All good things must come to an end, but no one (including the cast) is quite ready to say goodbye to Peacock’s live-action Ted series. The prequel serves as a hilarious look at John’s teenage years, as he and Ted plan and execute the most outrageous ideas.
Created by Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane, it stars Max Burkholder as John Bennett, Alanna Ubach as Susan Bennett, Scott Grimes as Matty Bennett, Giorgia Whigham as Blair Bennett, and MacFarlane, himself, as the voice of Ted.
The season 2 finale ended with John headed into the gym and vowing to get in shape, but, thanks to the original 2012 film and its sequel, we know exactly where he ends up. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of story to explore in the meantime.
While there’s currently an animated Ted series in the works, there are no plans for a third season of the live-action at this time. At WonderCon 2026, Mama’s Geeky sat down with the Ted cast to discuss the Bennett family’s latest adventures and their hope to return to the universe down the line.
Mama’s Geeky: I’m still holding out hope for a season 3, but just in case this is the last we’ve seen of the Ted live-action series, were you satisfied with how everything wrapped up for your character?
Alanna Ubach: Oh my gosh, of course. The writing is just so on point this season. I was super excited.
Giorgia Whigham: Yes. I think that this is one of those shows where it’s almost non-linear, like, time-wise. Each episode is its own situational beast that you tackle. There was no grand finale for Blair, do you know what I mean? I think that it worked out really well. I think we got some really beautiful emotional moments this season from her. And I think that’s what mattered to me the most.
Max Burkholder: I feel like that’s more of a question for Scott, Alanna, and Giorgia, because with me, it’s not where John ends up, right? We know where he ends up later. For me, I’m just happy being able to do this show with lovely people. I feel much less of a sense of ownership over this character than I feel like a lot of people do with their own. He can’t really grow or change that much because we know where he ends up at the beginning of the first movie, right? So it’s not like there’s going to be this series arc, no matter how many seasons we go for.
Mama’s Geeky: Scott, by the end of season 2, I feel like Matty has had a lot of development. How did you feel portraying these different stages of him and watching him grow?
Scott Grimes: Love that part. I loved watching him grow because, like you said, if he had stayed how he was at the beginning, he wasn’t going to go anywhere. Nobody was going to like him. Not that they like him now. But I was happy that Seth wrote him vulnerable eventually because then you’re like, “Oh, wait, this is how he grew up. His dad and his dad’s dad were jerks. And that’s why he’s like this.” But he has the potential of being a kind human. And as long as the potential is there, people will go, “Oh, I’m rooting for him.” So I was really glad to be able to play him a little vulnerable. But also, these guys are out there. I grew up around Boston, and there were some people that acted like Matty. So they’re out there, and they’re real. And I was had a blast playing him because I’m not like that at all.
Mama’s Geeky: Was there any part of yourself that you saw in the character of Susan?
Alanna Ubach: To me, it was just me when my baby was like a year old, two years old, three years old. As soon as he was able to go to the bathroom on his own, then I went back to a lot. The first two years of his life, everything was telegraphed. So I brought that element. So long as I put my little infant in the room with us, all of a sudden, that came back.
Mama’s Geeky: I actually did a set visit before you started filming Ted season 2, and we got to see the early stages of the Dungeons & Dragons set. It was like a completely different show. I couldn’t believe the transformation when I watched it on TV. How was stepping into that?
Alanna Ubach: There was so much to it. I don’t know how much it cost them, but I don’t know anything about Dungeons & Dragons because I’m 103 years old. So Dungeons & Dragons, to me, is just another entity on its own. And I really didn’t understand Dungeons & Dragons. I had to do a lot more research than any other episode I’ve ever been on. There is so much to it. And they really pay respect to that subculture, which I think is so rad.
