Seth MacFarlane's Ted Series At Peacock Reveals Synopsis, Cast And Showrunners
Peacock has announced the cast, creatives, and official synopsis for Ted, the upcoming live-action comedy based on the movies from Family Guy and The Orville creator Seth MacFarlane. The streamer revealed that the series will take place in 1993 and feature Ted in the years between when he first came to life and when we first met him in the 2012 movie. Here, rather than being 35 years old, we get a 16-year-old John Bennett, now played by Parenthood's Max Burkholder. In addition to MacFarlane, The Orville will contribute Scott Grimes to the project, likely raising more eyebrows among the fans worried about that show's future. Rounding out the cast will be The Punisher's Giorgia Whigham.
Peacock announced today the main casting for TED, the highly-anticipated live-action comedy series based on the blockbuster film franchise, with Seth MacFarlane (The Orville, Ted & Ted 2, Family Guy) set to reprise the voice of the iconic and loveable foul-mouthed teddy bear Ted.
Ted earned nearly $600 million worldwide on a budget of $65 million and was Universal's highest-grossing blockbuster movie of 2012 – something no one expected. That made it easy for the studio to greenlight a sequel. Ted 2 didn't fare quite as well: the sequel failed to earn over $100 million in the US, and only drummed up $216.7 million worldwide, on a budget of almost $70 million. That drop-off in interest proved to be steep enough for Universal to put the franchise on ice.
Here's the official synopsis for Ted:
It's 1993 and Ted the bear's moment of fame has passed, leaving him living with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett, who lives in a working-class Boston home with his parents and cousin. Ted may not be the best influence on John, but when it comes right down to it, Ted's willing to go out on a limb to help his friend and his family.
MacFarlane will also direct, write, co-showrun and executive produce all episodes alongside co-showrunners, writers and executive producers Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh (Modern Family). The series comes from MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door and will be executive produced by President Erica Huggins. Alana Kleiman and Jason Clark will also serve as executive producers. Clark is returning after producing the Ted film franchise.
Ted is the second series order since MacFarlane and Fuzzy Door signed a multi-year television deal with UCP in 2020. Also coming to Peacock this year from Fuzzy Door is the disaster science series The End is Nye, hosted by Emmy Award-winner and renowned science educator Bill Nye. Fuzzy Door will produce alongside Universal Television Alternative Studio and UCP, divisions of Universal Studio Group. The Orville: New Horizons debuts on Hulu on June 2.
You can read the character descriptions for the series leads below.
SETH MacFARLANE (The Orville, Ted & Ted 2, Family Guy) will play the role of "Ted," a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear brought to life by the magic of a little boy's wish.
MAX BURKHOLDER (Parenthood) will play the role of "John Bennett." John is a good guy and likeable teen who is, however, still in his awkward phase. With Ted's help, John is doing his best to navigate adolescence.
GIORGIA WHIGHAM (The Punisher, 13 Reasons Why) will play the role of "Blaire Bennett." Blaire is a smart and politically correct college student who's living with her Uncle Matty, Aunt Susan and younger cousin John. She is not afraid to be outspoken and frequently clashes with her more traditionalist family.
SCOTT GRIMES (Oppenheimer, The Orville) will play the role of "Matty Bennett." Matty is a blustering, blue-collar Bostonian who thinks he is the unequivocal boss in the family, and doesn't like anyone challenging him, particularly his liberal-minded niece, Blaire.