When To Watch the ‘Ted’ Prequel Series on Peacock

For years, Seth MacFarlane has entertained TV audiences across the country with his animated TV sitcoms about dysfunctional families like the Griffins in Family Guy and the Smiths in American Dad! Now he is back with another show based on his two previous movies, Ted and Ted 2, which followed John Bennett, a 20-something Boston native who lives a fun but albeit emotionally stunted life with his friend Ted, a foulmouthed talking teddy bear who came to life when he was a ten-year-old boy. More than ten years later, MacFarlane is returning to this sentient stuffed animal, not by continuing where the last film left off but by giving a backstory to this fantastical and raunchy bear. Set in 1993, after the opening sequence in the original Ted, the series depicts the early life of this talking teddy as he lives with John Bennett and his family in Massachusetts.

Featuring a packed cast alongside MacFarlane’s Ted, including Euphoria’s Alanna Ubach as John’s mom Susan (previously played by Alex Borstein), Scott Grimes, who has also worked with MacFarlane as Stan Smtih’s nerdy teenage son, Steve, on American Dad! plays John’s dad, Matty, and Max Burkholder, who previously starred as Max Braverman on Parenthood, plays John. For anybody who can’t wait to see this new series, here’s everything we know about how, when, and where to watch this exciting and hilarious prequel series.

What is the Release Date for Ted: The Series?

The TV series premieres on Peacock on January 11. Other successful Peacock series include Rian Johnson’s Poker Face, Pete Davidson’s Bupkis, and the Fresh Prince spinoff, Bel-Air.

Can You Watch Ted: The Series Without Peacock?

Ted: The Series will be available to stream exclusively on Peacock. You can get a subscription for as little as $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year.

Watch on Peacock

How Many Episodes of Ted: The Series Are There?

The first season of Ted: The Series will consist of eight episodes, all released on the day of its premiere.

Watch the Trailer for Ted: The Series

A trailer for Ted: The Series was released on November 29. Seth MacFarlane introduces the trailer and sets the scene for his much-awaited prequel. Set years after the family realizes Ted’s sentient abilities, the trailer opens on John and Ted lying in their bunk beds and discussing Ted’s imminent and scary plans to go to high school with John. After a series of hijinks nearly destroying the house, John’s parents have decided that it is best to make him go to school rather than leave him to his own devices all day. With Ted and John spending more time together at school, they make a few enemies, try to get girls, and try drugs for the first time.

More TV Shows Like Ted: The Series That You Can Stream Right Now

To help you out while you wait for Peacock to release this raunchy prequel in its entirety, check out these three other shows from TV legend Seth MacFarlane that deliver laughs and easy viewing.

Family Guy

The first series Seth MacFarlane ever created, Family Guy has survived two cancellations and become one of the most iconic animated sitcoms since The Simpsons. Set in a fictional small town in Rhode Island called Quahog, the series follows Peter Griffin, a clumsy blue-collar father and husband, his sassy wife, Lois, his three children, Chris, Meg, and Stewie, and their talking dog, Brian. Thanks to its twenty-plus-year run, the show has provided endless laughs and evolving characters. Fans of the original Ted film series will especially enjoy the dynamic between Stewie, who started out as a maniacal baby and grew to become a flamboyant and precocious toddler, and Brian, the martini-wielding faux intellectual dog whose constant escapades are heartwarming and hilarious. With over 400 episodes already released, you can enjoy fun with this family filled with run-ins with the New England Patriots, Jesus Christ, and Agatha Christie.

Watch on Hulu

American Dad!

After the success of Family Guy, MacFarlane , along with Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, created American Dad! six years later. Like Family Guy, the series follows a dysfunctional family led by a domineering albeit slightly more intelligent father, Stan Smith who lives in Langley, Virginia, and works at the CIA. Supported by his odd but traditional wife, Francine, his rebellious hippie daughter, Haley, his nerdy son, Steve, his talking fish Klaus, and their secret alien, Roger, American Dad! manages to be even more uninhibited than Family Guy. Far from a carbon copy of MacFarlane’s previous work, the show relies a lot less on the use of cutaway gags and derives much of its humor from everyday family problems and quirky characters. With an added political layer thanks to Stan’s job, American Dad! also offers satire about the American military and government secrets along with more traditional sitcom plotlines.

Watch on Hulu

The Orville

Much more different than any show Seth MacFarlane has created, it is also his first live-action series. Casual viewers of both Family Guy and American Dad! Can easily see how obsessed MacFarlane is with science fiction shows and movies like Star Trek and Star Wars and The Orville gives him the chance to live out his outer space dreams. Set on the titular spacecraft, the USS Orville, a mid-level exploratory vessel in the Planetary Union, a 25th-century interstellar alliance, it centers around the ship’s crew as they try to expand the alliance with visits to various parts of the galaxy. Led by Captain Ed Mercer, a lax commander who receives command of the ship despite receiving several citations for being hungover on duty, Orville’s many faults and failures make this show a hilarious send-off of the genre.

Watch on Hulu