Hard to believe it’s been more than a decade since Seth MacFarlane gave us the foul-mouthed teddy bear, Ted, in a duo of R-rated comedies that combined for nearly $800M worldwide. While the second film wasn’t well-received and ended any hope of more sequels, a new prequel series on Peacock is bringing the vulgar sidekick back for another go.
A new trailer for Ted reveals MacFarlane’s Peacock series, which is a prequel set in the ’90s and follows a young John Bennett. Originally played by Mark Wahlberg, the character is now played by Parenthood actor Max Burkholder.
And yes, MacFarlane is back voicing Ted, while also acting as a writer and director of the series. He’s joined by writers/showrunners Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh. Also in the cast are Alanna Ubach, Giorgia Whigham, and The Orville actor Scott Grimes.
The trio of creators said in a statement:
“Our series is a prequel to the ‘Ted’ movies. It takes place in the nineties but is based on the timeless truth that being sixteen sucks. The only thing that makes it tolerable is going through it with a friend, even if that friend is a has-been magical teddy bear with a foul mouth and a proclivity for drug use.”
Here’s the synopsis: In this comedic prequel event series to the Ted films, it’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s (Seth MacFarlane) moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Framingham, Massachusetts, with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder), along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach), and cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham). Ted may be a lousy influence on John, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.
Ted hits Peacock on January 11th 2024 with all seven episodes.
Get psyched to subscribe to yet another streaming service, because the “Ted” event series arrives January 11th only on @peacock! #tedseries pic.twitter.com/Gt8a3QYzUF
— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) November 16, 2023
