Peacock will premiere “Ted: The Animated Series” on Thursday, Dec. 17, the streamer confirmed, bringing Seth MacFarlane’s foul-mouthed teddy bear back with the original big-screen cast attached.
The show launches with eight episodes, and more will stream in 2027, according to Deadline. Peacock also released the first teaser trailer alongside the date announcement.
Who’s back for Ted: The Animated Series
MacFarlane reprises his role as the voice of Ted, while Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried and Jessica Barth return as John, Sam and Tami-Lynn, respectively, Deadline reported. Kyle Mooney joins the cast as new character Apollo, and Liz Richman voices a character named Ruth, according to Variety.
The series is set 12 years after the events of 2015’s “Ted 2.” The official logline, per Variety, describes John and Ted as “neighbors, both with families of their own and dead-end jobs,” who “enable each other’s bad ideas about marriage, parenting and the challenges of adult life.”
MacFarlane created the series with Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh, who also serve as co-showrunners. Rough Draft Studios handles animation, and executive producers include Erica Huggins, Alana Kleiman, Jason Clark, Aimee Carlson and Claudia Katz. UGT, a division of Universal Studio Group, produces with Fuzzy Door and MRC, according to Deadline.
Background
This is the second “Ted” series on Peacock. Before the animated version, the streamer spent two seasons on a live-action prequel that followed John as a high schooler. MacFarlane led that cast with Max Burkholder, Alanna Ubach, Scott Grimes and Giorgia Whigham. He has said a third season isn’t planned because the show was so expensive to make, Variety reported.
“Ted: The Animated Series” lets MacFarlane and his co-creators keep the “Ted” universe alive without those live-action costs, and it brings the film franchise’s core cast back together for the first time since “Ted 2.” Variety puts the first film’s worldwide haul at nearly $550 million against a $65 million budget in 2012, while the 2015 sequel earned more than $215 million.
What’s next
“Ted: The Animated Series” debuts its first eight episodes on Peacock on Dec. 17, with more episodes coming in 2027.
Reporting from Deadline and Variety contributed to this story.
