Moviefone Editorial

Tag: ted

  • First Trailer for the ‘Ted’ TV Prequel

    Preview:

    • The trailer for the ‘Ted’ TV series is online.
    • It’s set in the 1990s, before the two ‘Ted’ movies.
    • From creator Seth MacFarlane, the show will premiere on Peacock in January.

    Not content with dominating the televised animation landscape with shows such as ‘Family Guy’ and ‘American Dad’, Seth MacFarlane has also made movies, with the ‘Ted’ films –– about a foul-mouthed toy (voiced by MacFarlane) who is best friends with John Bennett (played in the movies by Mark Wahlberg).

    MacFarlane is now bringing the character and his story to his small-screen stomping grounds via a new Peacock prequel series, also titled ‘Ted’.

    The first trailer for the show is now online, and you can watch it above.

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    What’s the Story of ‘Ted’?

    Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Ted in 'Ted.'
    Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Ted in ‘Ted.’ Photo by: Peacock.

    While the movies do kick off with young John Bennett wishing his favorite toy could talk, the new show will fill in some of the storytelling gaps.

    It’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s (Seth MacFarlane) moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Framingham, Massachusetts with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder), along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan (MacFarlane regular Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach) and cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham).

    Ted may be a lousy influence on John, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.

    Related Article: Every Seth MacFarlane TV Show, Ranked From ‘Family Guy’ to ‘The Orville’

    Seth MacFarlane and His Team Talk About the Show

    Max Burkholder as John and Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Ted in 'Ted.'
    (L to R) Max Burkholder as John and Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Ted in ‘Ted.’ Photo: Peacock.

    MacFarlane, along with co-showrunners Brad Walsh and Paul Corrigan, issued the following statement about the new series:

    “Each generation develops its own unique artistic style, its own way of seeing the world. In the twenties, it was the subversive musical phrasings of jazz. In the fifties, it was the bold brushwork of the abstract expressionists. Our generation’s unique art is streaming content based on previously successful intellectual property. In that proud tradition, we humbly give you ‘Ted’. Our series is a prequel to the Ted movies. It takes place in the nineties but is based on the timeless truth that being sixteen sucks. The only thing that makes it tolerable is going through it with a friend, even if that friend is a has-been magical teddy bear with a foul mouth and a proclivity for drug use. The three of us were teenagers in the nineties and grew up in and around Boston, where the show takes place, so many of these stories are personal for us. We were able to put the characters through some of the same indignities and milestones we experienced back then. Also, we made stuff up (it’s a lot of pages to fill and real life is mostly boring).”

    When Will ‘Ted’ Be On Screens?

    Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Ted, Max Burkholder as John, Scott Grimes as Matty, Alanna Ubach as Susan, and Giorgia Whigham as Blaire in 'Ted.'
    (L to R) Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Ted, Max Burkholder as John, Scott Grimes as Matty, Alanna Ubach as Susan, and Giorgia Whigham as Blaire in ‘Ted.’ Photo: Peacock.

    Peacock is premiering the series on January 11th.

    'Ted' premieres on Peacock January 11th.
    ‘Ted’ premieres on Peacock January 11th.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Ted’:

    Buy ‘Ted’ Movies On Amazon

     

  • ‘Tropic Thunder’ and 19 More of the Funniest R-Rated Comedies of Last 10 Years

    ‘Tropic Thunder’ and 19 More of the Funniest R-Rated Comedies of Last 10 Years

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    7 Movies You Totally Forgot Patrick Stewart Was In

  • Why Did ‘Ted 2’ Stumble at the Box Office?

    Thunder buddies for life? Not for audiences, at least.

    “Ted 2” fans proved shockingly disloyal this weekend, ponying up only $32.9 million for the sequel — off more than $20 million from what the original “Ted” made ($54.4 million) three years ago over the same weekend frame. It was supposed to give holdovers “Jurassic World” and “Inside Out” a close race for the top spot. Instead, it came in third place, while “Jurassic” and “IO” finished as expected with $54.2 million and $52.1 million, respectively.

    In a season when pundits have been routinely underestimating the opening weekend tallies of summer hits by tens of millions of dollars, a movie that underperforms as big as “Ted 2” has to be considered a disappointment.

    What went wrong? Here are five possible reasons:

    1. The Novelty’s Worn Off
    A foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear was pretty funny the first time. The second time? Not so much. “Ted” seems to have been playing on permanent rotation on cable for the past three years, and instead of whetting appetites for a sequel, it seems to have worn out the bear’s welcome.

    2. Seth MacFarlane Is Wearing Out His Welcome, Too
    Since the first “Ted” opened, MacFarlane has hosted the Oscars — to decidedly mixed reviews — and wrote, directed and starred in last summer’s “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” which was universally panned and topped out at $43.1 million — about $11 million less than “Ted” earned upon its opening weekend.

    MacFarlane’s not over, by any means (he still has his two long-running primetime cartoons), but his fanbase isn’t what it used to be. And few seem to want to see him on camera, even if he is voicing a sentient, pot-smoking bear.

    3. The Audience Has Grown Up
    Well, sort of.

    An R-rated comedy depends on adult viewers, of course, but exit polling shows that only about half of “Ted 2” ticketbuyers were over 25. The grown-ups stayed away, perhaps for the two reasons listed above, and perhaps because reviews for “Ted 2” were much worse than those for its predecessor. Since the over-25 audience actually still cares somewhat about reviews, the pans probably hurt the movie. Moviegoers who’ve actually seen the comedy liked it enough to give it a B+ CinemaScore, but decent word-of-mouth won’t help people see it if weak reviews kept them away in the first place.

    4. Fierce Competition
    Or at least a zoo, with the poor bear fighting not just genetically-enhanced dinosaurs at the box office, but also emotions inside a little girl’s head. “Ted 2” faced the one-two punch of over-performers “Jurassic World” and “Inside Out” this weekend, competition that the first film didn’t have to face. A strong argument can be made for “Ted 2’s” audience getting lost on their pay to see “Jurassic” and “IO” again.

    5. R-Rated Comedies Are Struggling
    This summer, anyway.

    Four-week old “Spy,” while critically praised, is a bit of a slow-starter at the box office. But it’s held steady at the box office, boasting small drop-offs week to week, so some of “Ted 2’s” fanbase may have got their laughs from Melissa McCarthy instead. Even four-week-old “Spy” may have knocked some of the stuffing out of “Ted 2.” “Spy” finished fifth this week, with an estimated $7.8 million, for a four-week total of $88.4 million. That’s good considering that it, too, is competing against “Jurassic World” and “Inside Out.”

    The underperformance of “Ted 2” ends Universal’s recent streak of franchise-based hits that it has been enjoying all year, from “Fifty Shades of Grey” to “Furious 7” to “Pitch Perfect 2” to “Jurassic World.” While nobody anticipated just how huge “Jurassic World” was going to be, Universal should have anticipated that its audience would be demographically broad enough to steal some of the thunder from its little thunder buddy and shouldn’t have positioned them just two weeks apart.

    No doubt Amy Schumer is relieved that Universal isn’t opening her R-rated comedy, “Trainwreck,” until July 17. That’ll put three weeks between it and “Ted 2” and five weeks between it and “Jurassic World.” After all, those dinosaurs will eat any critter, no matter who created it.
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