By TeeJay Small | Published
When I first heard that Peacock had ordered a prequel series based on Seth MacFarlane’s 2012 movie. TedI thought it was the worst idea ever. Of course, I remember being happy Ted when I was released as a teenager, but I was happy again Family Guy again Master of Disguise back in the day. Now that I have eaten both seasons Ted series, I can say with all my heart that I was wrong, and that this is one of the funniest shows I’ve watched in years.
Although the main characters of Ted and his owner John are played funny by MacFarlane and Max Burkholder, the real thieves are John’s middle-aged parents, Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach.) No matter what happens in the Ted franchise during the next few years, I must insist that we get more of these two characters of Ted himself.
Isn’t This A Show With A Teddy Bear?
Let’s back things up a bit. For those who don’t know, Ted is the story of John Bennett, who wished a shooting star for his teddy bear to live in the 1980s. When this scientific breakthrough occurred, the bear enjoyed a brief period of fame and fortune, but was forgotten by pop culture and returned to the Bennett family to live a normal life after fame. These two Ted films, starring Mark Wahlberg, follow Ted and John as bored thirtysomethings with no career goals or ambitions, while Ted the series highlights the two during their high school years.
In this series, John and Ted live under the roof of Matty Bennett (Scott Grimes) and his wife, Susan (Alanna Ubach). Matty is a big Nixon fan, a Vietnam veteran, and a proud ignorant businessman, who reminds me of all the Boston dirtbags I knew growing up. Susan takes on the role of housewife and homemaker while providing cool, lovable responses to the craziness her family brings. Some of the biggest laughs I’ve ever had in my life come from Matty’s insistence that eating an egg at night will turn you gay, or Susan’s heavily European-inspired pronunciation of words like “porno” or “Cosmopolitan.”
Ted Is Too Expensive, But It Doesn’t Have To Be
As Seth MacFarlane has clearly explained in the past, i Ted The series is very expensive to make, coming in at around $8 million per episode. That may explain why Peacock has ordered an animated spinoff series to replace the live-action version, with Wahlberg returning to the lead role. While Ted has not yet been officially cancelled, the season 2 finale effectively closes the gap between the show and the first film, leaving very little room for Matty and Susan’s stories.
Of course, the couple may appear in the new Ted cartoon, but that would mean aging the couple into their 70s. It would also mean that Matty and Susan will only appear as secondary characters in higher education, if at all, now that their children are grown and out of the home. That doesn’t work for me. I need a full show of Matty and Susan hijinks, maybe with the occasional CGI bear thrown in for yuks.
Matty and Susan Vs. The world
Basically, my suggestion is to copy the blueprint of another successful sitcom universe, and make Matty and Susan equals Georgie & Mandy’s First Wedding. If you haven’t followed, George & Mandy a spinoff of Young Sheldonitself a spinoff The Big Bang Theory. The show became a must-watch for fans of the franchise after George Jr. from Montana Jordan totally stole the show with her wicked good looks and plucky attitude.
Peacock can reserve funds to produce a series under a working title such as Matty and Susan Vs. The worldor Bennetts and Bees. Without Ted, the series could even be shot like an old-school sitcom, with a sound stage and live studio audience.
This would give Seth MacFarlane a chance to expand into another television platform, which he seems to love doing, and it would give me more time with some of my favorite characters. I’ll also be able to continue doing the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme every time the characters go to South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts, my childhood mall.
