This article contains some light spoilers for “Ted” season 2.
How successful is “Ted,” the Peacock prequel spin-off series to the pair of theatrical films of the same name, at selling its titular character, a walking, talking teddy bear voiced by creator Seth MacFarlane? The answer is that the effect is so thorough and convincing that it might feel a little strange to consider just how expensive it all is. We’ve gotten used to fully CGI creations becoming fully-fledged leading characters over the past couple of decades. This shift has been so completely successful that many folks take these characters at face value, and very often don’t see how much work is going into them.
The unfortunate reality in the success of characters like Ted is that they’re the result of very expensive efforts. This is what MacFarlane cited when speaking to The Wrap recently about the possibility of a third season of the series, just as the second season has dropped on Peacock. While neither the streaming service nor MacFarlane is saying anything definitive yet, the latter said that “there’s no plan … at the moment to do season 3.” MacFarlane further elaborated, saying that “What I kept hearing [from Peacock and Universal] was, ‘Listen, the show is really expensive to produce, and there’s no way to do it at a lower cost.'”
Given how integral Ted is to the series, this sounds understandable. The good news is that MacFarlane and the series showrunners have a plan for whatever should end up happening. However, a certain choice made in season 2 could indicate that perhaps the people behind the show might be a little too reliant on visual effects.
The use of AI to create Bill Clinton in ‘Ted’ season 2 seems exorbitant
In the fifth episode of “Ted” season 2, Seth MacFarlane portrays ex-President Bill Clinton, who turns up for a cameo scene. As MacFarlane explained to The Wrap, this appearance was brought to life via a combination of MacFarlane’s uncanny vocal impersonation along with AI technology (it’s not entirely clear from MacFarlane’s comments what type of AI this was, but one could assume it’s similar to a machine learning/deepfake version of the man’s likeness, as seen in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Alien Romulus”). MacFarlane went on as to why he and the “Ted” showrunners felt that this method was the best way to go:
“Had we gone the traditional CGI route, which we did try, it was just terrifying to look at. […] So we used the AI method. The CGI was distracting from the jokes, you were focusing on the effect rather than the writing. We want people focused on the writing. So it was an interesting use and interesting glimpse into the future. It’s like, here’s AI used as a tool the same way that we use CGI or stop motion or any other tools to best bring our writing to life.”
MacFarlane’s rationale sounds reasonable on the face of it, until one considers the nature of this cameo. Sure, Clinton is a generally well-known public figure, but he’s not someone whose photorealism is so integral to a gag on a comedy series. Why couldn’t MacFarlane just play the role as himself with minimal makeup, as with John Travolta in “Primary Colors” or Phil Hartman on “Saturday Night Live?” Perhaps “Ted” and MacFarlane are so used to using animation and VFX that more cost-saving measures escape them.
No matter what happens to ‘Ted,’ MacFarlane and company have plans
Fortunately for “Ted” fans, the future for the foul-mouthed teddy bear looks pretty bright, no matter what ends up happening with the live-action prequel series. When it comes to the series getting a third season or not, Seth MacFarlane explained how, even though he and the showrunners gave the show a definitive ending, it might be possible to change or amend it:
“I wrote the last scene with Max [Burkholder, who plays John] walking into a gym, presumably coming out as Mark Wahlberg in the first ‘Ted’ film. So [showrunners] Brad Walsh and Paul Corrigan and I kind of painted ourselves into a corner. Is there a way to do it? There’s always a way to do anything. But at the moment, it might take some narrative acrobatics.”
After all, the entirety of the “Ted” series takes place in between the opening sequence and modern day setting of the first film, so it’s not like the franchise hasn’t found some wiggle room before. Furthermore, MacFarlane, Corrigan, and Walsh are extending the Tedverse both narrative- and medium-wise, as a new animated series that occurs post-“Ted 2” is coming to Peacock at an indeterminate point in the future. So, even if a third season of “Ted” doesn’t end up happening, the franchise seems like it’s far from finished. As such, pre-bear yourself for more “Ted” in the future.
