Ted TV series trailer: Seth MacFarlane returns to the 90s for a crude coming-of-age comedy flashback

Peacock‘s original event series, Ted, brings you back to the 1990s when Alice in Chains, Cypress Hill, and Snoop Dogg helped shape a generation of digital natives. Ted hails from Family Guy and The Orville creator Seth MacFarlane, with Max Burkholder (The Purge, Parenthood) playing John Bennett, the role played by Mark Wahlberg in MacFarlane’s 2012 comedy. The Ted TV series trailer finds John and Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) attending a hellscape of judgment, adolescent depression, and taboo exploration, otherwise known as high school.

Here’s the official synopsis for Ted courtesy of Peacock:

In this comedic prequel event series to the Ted films, it’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s (Seth MacFarlane) moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Framingham, Massachusetts, with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder), along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach), and cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham). Ted may be a lousy influence on John, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.

In the Ted TV series trailer, John and Ted brave the stressful halls of high school, where hormones rage and opportunity knocks around every locker-lined corridor. It’s uncommon for someone to bring their sentient talking bear to school, so Ted’s attendance garners a lot of unwanted attention from girls and bullies looking to punch John’s family jewels into a paste. In addition to social pressures bearing down on the dynamic duo, John realizes he’s late to the game regarding sex, drugs, and rock n roll. Ted makes it his mission to help John by having him taste life, get into trouble, and embrace his teenage years.

Previously, MacFarlane, Paul Corrigan (Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Co-Showrunner), and Brad Walsh (Executive Producer, Writer, Co-Showrunner) released a note about the upcoming event series:

“Each generation develops its own unique artistic style, its own way of seeing the world. In the twenties, it was the subversive musical phrasings of jazz. In the fifties, it was the bold brushwork of the abstract expressionists. Our generation’s unique art is streaming content based on previously successful intellectual property. In that proud tradition, we humbly give you Ted.   

Our series is a prequel to the Ted movies. It takes place in the nineties but is based on the timeless truth that being sixteen sucks. The only thing that makes it tolerable is going through it with a friend, even if that friend is a has-been magical teddy bear with a foul mouth and a proclivity for drug use.  

The three of us were teenagers in the nineties and grew up in and around Boston, where the show takes place, so many of these stories are personal for us. We were able to put the characters through some of the same indignities and milestones we experienced back then. Also, we made stuff up (it’s a lot of pages to fill, and real life is mostly boring).”

Peacock’s Ted TV series premieres on January 11, 2024. What do you think about today’s Ted TV series trailer? Let us know in the comments below.