(Image source: Universal Pictures)
The "Ted" prequel series, which saw film director Seth MacFarlane return to direct, write, produce, and star, premiered two years ago to strong viewership and recently launched its second season on Peacock. However, MacFarlane recently revealed in an interview that despite the show's popularity, there are currently no plans for a third season.
MacFarlane attributed the stalled production to budget constraints, stating, "I've been saying to Peacock and Universal, 'Look, this show is really expensive to make, and there's no way to make it cheaper.'"
(Image source: Universal Pictures)
MacFarlane elaborated, saying, "Then I replied, 'Okay, I completely understand.' So I wrote the final scene for the second season, where Max Burkholder, who plays young John, walks into the gym, leaving the audience to imagine that the John who emerges later resembles Mark Wahlberg from the first 'Ted' film. So, you could say that showrunners Brad Walsh, Paul Corrigan, and I essentially forced ourselves to craft a definitive ending. Is there a way to continue? Anything is possible, but currently, it would likely require some creative narrative solutions. As far as I know, there are no plans for a third season yet."
(Image source: Universal Pictures)
MacFarlane further explained that the exorbitant costs stem from the extensive CG effects required for the titular character, Ted. He noted, "Fortunately, we had already made two 'Ted' movies before, because the weekly workload for the prequel series is simply overwhelming. This is thanks to our production team, cinematographer Jeff Macgregor, and the camera crew, visual effects team, and VFX supervisor Blake Clark, as well as our excellent team at Framestore in Melbourne, Australia. It is their efforts that allow us to complete such a heavy workload every week."
(Image source: Universal Pictures)
MacFarlane vividly described the production challenge: "It's like making an 'Avengers' movie every 22-minute episode, requiring a huge amount of computer effects, not only to animate Ted but also to make the teddy bear perform. Without the experience of making those two movies ten years ago, we wouldn't be able to do any of this." While a third prequel season remains uncertain, an animated sequel series, picking up after the second film and featuring Mark Wahlberg and Amanda Seyfried reprising their voice roles, is confirmed to premiere in May.
via： The Wrap