Summary
- Seth MacFarlane’s small screen revival of Ted has been well-received by viewers, although critics have mixed opinions on the return of the foul-mouthed teddy bear.
- The original Ted movie was a huge success, grossing $549 million worldwide, but the sequel fell short, earning only $215 million and receiving negative reviews.
- The Ted series takes place during John’s younger years and captures the essence of what made the original movie successful. Critics have a 67% score, while viewers give it an 82% audience score, higher than the scores for the movies.
Seth MacFarlane’s revival of his successful Ted movie franchise on the small screen seems to have landed well with viewers, although critics are not quite as on board with the return of the foul-mouthed teddy bear.
It is now more than a decade since Seth MacFarlane introduced the world to his new creation Ted – a character that essentially put Peter Griffin in the body of a stuffed toy and surrounded him with as many 80s pop culture references as the Family Guy creator could muster. Although the movie did not hit the mark with everyone, fans of MacFarlane lapped up the antics of Ted and his owner John, played by Mark Wahlberg, to the tune of a $549 million worldwide box office.
The inevitable sequel arrived three years later, but its gross only just broke $215 million and both critics and audiences kicked the stuffing out of Ted’s return, effectively ending the franchise. Or at least until the world of streaming allowed the character to make a now compulsory transition to the small screen in the Peacock prequel series, imaginatively titled Ted.
The series sees MacFarlane effortlessly slip back into the role of Ted, in a story that takes place during John’s younger years and opens up a whole new era for Ted’s filthy mind to make his stamp on. Debuting on January 11, Ted seems to have managed to recapture some of what made the original movie a success, with the first Rotten Tomatoes scores almost matching the 2012 comedy. Critics have continued to be split over MacFarlane’s juvenile, self-congratulatory sense of humor with a 67% score, while, for most viewers, that is what gives the series its edge, leading an original 95% audience score which has now dipped to 82%. This still sits higher than Ted’s movie outings as can be seen in the table below.
|
Title |
RT Critics Score |
RT Audience Score |
|
Ted (2012) |
69% |
73% |
|
Ted 2 (2015) |
45% |
50% |
|
Ted – Series (2024) |
67% |
82% |
Ted Could Have Been an Animated Family Comedy
Although Seth MacFarlane’s greatest strengths clearly lie in mature R-rated comedy, Ted’s place in the writer-director-actor’s arsenal of project could have been in a much different arena if the original plan to make a family-friendly animated series had come to fruition.
Speaking with The Wrap ahead of Ted’s Peacock debut, MacFarlane revealed that long before finding his place in a live-action comedy, the character was pitched in a very different way. He said:
“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.”
It seems that in the grand scheme of things, Ted found the right path, and now, after being revitalized by his latest venture, it is likely that we haven’t seen the last of the potty-mouthed ursine just yet.
Ted
- Release Date
- January 11, 2024
- Creator
- Seth MacFarlane
- Seasons
- 1
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