Max Burkholder: It was so sick. Doing the costume design stuff with Heather Pain was really sick. Getting to have a voice in that process, and then just stepping into those practical effects, that’s huge. I’ve never gotten to do anything like that before. The closest I ever really got was doing The Orville with Seth way back when, but even then we were mostly just outside at Disney Ranch. Getting to be in the tavern and getting to be in the forest and in the caves—it was so dope getting to see all of that stuff.
Giorgia Whigham: It was like a different show. The care and effort and the hard work that went into that—it’s unimaginable. It was like we were on Game of Thrones or something. It was so crazy. The detail was so immersive. It was really cool. It was very surreal.
Scott Grimes: I had worked on Orville with Seth, the space show, so I was used to the set pieces being big. Watching these guys experience that set that they built because there’s really no reason in today’s world to build those sets, you know, or spend that kind of money. So it’s just a testament to who Seth is, and he wanted that. Okay, we don’t do this anymore. We’re going to build this. It was so awesome. And it really helped for the episode to make it a little different.
Mama’s Geeky: Was there ever something that Ted talked John into, and you were like, “I can’t believe John is going along with this”?
Max Burkholder: No, he’s an idiot. He’s so stupid. Sometimes, if you’re playing a character, the classic actor question, like, “What’s my motivation?” Sometimes, you really have to work hard and dig deep. It’s like, “Why would somebody do this?” With John, I don’t have to do that at all. He’s just so stupid. He is so infinitely mutable for that reason that it just makes it so easy to get behind.
Mama’s Geeky: What about Matty’s relationship with Susan? Obviously, he didn’t always treat her well, but you do see him start to try more in season 2. What do you think was that light bulb moment when he was like, “I need to get it together”?
Max Burkholder: I like to think a couple of times this season—he almost loses her, and she sticks up for herself. And you’ve got to remember, all Matty has to do to keep Susan is, every once in a while, give her a little bit of love. She’s not asking for a lot. And that’s what’s incredible. And the second he goes like, “I love you, too,” she goes, “Okay, that’s all I need for another three months,” because she loves being Susan. She loves being his wife. Trust me, I don’t know why, but she does. So all he had to do is learn how to show just a little bit of love once in a while, as much as he can, because he doesn’t know how.
Mama’s Geeky: How would you describe the relationships John has come to have with his parents? It’s wild how they’re all such polar opposites.
Max Burkholder: Yeah, very much. His relationship with them—I feel like it is such a 90s thing, right? His relationship to his parents is very much like the relationship that people in 90s stuff had to their parents, which is just like, there’s a relationship while they’re interacting. And then when they’re not, it’s just over the head, nothing at all, like, no influence.
Mama’s Geeky: Was there anything that you would like for Susan to explore that she didn’t get a chance to in Seasons 1 and 2?
Alanna Ubach: Maybe opening up a little Bible shop. Starting a choir.
Mama’s Geeky: How would you say Blair has come to view Ted, since she’s living in the same house as him?
Giorgia Whigham: I think annoying roommate. I think there is that separation there. I think she sees John as really like a brother, blood family. But I think that with Ted, she’s more like, “Yeah, we’re roommates. And he’s always in my business. And, oh my God, he’s getting into some crazy trouble. And how am I going to get dragged into this?”
Mama’s Geeky: Did you have a favorite moment in season 2 for Blair?
Giorgia Whigham: Yeah, I did. At the end of the abortion episode, when me and Alanna were talking, the last conversation where I’m lying in bed, that was a really beautiful moment between me and her. She is so amazing and beautiful to act beside. And just the raw emotion from her really conjured up something, and it was really cool. But also anything with Scott. I will say, anything with Scott Grimes where we are butting heads or where he surprisingly has an epiphany and acts a little bit kinder. I think that that’s also really beautiful and important. Those were probably my two favorites.
Ted seasons 1 and 2 are currently available to stream on Peacock.
About Ted
It’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s moment of fame has passed. He’s living back home with his best friend, John Bennett, and his family. While Ted may be a lousy influence on John, he’s a loyal pal who will go out on a limb for friendship.
