Critical popcorn

Seth MacFarlane’s foul-mouthed bear caused a scene, quite literally, in 2012 when the Ted movie launched in US movie theaters. The expletives were subsequently heard around the world as Ted grossed more than $549 million. Such was the popularity of Ted and his friend, John Bennett (played by Mark Wahlberg), that a sequel was released in 2015. Despite a cult following, Ted 2 didn’t make half of what the original did.

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An Enduring Love for the Foul-Mouthed Bear

Although $215 million in revenue isn’t anything to be disappointed about, the drop suggests that the initial passion for a charismatic bear had waned. Therefore, it might have been a surprise to some that Ted 3 was talked about for years before the streaming platform Peacock gave the franchise a green light. That green light came with a caveat, the caveat being Ted needed to become a series rather than a movie. Seth MacFarlane decided to accept the offer and make it a prequel which could actually reinvigorate interest in the original movies.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=aq2Vt7OvQG0%3Fsi%3DetQPymfhLN7ztQfl

There’s no doubt Ted was entertaining on the big screen, but is there enough steam left in the franchise to succeed on the small screen? That, of course, is a tough question to answer, but we can get an idea of how beloved the franchise is by looking at what’s happened since the first movie came out in 2012. We know that ticket sales were good. You can watch the Ted movie on a variety of streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and 4OD in the UK. This suggests that executives still see it as a draw for their customers. Stepping outside of the movie and video worlds, we can see that Ted has found a home in the gaming sector.

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Ted Has Crossed Entertainment Boundaries

Scan through the top Megaways games at MrQ and you’ll find Ted. Like other Megaways slots, Ted has a dynamic structure, which means the number of active paylines changes each time a player hits the spin button. That’s great, but the real appeal of his game is its association with Ted. This association manifests itself in the form of images, sound effects, and embedded video clips taken from the movie. By all measures, it’s a way for fans to enjoy the humor of Ted in a different medium from what they’re used to. Ted is also available as an action figure.

Ted (CC BY 2.0) by Studio Sarah Lou

Although he takes the guise of a teddy bear, fans will know that he’s anything but cuddly. That being said, there’s clearly a love for this character. Although Ted hasn’t become as much of a cult figure outside of the movie world like franchises such as Star Wars, it has crossed boundaries. This means people still like Ted more than a decade after the first movie was released.

The executives at Peacock are clearly banking on this. MacFarlane is a proven talent and has plenty of hits under this belt. This, combined with Ted’s initial appeal and ability to entertain different audiences, means a prequel is necessary. Moreover, the Ted series clearly does have the potential to be a hit.