Fans of Seth McFarlane’s raunchy teddy bear Ted have not seen him since Ted 2 nearly 7 years ago. Ever since it was announced a Ted prequel series, also simply titled Ted, was going to be hitting Peacock, there have been a slew of plot details and casting announcements about the newest appearance of the toy bear. Alanna Ubach is the newest addition to the comedy series' cast. Ubach is best known as Cassie and Lexi’s boozy, fun-loving mom on Euphoria and for her appearances in Bombshell, Legally Blonde, and Waiting….
Ubach will be playing Susan Bennett, the mother of John Bennett (played by Mark Wahlberg in the original films). The series takes place in 1993, while John is 16-years-old and living in a working class home in Boston. Susan is described as friendly, generous, and enduringly sweet. She’s the kind of person who remains blisteringly optimistic, even when she shouldn’t.
Previously announced to be playing young John Bennett is Max Burkholder (Parenthood), who is still in his awkward phase and is Ted’s best friend, even if Ted isn’t the best influence. Giorgia Whigham (13 Reasons Why) is Blaire Bennett, John’s older cousin and politically correct college student who tends to clash with the more conservative Bennett household. Scott Grimes (The Orville) is Matty Bennett, John’s father and a blue-collar Bostonian who doesn’t like his authority in the house being challenged. Seth McFarlane is reprising his role as the beloved, pot-smoking Ted, whose moment of fame as the magical talking teddy bear has passed.
McFarlane is writing, directing, co-showrunning, and executive producing all episodes of the show. Joining him as co-showrunners, writers, and executive producers are Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh (Modern Family). McFarlane is developing Ted through his production company Fuzzy Door, which is releasing a disaster science series on Peacock later this year titled The End is Nye, featuring none other than Bill Nye.
The original Ted film, which also starred Mila Kunis and Giovanni Ribisi, remains the highest grossing original R-rated comedy of all time, meaning it was not a sequel or based on any pre-existing intellectual property. Ted 2, which starred Amanda Seyfried and Morgan Freeman, didn’t pull in quite as impressive box office numbers, but still grossed $216.7 million worldwide.
Ted has been ordered for ten episodes. The series will be exclusively streaming on Peacock. There is currently no release date set for the series.