfunctional family life. While being labeled as an “event series,” there isn’t much of an overarching plot. This new Ted is pretty much just a live-action Family Guy, complete with crude humor, cursing, cutaway gags, and a mountain of pop culture references.
The Bennett Family Steals Some of ‘Ted’s Spotlight
While the titular talking teddy bear Ted has always and will always be the main draw of this franchise, MacFarlane always gives everyone else a chance to shine. That remains the same in the TV series. While there is still a good chunk of the laughs that are drawn from MacFarlane’s voice work as Ted, the actors playing the Bennett family are just as successful in bringing in the laughs. Grimes puts on a thick, sometimes cartoonish, Boston accent when playing Matty, a character that starts as so obnoxious and unlikeable, but has an arc throughout the seven episodes that makes you begin to root for him more than you did before. With Family Guy, MacFarlane has never been that interested in making Peter Griffin learn a lesson that will change him in future episodes, but in Ted, that seems to be the opposite with Grimes’ Matty.
Much like Matty, Ubach’s Susan initially starts out feeling much more like a caricature than an actual person. And yet, Ubach’s care for the role makes it work. As the character becomes less of a comedy punching bag, the series allows her to have her misadventures and character arcs beyond just being dragged into whatever situation her husband has got himself into. Burkholder and Whigham are also delightful as John and Blair, with Burkholder doing his best Mark Wahlberg impression, and Whigham acting as the series’ moral center.
If You Like the ‘Ted’ Movies, You’ll Like the ‘Ted’ Series
Image via Peacock
If you are even remotely familiar with MacFarlane, you already know that he has a very specific sense of humor and style of telling jokes. One of the main criticisms of Family Guy has always been the overreliance on cutaway gags, but for various reasons, that doesn’t apply to live-action. Even so, Ted feels like very familiar territory for MacFarlane. Those who weren’t fans of the Ted films will probably turn off this new series within the first five minutes. It doesn’t bring much new to the franchise, but it is extremely watchable. It’s not too mean-spirited, and its heart is in the right place. MacFarlane and his team care about the Bennett family, and they want the audience to care too. While Ted easily could have felt like a half-assed retread replaying the greatest hits of the first two movies, there is a clear amount of effort and passion put into creating this series. The production quality is on the same level as the films, and the CGI on Ted himself is even better than it was on the big screen.
Even with only seven episodes, the Ted series does start to wear out its welcome, with the storytelling becoming repetitive and predictable. While it is never boring by any means, one season may have been enough. There’s only so much you can do with a franchise about a cursing, pot-smoking teddy bear who lives in Boston before it becomes tired. The Ted movies aren’t classics by any means, they’re the perfect kind of guilty pleasure comedies that you can just throw on the TV, laugh, and relax. That’s exactly what the series feels like as well. There’s nothing too offensive or grating about it, nor is it going to be sweeping the Emmys. If you like the Ted movies, and they make you laugh, then you will most likely enjoy the show. That’s really all you need to know.
Ted
Review
Seth MacFarlane’s ‘Ted’ prequel series is sure to please fans of the films, but that’s about it.
Pros Max Burkholder, Giorgia Whigham, Scott Grimes, and Alanna Ubach are all delightful in their roles. The series has a lot of heart and is less mean spirited than some of Seth MacFarlane’s other shows. Those who were fans of the first two ‘Ted’ movies will feel right at home with this prequel. Cons The premise starts to wear thin after a while with the episodes becoming more and more repetitive. It takes a bit to get going, especially since the characters all start off as extremely obnoxious.
All seven episodes of Ted are now streaming on Peacock in the U.S.
Watch on Peacock