After nine years of wait following Ted 2, the adorable, foul-mouthed bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane returns at last. Though the bear holds a special place among lovers of the crass, brazen idiocy of MacFarlane’s other famous creation, Peter Griffin of Family Guy, we cannot imagine a surplus of people clamoring for more Ted. If you have seen the 2012 film of the same name, you are the audience MacFarlane made this series for, but this standalone product will be hit-or-miss for almost everyone.
‘Ted’ Premise
As a prequel to the events of the 2012 film, this series follows the eponymous bear living with his best friend John’s family during his youth. Due to his sentience, John’s parents send the bear to school alongside his pal, causing trouble with their hijinks and loyal camaraderie.
The Series Earns Its Viewers, Even If It Doesn’t Deserve Them
People of the right age and persuasion will undoubtedly get a kick out of Ted. Like Family Guy, the series’ strengths lie in its memorable cast members withstanding dialogue that can fall flat with over-the-top buoyancy and energy to match MacFarlane’s zaniness. Parenthood’s Max Burkholder shows he can hold onto his young appearance for another teen role, while television veterans Alanna Ubach and Scott Grimes share great moments in stereotypical roles. Giorgia Whigham is the remaining central cast member and mostly plays the voice of reason in the group, but she, too, has a chance to shine.
To its credit, MacFarlane and his collaborators, Brad Walsh and Paul Corrigan, knew what they were doing with this series. Unlike the typical buddy-comedy vision for the films, the series uses sitcom situations, characterizations, and appearances to elevate the show as the ’90s syndicated series that never was. If this approach felt fresher, as in more than just the tropes that every sitcom-evoking product has endlessly copied, the series would ultimately have landed as a more engaging comedy experience.
Max Burkholder in ‘Ted’ / Peacock
Lacking and Mediocre Throughout
Critics mainly considered this third appearance of Ted a successful enough background watch for January 2024, but nearly everyone has the same qualm: there is nothing new here. With how little they reference the bear’s supernatural existence, he might as well be your average sitcom’s best friend, adopted son, or talking dog (if you excise the excessive profanity). Only an uninspired Christmas episode calls much attention to the sudden animation of toys, but like much of the show, everything gets clouded by an echo chamber. These tired right vs. left-leaning arguments create drama when jokes get set aside, leaving stock emotions to take over without earning the sentiment.
If the promise of a loser teen’s antics, an unappreciated mother, a standard Bostonian blue-collar dad, and a college liberal sounds like your cup of tea, the dynamics of Ted might hold your interest when humor takes a leave of absence. Others will leave the series on for mindless entertainment a la MacFarlane’s myriad of comedy selections, while the anti-Family Guy crowd will not have to bother. When the outcome of television enjoyment can be this easily predicted before one even presses play, the joys that could have been tend to get sucked out long before the finale.
Ted is streaming now on Peacock.