Seth MacFarlane has revealed a first look at his Ted TV series, which is a prequel to his two theatrical films about a teddy bear that’s magically come to life.
The Peacock limited series consists of seven episodes, with the streamer announcing the show will premiere Jan. 11, along with the trailer and first look photos (below). The show is set in 1993 and Ted (MacFarlane) is “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 (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.”
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MacFarlane serves as writer, executive producer, co-showrunner and director. He penned a joint statement about the show with his co-EPs, writers and showrunners Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh:
“Each generation develops its own unique artistic style, its own way of seeing the world. In the ’20s, it was the subversive musical phrasings of jazz. In the ’50s, 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 ’90s but is based on the timeless truth that being 16 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 ’90s 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).”
Peacock will drop all seven episodes at once. Ted the series, which Peacock bills as an event series, also has executive producers Erica Huggins, Alana Kleiman, Jason Clark and Aimee Carlson.
