The world of Ted lives on! Peacock ordered 10-episodes that will see the foul-mouthed teddy bear back in 1993, where his fame has died down and he first meets John Bennett, who lives in a working-class Boston home with his parents and cousin. The show will highlight the special bond between the two and how Ted became such an instrumental part of John’s life. Thus far, the casting is underway, though it hasn’t been made official when the series will air. However, that’s not the primary focus as was there any need for a Ted prequel series? Especially since the amazing chemistry between Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane’s crass bear won’t exist in the series.
Here’s the thing about Ted, when it was first introduced into the world back in 2012, it was fresh and exciting. Behind the crass and crude jokes was about the journey of John needing to finally grow up. Ted 2 then took somewhat of a weird turn that didn’t really recapture the magic of the first film, though the chemistry between Wahlberg and MacFarlane remained strong. Still, exactly why do we need to explore the world of Ted and John even further? Fine, we’re going back to the beginning when these two will meet. There’s nothing particularly interesting about John’s backstory that warrants a deeper focus on it. In fact, the premise completely skips on the more interesting part, which is Ted being a famous celebrity. With Wahlberg confirmed as someone not returning to the prequel, it would’ve been more effective to veer away from the story of John and Ted, as it’s going to be extremely hard to match the magic that the adult counterparts had in the feature films. It could’ve been a fun exploration that highlights Ted’s peak years of fame, drugs, and sex, a satire on the Hollywood lifestyle as seen through the eyes of a teddy bear.
Even then, doing a series can stretch this premise dry pretty quickly. That’s the major problem with the prequel, it’s a thin plot that’s better served as a feature than a series. Of course, MacFarlane is going to expand on the world of Ted so it won’t be as simple as the premise suggests, but there’s just nothing fascinating about putting the spotlight on John again. Does that mean a great storyline can’t be made out of John’s childhood? Yes, as there’s more layers to pluck out of him growing up in a world with a talking Teddy Bear. There’s fun to be had with the premise of Ted and it wouldn’t surprise me much if this becomes a critically lauded series. Say what you will about MacFarlane’s brand, but there’s a reason why shows like Family Guy and American Dad exists.
However, another big issue is that Family Guy and American Dad are being milked to dry at this point, and given how thin the series is, that might be the case here as well. Since this is an live-action series, then the show won’t likely go on as long as the animated counterparts, but there’s also a limit to MacFarlane’s writing ability. His crass and crude humor tends to wear pretty thin, as evident in the sequel and A Million Ways to Die in the West. What’s John’s purpose going to be if this show makes it to a third season? The adult character was already a man-child in the feature, is he a being with lofty and high expectations? Or is a damaged young soul who’s been scarred by society with the only sense of joy being his cuddly teddy bear? That feels emotionally complex for the series, but given the fact that Ted is more a crude feature than something thought-provoking and emotionally challenging, it would be shocking if Seth MacFarlane went into that direction.
The best direction would be a mini-series that doesn’t go pass one season. Explore how Ted and John first met, how the former was able to become a talking bear, and go back-and-forth on their lives and why they’re such a good pair. Of course, keep the crude nature that made the features so popular (well, the first one at least), but don’t revel into the gross aspects that turn it into a senseless farce. A Ted prequel is completely unnecessary, but at the end of the day, it’s already been greenlit. Hopefully, Seth MacFarlane proves doubters like me wrong and comes out with something incredible. Unfortunately, it just sounds like an exercise to ring a franchise that’s on the brink of death dry.
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