Summary
- Seth MacFarlane originally pitched Ted as a family-friendly animated series years before the concept morphed into raunchy but lovable movies.
- Peacock’s upcoming Ted streaming series is a prequel that takes place over 30 years ago, in 1993.
- All seven episodes of Ted drop on Thursday, January 11.
It’s hard to unhear what the foul-mouthed teddy bear did with that parsnip he sold to the family with four small children. But it’s been 12 years since Seth MacFarlane’s wildly inventive and hilarious film Ted debuted in movie theaters. However, the raunchy Flash Gordon-loving toy bear that came to life was originally intended to headline a family-friendly animated show. MacFarlane said in an exclusive interview with The Wrap:
“There was a period during the Time Warner-Turner merger during which the company really had no idea what to do with its creative staff. We were all just sitting around, the whole place was in chaos. They didn’t want to fire us all because then they wouldn’t have any artists or writers when they did get underway again. So, all we really had to do was pitch an animated show once a week to our bosses. Ted was originally one of these ideas.”
MacFarlane originally conceived the idea behind Ted, as an animated series, back when he was still working for Cartoon Network on such shows as What a Cartoon!, Johnny Bravo and Dexter’s Laboratory. But it would be well into Family Guy’s television run (between the show’s 10th and 11th seasons) before the original movie dropped in theaters during the summer of 2012.
Ted Drops on Peacock January 11
Ted TV Show
- Release Date
- January 11, 2024
- Seasons
- 1
Seth MacFarlane’s crotchety creation, Ted, returns this January, but this time around, the teddy bear’s hilarious antics are chronicled on the streaming service, Peacock. The series is a prequel to the immensely popular films, Ted and Ted 2, and the show is set over 30 years ago, in 1993. MacFarlane once more provides the voice for Ted, as he did in the movies. And while the concept of Ted was originally conceived as family-friendly television, that idea soon fell by the wayside. MacFarlane said in the same interview:
“I never did anything with it [the animated idea]. And then when it came time for me to do my first movie, it seemed like an idea that had some legs. And since it was a movie instead of a TV show and an ongoing group of characters, it seemed like telling a love story from start to finish and using that framework was maybe a better way to go. So, the dad became a single guy trying to get his relationship back together.”
In the show, actor Max Burkholder plays the part of young John Bennett, which was originally portrayed by Hollywood heavyweight Mark Wahlberg in both of the films. All seven episodes of the live-action Ted series drops Thursday, January 11, on Peacock. And fans can check out the official trailer for Ted right now.
