Ted: The Animated Series starring Mark Wahlberg confirms release date with new first look

Seth MacFarlane's Ted is continuing his comeback this December, when his very own animated series is confirmed to be heading to US streamer Peacock.

The spin-off reunites MacFarlane with his co-stars from the live-action films – Mark Wahlberg (John), Amanda Seyfried (Sam) and Jessica Barth (Tami-Lynn) – while Kyle Mooney and Liz Richman join the party in new roles.

Ted: The Animated Series picks up 12 years after the events of 2015 film Ted 2, with John and Ted now neighbours, both with families of their own and dead-end jobs.

The lifelong best friends (or 'thunder buddies') will continue to enable each other's bad ideas about marriage, parenting and the challenges of adult life.

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The series launches stateside on Thursday 17 December with an eight-episode run, with further chapters planned for release next year.

A new teaser found Ted and John experimenting with their new medium, which is safe ground for MacFarlane (also known for creating Family Guy and American Dad).

The Ted franchise burst to life in 2012, with the original film making more than half a billion dollars at the global box office – a staggering gross for the comedy genre.

However, momentum stalled when the sequel, released three years later, struggled to less than half that number, prompting a long hiatus for the foul-mouthed plush.

That was recently broken by a live-action prequel series, simply titled Ted, which chronicles the teenage years of Wahlberg's character, John (as portrayed by Parenthood's Max Burkholder).

The show has been a major ratings win for Peacock, the NBC-owned US streaming platform, leading to further expansion with Ted: The Animated Series.

Wahlberg and Barth have been with the franchise from the beginning, while Seyfried joined for Ted 2, where she replaced Family Guy's Mila Kunis as the female lead.

At the start of the film, it is revealed that John and his first wife, Lori (Kunis), have divorced, paving the way for a new love story between the stoner man-child and newly qualified lawyer, Sam (Seyfried).

Ted: The Animated Series is created by MacFarlane alongside Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh, who also executive produced Peacock's live-action Ted prequel.

Ted: The Animated Series will be available to watch on Sky TV and NOW from Thursday 17 December 2026. You can sign up to NOW from £4.99 a month.

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Authors

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.