Seth MacFarlane’s Ted films introduced audiences to the fun and foul-mouthed teddy bear. The unique premise of the film delighted fans as they got to see Ted’s wild and bizarre adventures mixed with the R-rated dialogues. The two films had Mark Wahlberg in the lead and his hilarious banter with Ted left audiences in splits. Despite the films being box office successes, MacFarlane shifted to TV with the IP.
The prequel series was released this year and it proved that the IP still had so much potential that could be explored better in long-form storytelling. The series was renewed for a second season, but a new report states the new season was almost canceled with Universal execs already having new plans for the franchise.
Universal/Peacock Almost Canceled The Ted Series Despite Being Its Most Watched Title
The Ted franchise created by Seth MacFarlane found a new lease of life on TV after its future became uncertain after the two successful films starring Mark Wahlberg. Instead of Ted 3, the IP went to TV with the prequel series on Peacock. The new series had MacFarlane returning to voice the character along with a fresh cast.
The series starred Alanna Ubach, Scott Grimes, Giorgia Whigham, and Max Burkholder with the latter replacing Wahlberg as Ted’s bestie. The show successfully brought back the raunchy tone and quippy dialogues that people loved about the films. The show became the most-watched title on Peacock (via Collider) and has been renewed for a second season.
Universal seems to be interested in expanding the franchise and is reportedly developing an animated series. Surprisingly, Puck News reported that Peacock almost axed season 2 of their biggest hit due to its $8M/episode production cost. On X, fans pointed out that canceling the show would have been a very stupid decision. They also expressed that an animated series was unnecessary as a similar hit Family Guy already exists. Here are some of the reactions,
Canceling one of your biggest shows shows ever is crazy
— 4KT WHO YOU HATE (@royal_bobby24) August 20, 2024
Dude it’s called Family Guy
— Patriot J (@PatriotJ) August 20, 2024
They already have this it’s called family guy
— Sam (@Samantha_SN1) August 20, 2024
The series is quite hilarious! Exactly how you would expect it to be! I feel an animated series would lose a lot of the appeal
— Jeffrey Torres (@evolnine) August 20, 2024
That would've been an abysmal mistake
— 🔥ValiantReaper🔥 (@ValiantReaper) August 20, 2024
Fans can now heave a sigh of relief as their favorite Teddy Bear ain’t going anywhere. Season 1 was such a delight and the record-making numbers prove that people wanna see more. As far as the potential animated series goes, MacFarlane is a comic genius and he could make it work. However, the appeal of Ted is the character’s sentient and tangible feel in addition to the wild jokes.
Ted’s Writers Have Great Ideas For Future Seasons of The Hit Show
Season 1 of Seth MacFarlane’s Ted series focused on the titular character’s adventures with Max Burkholder’s John as they tackle being high schoolers while also going on other wild adventures. Two of the writers of the show Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh told The Wrap that there are a lot of stories to tell in future seasons.
Corrigan added that while season 1 showed them as juniors in high school, future seasons could explore their growth as seniors and even their college years. The writers believe that those scenarios could bring up great narrative possibilities for the two characters. Corrigan said,
There are a ton more stories to explore. This season is the junior year of high school. You can easily see senior year of high school or the beginnings of college, or what that looks like if it is college or not. I think it’d be great to explore that.
Scott Grimes, who plays Uncle Matty in the show updated fans in June that the cast has already had their first read-through for season 2 (via Instagram). Audiences are excited to see more of John and Ted’s fun dynamic and season 2 is expected to be bigger and better than season 1. Fans can watch the first season of Ted on Peacock.
