Seth MacFarlane’s new Ted prequel series breaks streaming records despite low Rotten Tomatoes score

The spin-off series is Peacock’s most-watched original title

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Seth MacFarlane’s Ted prequel series has arrived and – despite divisive reviews – it’s already broken a massive streaming record.

PerCollider, Ted is now Peacock’s most-watched original title – breaking the record in just the first three days following its release. Specific numbers have not been released yet. Many are speculating that Peacock’s first-ever exclusive playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs – which became the most live-streamed event in U.S. history across Peacock, NFL+, and local NBC channels – played a part in driving massive traffic to the app ahead of Ted’s release.

The prequel series is based on the 2012 film of the same name starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, and follows a man named John who makes a childhood wish to bring his stuffed teddy bear to life. Set in 1993, the series focuses on teenage John and Ted – who is forced to attend school with John. MacFarlane once again provides the voice and motion capture for the foul-mouthed CGI bear. The cast also includes Max Burkholder, Alanna Ubach, Scott Grimes, Giorgia Whigham, and is narrated by Sir Ian McKellen.

Despite breaking streaming records, the series has a 58% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The reviews are extremely mixed, with someone calling it outright hilarious and others calling it painful to watch. The audience score, however, sits at a 90% – and that plus the streaming numbers tells us that a second season could very well be on the way.

All seven episodes of Ted season 1 are streaming now. For more, check out our list of the bestnew TV shows.

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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent’s Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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