Ted was one of the most popular comedy films of the 2010s, thanks to its piggybacking on the success of Family Guy. The 2012 picture about a living teddy bear marked the directorial debut of Seth MacFarlane, who was already famous at the time for creating the series about Peter Griffin and his dysfunctional family.
The second highest-grossing R-rated film of all time was followed by Ted 2 in 2015, which wasn’t quite as well-received as its predecessor. However, it was a box office hit, and there was long talk of there being a Ted 3. However, it seems that plans have changed now, and the character will instead return to the screen in the form of a series.
Ted Legacy Lives on in Popular Culture
The two Ted films were hugely successful and made more than $750 million at the box office. It’s no surprise that the creators want to keep milking this cash cow, but they may have thought that releasing the third film would be risky. After all, the second offering generated much lower revenue than the first, so a third could end up being a financial flop. In the modern era, creating a series for a streaming platform seems like a more logical step.
There’s clearly still a massive audience out there waiting for more Ted content. The character and his themes have lived on in popular culture ever since the release of the movies, highlighting how a new series could be a hit. One of the most loved games at online casinos is the Ted slot, which features the title character on the thumbnail. It stands out in lengthy lists of slots among other titles like The Dog House and Razor Shark, and people who have seen Ted are likely to be drawn to it.
What do We Know About the Prequel Series?
In the fiercely competitive world of television streaming platforms, the major players are constantly looking for ways to allure viewers away from their rivals. Peacock has identified Ted as a way to do that, and the service now plans to produce a series. MacFarlane will be the showrunner, alongside Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh. It has also been confirmed that MacFarlane will be returning as the crude teddy bear for more whacky adventures.
According to MacFarlane, the series will be a prequel set in the 1990s, so it’s likely to fill viewers with a lot of nostalgia for that era. It features the main characters from the pictures, but this time focuses on when they were growing up. This will allow them to recast Mark Wahlberg’s character with a younger actor, as hiring the Hollywood A-lister for a project like this would probably require too high a budget. The aim is to try to recapture the magic of the first movie and repeat a lot of its themes.
If the Ted series is anywhere near as good as the first film or MacFarlane’s other main project, Family Guy, it could be an overwhelming success for Peacock. Fans of the character will be eagerly awaiting his return.