Ted‘s journey in live-action is on the verge of coming to an end, but there’s more in store for fans of the character and franchise. Despite strong viewership numbers, Season 3 isn’t moving forward, at least not in the way audiences have come to expect.
Ted Season 3 won’t happen due to cost, but the franchise isn’t over
Creator Seth MacFarlane has confirmed there’s “no plan” for a Season 3 of the live-action prequel series Ted, and the reason comes down to one major factor: money. The Ted prequel series carries an enormous price tag. Industry estimates place the budget between $8 million and $10 million per episode.
“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,'” MacFarlane told The Wrap. “So I said, ‘All right, I hear you loud and clear.'” The creator explained that the production demands rival those of major blockbusters. “It’s like you’re doing an Avengers movie every 22 minutes with the amount of CGI that it takes, not only to animate the bear, but to act the bear,” he said.
MacFarlane and his team even wrote what could be the series finale, with Max Burkholder’s character walking into a gym. It was a scene meant to bridge directly to the first Ted film starring Mark Wahlberg. Peacock hasn’t officially canceled or renewed the series.
While Ted Season 3 won’t be happening, MacFarlane and Peacock are expanding the universe in a different direction. A new Ted animated series is currently in production, picking up directly where 2015’s Ted 2 left off. The voice cast brings back the original film trio. Mark Wahlberg returns as John Bennett, alongside Amanda Seyfried and Jessica Barth.
The animated format solves the budget issues that plagued the live-action series. “It’s certainly less complex than producing a show with an animated CGI teddy bear on a weekly basis, which makes you feel like you’re doing a Marvel movie eight times a season,” MacFarlane explained.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.
