2024-01-11 08:00:49
Ted is now streaming on Peacock.
Comedy has changed a lot since Ted debuted in cinemas 12 years ago. Beyond the shifting tides of culture and taste, the once-dominant genre’s theatrical fortunes have nosedived, with only a handful of celebrity-led projects making the cut each year. With big names like Adam Sandler, Melissa McCarthy, and Kevin Hart retreating to streaming, it’s easy to see how a prequel to one of the biggest comedy hits of all time would end up on Peacock. But that may be the only sign of Ted’s ability to change with the times. This throwback to the school days of John Bennett (Max Burkholder, inheriting the role originated by Mark Wahlberg) and his stuffed BFF (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) leans heavily on a tired premise: Yes, the cute teddy bear still says rude things.
The slick opening theme reminiscent of Family Guy is an early indication: Ted is a well-made live-action riff on some of MacFarlane’s popular animated sitcoms, just with slightly different characters. Burkholder does a great job of channelling Wahlberg’s over-the-top performance (and his Southie accent) from Ted and Ted 2, while the rest of the cast manages to be equally frustrating/hilarious depending on your tolerance levels. John’s parents have been renamed Matty (Scott Grimes) and Susan (Alanna Ubach) for some reason, and a lot of the show focuses on the friction between them. Throw a random cousin (Giorgia Whigham) into the mix and this new season of Family Guy Ted is off to a decidedly adequate start.
Ted Gallery
Unfortunately not making the leap from film to series: Patrick Stewart. Thankfully, the Star Trek legend has handed the role of narrator-preoccupied-with-Apache-helicopters to his friend and X-Men nemesis, Ian McKellen. McKellen is vastly underused, only showing up in a handful of episodes – but when he’s around, he delivers some real zingers.
The jokes in Ted are much of what we’ve seen and heard before – outrage is the name of the game, and a lot of the humor is derived from the worn-out gag of a cute, cuddly teddy bear saying some truly awful stuff. There are punchlines about Jewish people, cannibalism, John Belushi, and even one joke you’ve definitely heard before in the Paul Rudd-Seann William Scott vehicle Role Models. Again, if you’ve watched Family Guy, you know what to expect, and that’s the biggest problem.
The show improves as it goes along, reaching its stride around the halfway mark. The introduction of a wild new character puts a quirky spin on the formula, and Ted’s pop culture riffs only get stronger as the series progresses. Whether you stick around that long or even give Ted a chance in the first place will depend on your enthusiasm for the movies and MacFarlane’s other work.
There’s no overarching narrative or even a reason for Ted’s seven episodes to exist together. Each episode is self-contained – a traditional sitcom without a 100-episode backlog. It’s a shame, because Ted would sit nicely as a comfort watch, the type of thing worth tuning in to week after week for a fresh slice of the Bennett family’s lives. Seven episodes give Ted barely enough room to pick up speed, and then it just slumps lifelessly over the finishing line by the time it gets to the good stuff. Perhaps a second season could take things further – the laughs may not be hugely original, but it’s still a welcome addition to the MacFarlane stable.
If you’ve watched Family Guy, you know what to expect… and that’s the biggest problem.
One of the key reasons to return to Ted is the one-two punch of John and Ted – their rapport is superb, and Burkholder takes the reins from Wahlberg with ease. Throw in some nostalgia-driven giggles and some hilarious callbacks to the movies and you’ve got a thoroughly decent comedy that captures what’s enjoyable about its cinematic source material.
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