Today Peacock has officially announced the main cast for their upcoming series Ted, a prequel series to the 2012 and 2015 movies starring Seth MacFarlane as a foul-mouthed teddy bear. MacFarlane, who is returning to voice the character, will be joined in the series by Max Burkholder, Giorgia Whigham, and Scott Grimes.
The original Ted film series was directed and co-written by MacFarlane. They saw him voicing a teddy bear that was wished to life, with the films picking up later in life after the charm of a talking teddy bear has worn off, and he’s become washed up. The charm of the movies came from the cute teddy bear saying the crude jokes MacFarlane is known for. The films also starred Mark Walhberg as John Bennett, the adult version of the kid who wished Ted to life.
The new series will take place in 1993 and will follow Ted, after his moment in the limelight has faded, and a 16-year John Bennett. They live in a working-class Boston home and the two are best friends who stick together no matter what, even if Ted isn’t the best influence.
Burkholder will be playing the teenage version of Walhberg’s character from the original films. He is described as a “likable teen” who just happens to be in an awkward phase. Whigham will be playing “Blaire Bennett”, John’s smart and outspoken cousin who is living with the family while going to college. Grimes will be playing John’s father, Matty Bennett, who is described as a “blue-collar Bostonian” who likes to be the boss of the family.
MacFarlane, who will not only be voicing the title character but will also direct and write all episodes of the series, is likely best known for any one of his shows. He first gained prominence for creating and voicing many characters in, Family Guy. He has since created other fan-favorite series like American Dad and his Star Trek parody show The Orville.
Burkholder is best known for his starring role in the NBC drama Parenthood and the horror film The Purge. This series will not be his first time working with MacFarlane, as he has voiced a number of characters in his shows like Family Guy and American Dad, and appeared in an episode of The Orville. Whigham has previously stared in series like The Punisher and Scream: The TV Series. She also has a supporting role in the Netflix film Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. Grimes is a long-time collaborator with MacFarlane, having starring roles in both American Dad and The Orville. He has also starred in a number of other series like ER, Band of Brothers, and Justified. He can also next be seen in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
MacFarlane will be co-writing, co-showrunning, and executive producing Ted alongside Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh. The pair of Corrigan and Walsh previously worked together as executive producers and writers on shows like Modern Family and King of the Hill. They will be joined as executive producers by Erica Huggins, Alana Kleiman, and Jason Clark through MacFarlane’s production company, Fuzzy Door.
Stay tuned to Collider for any future updates on the upcoming Ted series.