When Ted, Seth MacFarlane’s comedic creation, debuted on the silver screen in the summer of 2012, R-rated comedies were enjoying a peak in popularity. That same year witnessed the success of films like 21 Jump Street and Project X, following earlier hits such as Bridesmaids and The Hangover Part II in the preceding year. Ted made an impressive $54.4 million in its opening weekend, setting a record for the highest original R-rated comedy opening in box office history. The film became a sensation, prompting Universal to swiftly approve a sequel. Although Ted 2 achieved modest success in 2015, it failed to capture the same excitement as its predecessor. Coupled with the critical and financial setback of MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West, it seemed unlikely that the foul-mouthed teddy bear would grace the screen again anytime soon.
Since the release of Ted 2, the landscape of R-rated comedies on the big screen has evolved, with a decline in prevalence. MacFarlane, having departed from his long-standing association with Fox to join forces with Universal, the distributor of the Ted films, it seemed inevitable that the Family Guy creator would find a way to revive the franchise. This leads us to Ted, a six-episode “event” series functioning as a prequel to the original film.
Set in 1993, the Ted series unfolds as an R-rated family sitcom, focusing on the Bennett family. The central characters include John (played by Max Burkholder, stepping in for Mark Wahlberg), a initially innocent 16-year-old who feels he’s lagging behind his peers. John’s father, Matty (portrayed by Scott Grimes), is a politically incorrect loudmouth constantly clashing with his very liberal niece, Blaire (Giorga Whigham), who is staying with the family while attending college. Matty’s wife Susan (Alanna Ubach) is his polar opposite—a sweet, soft-spoken stay-at-home mother with the best of intentions. And of course, there’s the potty-mouthed teddy bear, Ted, who is compelled to attend school with John.
While Ted has always been the primary attraction of the franchise, MacFarlane ensures that the other characters have their moments to shine. This holds true for the TV series, with a substantial portion of the humor stemming from MacFarlane’s voice work as Ted. However, the actors portraying the Bennett family also excel in eliciting laughter. Grimes adopts a thick, occasionally cartoonish Boston accent for the character of Matty, initially obnoxious and unlikable but undergoing an arc over the seven episodes that makes viewers root for him more than before. Unlike Family Guy, where MacFarlane typically avoids having Peter Griffin learn lasting lessons, Ted takes the opposite approach with Grimes’ character, Matty.