After a decade’s absence, Mark Wahlberg is coming back for Ted: The Animated Series, and Seth MacFarlane says it will be worth the wait.
Wahlberg starred with MacFarlane in the first two Ted movies as John Bennett, the mild-mannered slacker whose childhood wish of bringing his teddy bear to life came true and turned into a lifelong friendship. After the second film saw a more mixed critical and commercial reception compared to the first, the franchise went on hiatus for years, eventually returning with a prequel series centered on John and Ted’s teenage years.
During a recent interview with ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns for season 2 of the prequel show, MacFarlane was asked about progress on Ted: The Animated Series. While careful not to share too much, the five-time Emmy winner praised co-creators Brad Walsh and Paul Corrigan for doing “a fantastic job of pulling together something very new” with the sequel show, while also being “very faithful to the Ted universe” as they run the production on a “week-to-week basis.”
He went on to explain that the show will pick up “directly” where the 2015 sequel ended, and brings back Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried and Jessica Barth, while also introducing Liz Richman and Kyle Mooney and praising them as being “a great cast.” MacFarlane, in particular, praised Wahlberg for his work on the series, given it is a rare voiceover performance from the two-time Oscar nominee, and teasing that the Ted sequel could go on for multiple seasons:
Seth MacFarlane: It’s a great show that I think, if people latch onto it, could go for a long time. It’s certainly less complex than producing a show with an animated CGI teddy bear on a weekly basis, which makes you feel like you’re doing a Marvel movie eight times a season. But I think people are going to like it. It’s interesting, I don’t know that Wahlberg has ever done animation voiceover, but he just took to it like a duck to water. He was fantastic, and you instantly know that it’s him. He’s just really channeling all that worked about the films, and I think people are going to like it.
Much to MacFarlane’s point, Ted: The Animated Series marks only the second-ever vocal performance from Wahlberg across his near-40-year career. Prior to the Peacock comedy, Wahlberg made his voice acting debut with 2022’s Scoob!, the reboot of the Scooby-Doo film franchise intended to launch a Hanna-Barbera shared universe. He co-starred in the film as Brian Crown/Blue Falcon, the superhero who worked with Dynomutt in the latter’s series.
It was previously confirmed that Wahlberg and MacFarlane would be joined by their fellow franchise vets, Seyfried and Barth, for Ted: The Animated Series, though this is the first indication how close in the timeline it will be, given MacFarlane says it’s “directly” after the second film. This setting gives the creative team plenty of stories to explore, particularly Ted and Tami-Lynn’s early days of parenting their adopted son, as well as John and Sam’s early relationship after most of the sequel gave them a “will-the-won’t-they” dynamic.
MacFarlane’s tease of their being multiple animated Ted seasons would also give both Wahlberg and Barth their first multiple-season roles. Thus far, Wahlberg’s only scripted TV roles were that of the1993 TV film The Substitute and playing himself in HBO’s Entourage, while Barth has made one-off appearances in everything from MacFarlane’s own Family Guy, even before the first Ted, to CSI and Cougar Town.
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With it already having been nearly a year since the show’s announcement, and the stars having reportedly finished their vocal work, Ted: The Animated Series could very well make its way to screens before the end of the year. Given Ted season 2, which MacFarlane also seemingly confirmed to ScreenRant would be the end of the live-action series, is right around the corner, he and Peacock may look to keep this year’s focus on that show. Plus, if reports of The Orville season 4’s filming prove true, his schedule may better benefit by saving the animated sequel for a 2027 debut.
Ted season 2 begins streaming in its entirety on Peacock on March 5.
- Created by
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Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild
- First Episode Air Date
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January 11, 2024
The Ted franchise is a raunchy comedy series created by Seth MacFarlane, centered around John Bennett and his crude, talking teddy bear, Ted. The series, known for its humor and commentary on friendship and maturity, includes two films and a prequel television series.