One Of Peacock's Best Original Shows Is Coming Back For Season 2
Peacock may be struggling on the revenue front, but that's not keeping it from bringing back one of its most successful shows for a second season.
At the beginning of 2024, Seth MacFarlane's "Ted" TV series (watch the trailer) became Peacock's most watched original series ever. On top of that, the streaming adaptation of the big screen comedy from the "Family Guy" creator actually took the #1 spot on the Original Streaming Comedy charts in the United States for over two months (according to Nielsen ratings, via Peacock's press release). But "Ted" was a massive hit outside of the U.S. too, making waves in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. That's more than enough for a second season of "Ted."
If you missed "Ted," here's the synopsis for the first season:
In this comedic prequel event series to the Ted films, 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 (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.
While the success of "Ted" makes a season 2 renewal feel like a foregone conclusion, the show was originally touted as a limited series. That means it was likely only intended to have a single season. But I'm sure there was always a hope behind the scenes that MacFarlane would be able to continue the antics of the titular foul-mouthed teddy bear and the teenage shenanigans that his Thunder Buddy John Bennett gets into while navigating high school and their dysfunctional family.
We wanted Ted season 2 right away!
If you haven't checked out "Ted" yet, the first season was raucously hilarious, even surpassing the second movie in our ranking of the "Ted" franchise. The first season featured a fun spin on familiar sitcom stories, such as Ted and John trying to get revenge on a school bully but then becoming invested in trying to better his broken family and personal life, like two adoptive fathers. Another episode finds Ted and John sneakily renting an adult movie from the video store (remember those?) and sparking relationship woes between John's parents. Despite the raunchy comedy at the center of the show, it also packs a lot of heart into the chaotic family dynamic. As I wrote in my review of the first season:
"Overall, 'Ted' is a hilarious expansion of Seth MacFarlane's ribald comedy franchise. In fact, even though the bar has never been set consistently high in this department, 'Ted' just might be one of the best TV adaptations of a movie that's ever been done. From the surprisingly slick visual effects bringing Ted to life on a smaller budget to the seamless transition between Mark Wahlberg and Max Burkholder, Peacock's 'Ted' series works infinitely better than you might have anticipated. Personally, I'm hoping there's more foolishness to come, but if not, this seven-episode run works perfectly well as a standalone series."
That's right, I hoped for more "Ted," and now we're getting it. Am I the CEO of Peacock? No comment. But I'm glad that we'll be seeing Ted and John back together for more misadventures. But I wonder if MacFarlane will be able to direct all of the episodes, as he did with the first season. Obviously, his starring role will remain intact, but will he have time to stay quite so involved behind the scenes? Stay tuned.