Seth MacFarlane's Ted Movies And TV Series Ranked
Animation mastermind Seth MacFarlane made a name for himself with the creation of "Family Guy." After working on Hanna-Barbera cartoons like "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Johnny Bravo," MacFarlane would bring his irreverent riff on the animated family sitcom to FOX in 1999. Though the series was initially canceled after three seasons, the show's release on DVD resulted in renewed interest from both audiences and the network, and the show has been running for 22 seasons and counting. Since then, MacFarlane has created several more animated hits, including "American Dad" and the "Family Guy" spin-off "The Cleveland Show," but he's also shifted into both live-action TV and movies, which includes the raunchy buddy comedy franchise "Ted."
"Ted" follows the antics of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a thirty-something who is best friends with a teddy bear that magically came to life after wishing on a magic star when John was just a boy. It might sound family friendly and whimsical, but their life as adults is anything but. John works a dead-end job at a car rental office and spends his spare time smoking weed and screwing around with Ted, the photorealistic, digitally animated teddy bear voiced by MacFarlane, doing a slight variation on the Peter Griffin voice that he employs on "Family Guy."
Since the R-rated comedy movie debuted on the big screen in 2012 and became a huge hit, it has been followed by the appropriately titled sequel "Ted 2" in 2015, and a self-titled limited series on Peacock in 2024. But how do the "Ted" movies and TV series stack up against each other? Let's break it down.
Sidenote: As we begin our ranking, I'd like to point out that there are no bad installments in the "Ted" franchise.
3. Ted 2 (2015)
In "Ted 2," Ted has just been married to his girlfriend Tami-Lynn, six months after John Bennett got a divorce from his wife Lori (Mila Kunis); the two apparently got married sometime in between the first and second movie. When Ted and Tami-Lynn decide to have a kid together, Ted ends up in a whole new struggle when he learns that, as a toy that came to life, the government doesn't recognize him as a person, setting him off on a legal battle for his civil rights. Helping lead the fight is Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), a young, inexperienced lawyer who just so happens to love weed as much as John and Ted do. But doobies aren't the only thing being sparked, because there's some romance blossoming between John and Sam too.
While "Ted 2" has the same satisfying buddy comedy dynamic as the first movie, it lacks a little bit of the heart and authenticity that Mila Kunis brought to the table. Seyfried isn't bad as a new love interest, but with so much focus on the legal battle, the movie is just missing some of the touching center that made the original movie work so well. Furthermore, the return of the first film's villain, the stalker named Donny (Giovanni Ribisi), feels a little forced. Having an entirely new antagonist would have served the sequel much better.
Where "Ted 2" really shines is in the strength of assorted bits (though the movie does occasionally feel a little too indulgent in "Family Guy"-esque jokes), whether it's something silly like John Bennett truly believing that saying "Beetlejuice" three times will summon the bio-exorcist, or a charming sequence with Amanda Seyfried singing a folksy musical ditty in the middle of the woods. That same sequence also features an incredible parody of the iconic scene from "Jurassic Park" where we get our first glimpse at the park's dinosaurs, but instead, it's a field of marijuana that inspires awe, complete with John Williams' unmistakable score.
"Ted 2" is hilarious, but it's missing just a little bit of that special sauce from the first go-round.
2. Ted (Peacock Series, 2024)
Nearly a decade after the big screen sequel, "Ted" returned to the spotlight with a limited series at Peacock. However, rather than focusing on the childish antics of John Bennett and Ted as adults, the series throws it back to John's formative teenage years in high school during the '90s, with Ted by his side.
Running seven episodes, Peacock's "Ted" series plays out like a raunchy spin on '90s-style sitcoms. Though it uses a single camera approach, the production design very much feels in line with the multi-cam sitcoms of the era. There are touches of "Roseanne" along with throwbacks to "The Honeymooners," but it's all through Seth MacFarlane's contemporary lens as writer, director, executive producer, and star. Joining MacFarlane is Max Burkolder as the young John Bennett, who does an outstanding job carving out the same dynamic that Mark Wahlberg had with Ted in the movies.
Where "Ted" treads new territory is in putting a new spin on familiar sitcom tropes. For example, when John and Ted take a prank on the school bully too far, their solution to repair the damage goes in a totally unexpected direction, with the two friends suddenly concerned about the bully as if they were his two fathers. With John's family more directly involved in storylines, there are also more characters to play with. For example, John's cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham) lives with them, and her progressive perspective frequently clashes with John's father Matty (Scott Grimes), who is often oblivious to the needs of his wife Susan (Alanna Ubach). And when Susan starts substitute teaching at John's school, it affords John and Ted the opportunity to show how much they appreciate her by totally obliterating a rude girl in their class.
Though there are episodes that run a tad on the long side for a comedy series, "Ted" offers enough hilarious gags and punchlines that it doesn't really matter.
1. Ted (2012)
It should come as no surprise that "Ted" is at the top of this list. The original movie is the strongest of the entire franchise, offering a filthy but heartwarming buddy comedy where Mark Wahlberg manages to convince you that he's best friends with a talking teddy bear. Sure, Wahlberg has earned plenty of accolades for his turns in movies like "Boogie Nights" and "The Fighter," not to mention an Oscar nomination for his supporting performance in "The Departed," but bringing a level of authenticity and heart to a comedy like this takes a special kind of talent. Wahlberg may be a morally questionable person in real life, but his performance in "Ted" is much more impressive than you'd initially think.
Furthermore, you've got Giovanni Ribisi as the unsettling stalker Donny, who wants Ted for himself and his strange son. The presence of Donny and his son makes for two of the best random lines in the entire movie. After unsuccessfully trying to buy Ted from John, Donny's son firmly tells John, "Stand up straight when you're talking to me." This prompts a hilarious reaction from John, who confusingly questions, "Why the f*** would he say that?" Later in the movie, when Donny and his son have managed to kidnap Ted, the bear tries to make an escape by playing a game of hide and seek. Before they begin, the kid asks, "Do I need to wash my hands before I play this game?" Confused, Ted responds, "Uh, no... that's a weird f***ing question," in that way that only Seth MacFarlane can.
But what makes "Ted" work so well is the bond between John and Ted, especially when forced to grow up a little bit in the face of John's arrested romantic development with his girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis). Though the movie may feature a talking teddy bear, the relationship conflicts and emotional hurdles never ring false. Not only is "Ted" hilarious, but it's heartwarming as well. You have to give credit to a movie like this that acclaimed filmmaker like Paul Thomas Anderson shamelessly loves, and we love it too.