‘Ted’ (2024) Review – Television Adaptation Offers Gut-Busting Hilarity!

There has been a swing in public opinion questioning cancel culture in the wake of social justice issues. That has translated into many revisited shows like The Sopranos and Entourage, wondering how these characters would be able to function (or, for that matter, survive) today. The streaming wars and the cutthroat survival game have pushed networks to retreat to their old ways.

That brings us to Ted, Seth MacFarlane’s creation. He has adapted a television series from the popular movies he made in 2012 and 2015, respectively. MacFarlane brings his brand of social, political, and cultural satire combined with fearless sophomoric humor. The streaming adaptation retains the original’s irreverent humor and even has more heart than one would have thought.

The story is a prequel to the Ted franchise. The Bennett family lives a quiet life in Framingham, Massachusetts. John is now played by Parenthood’s Max Burkholder, a sixteen-year-old high school student who pals around with his best friend, Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane). In 1985, John wished his beloved stuffed toy would come to life, and it did. He then went to Hollywood, where fame flamed out, and is now back living at home.

The household includes John’s parents. His father, Matty (Band of Brothers’s Scott Grimes), drinks too much, and almost every opinion is politically incorrect. He takes his blindly loyal and devoted wife, Susan (Alanna Ubach), for granted. John’s cousin Blaire (Scream’s Giorgia Whigham) also lives there and serves as the family’s conscience. She goes to college down the street and lives with her aunt to help save money.

One night at the dinner table, Blaire tells her aunt they must send Ted to school. Why? Because he’s too ignorant. For example, he uses derogatory terms for the Polish population without knowing how offensive the statement can be. For Ted to live the life he wants, he tries to get kicked out of school for good. However, Ted soon learns that John needs him and helps him navigate the crossroads of teenage life.

Seth MacFarlane is a one-person show with the Peacock series adaptation of Ted. He directed and wrote each episode. Not to mention voicing the fouled-mouthed Teddy Ruxpin and even motion-capturing the character. Somehow, he creates a natural chemistry between his creation and Burkholder’s John, even more than Mark Wahlberg from the film franchise.

This is why Ted the series works: MacFarlane has found a way to insulate political and social commentary that may push the envelope in the name of naivete. This John is young and impressionable. A teenager who is inexperienced, gullible, and eager to learn taboo subjects like dating, alcohol, sex, drugs, and porn. Like any teenager, John is full of general and social anxiety.

That’s where Ted comes in. These common questions that John and Ted have exude a type of innocence about real-world issues they have questions about. Most of the time, Ted is a straight man to John. Some of the funniest jokes are a result of this. John asks an eye-opening question, and Ted almost acts as his conscious or father figure, questioning his thought process. That type of dry or deadpan humor is where the series excels.

Whatever you think about Ted or MacFarlane in general, you cannot argue his ability to provoke laughter by highlighting absurdities and poking that conventional belief system. MacFarlane is this generation’s Norman Lear, who broke conventional taboos and established norms over 50 years ago with All in the Family.

Ted is simply different from almost anything on current streaming (and certainly network) television. This adaptation often leads to gut-busting hilarity. Love him or hate him, MacFarlane’s ability to draw irreverent comedic connections is why he’s become such a popular entertainer. Who else can draw a connection between painter Bob Ross and a ’90s family video rental store sectioning off adult film content?

No one, because who else is willing to try?

Ted is now available to stream on Peacock.