Posted in: Peacock, TV | Tagged: ted

Ted: Grimes and Ubach on Family Dynamic, MacFarlane, Orville & More

Ted Season 2 stars Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach discussed retaining the series' tone and humor, Seth MacFarlane, The Orville, and more.

It might be a bit cliché to say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but that's precisely how Ted stars Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach feel about building on the Bennett family dynamic in the Seth MacFarlane Peacock sitcom Ted in its second season. The series, which operates as a prequel to the live-action films that starred Mark Wahlberg, follows an anthropomorphic teddy bear named Ted (voice of MacFarlane), who bonds with his best friend, John Bennett (now played by Max Burkholder), as the two go through high school, and John's challenges growing up. Joining him and Ted are Matty (Grimes), John's quick-tempered Republican father; Susan (Ubach), John's soft-spoken, stay-at-home mother; and Blaire (Giorgia Whigham), John's street-smart liberal cousin, who operates as the family's only voice of reason. Grimes and Ubach spoke to Bleeding Cool about why Ted must retain its familiarity, how MacFarlane remains one of the most flexible and easy-going creatives in Hollywood, Grimes having a mini-The Orville reunion on set, and his favorite Gordon moment of the Fox/Hulu sci-fi series. The following contains minor spoilers.

Ted Stars Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach on

BC: Heading into season two, how do you feel you've grown as Matt and Susan?

Ubach: I love Scott in person, and it really does help to love and loathe him. I love the person. Now if [Scott] was a prick, I'd be like, "Ah, shit, here we go again!"

Grimes: I think…Sorry, I interrupted my love. The mistake we could have made was to take these characters to a different level. We had to keep it the same, because that worked. Why would my character anyway…why would they evolve, except maybe towards the end when the show's ending, and he must see the great things about the world and change his ways a bit. What's going to be great about the second season is more of the same, more of the fun and outrageousness.

How do you feel like…I'm sorry, Alanna. Do you have something to add to it?

Ubach: Oh no, 100 percent, what he said, I'm his choir. Go ahead.

How do you feel that family dynamic has grown with Max and Giorgia?

Ubach: Oh my gosh. Well, crazier episodes, and I don't know if you watched everything. I don't know what I'm really allowed to say, but a lot of social commentary is made in the second season, which I love. I eat that stuff up; the writers really gave them something to chew on. It's so much fun because they're such geniuses.

Grimes: I think they took it to a different level, Max and Giorgia, this time around, as far as what they were given to be as actors, and they just knocked it out of the park.

Having worked with Seth across multiple shows, what would you say is the biggest difference in how he does something in live action versus his animated projects?

Grimes: It's the same. It truly is, because it's about the acting for him, even though, obviously, you don't have to get dressed up when you do the voice stuff, but he hasn't directed that for a while. You know, with Seth, to elaborate on my answer to your question, I find Seth to be one of the most protective directors around, and because as an actor, you're going in, you are insecure, "Is this going to work? Is this going to suck? Am I going to suck?" He's so good at not only giving you ideas, but also when you have a good idea, he kind of coddles you, even though he's not that kind of person in real life. On the set, he's such a great conductor and helps you, never turns down an idea, always going, "No, that's good, but let's try it this way," and I think he was born to protect people as a director so that they can do their best work. That's what he does.

Ubach: Yeah, 100 percent. He is the big brother you've always wanted when you're on set. If you have any issue with anything that's going on story-wise, this, that, the other, you immediately come to him, and he's right there for you. He's extremely present, and I've never worked with anyone like him before. I can't compare him to anyone else. He's an actor's dream.

Scott, I know you don't share scenes with them in the premiere, but did you visit the set with Penny [Johnson Jerald] and Peter [Macon]?

Grimes: Yes, 100 percent. Peter, I have to say, was my idea. There was an actor that they wanted to hire who was a friend of mine, and Seth would come in. We were rehearsing or filming, and we went back and forth, and it was the last minute that this guy fell through [for the episode]. I remember Seth walking into the room, and he's like, "What should we do?" He is so nice to ask my opinion. I'm, like, "Peter Macon?" Seth snapped his fingers and was like, "It's Peter!" Peter was on a plane the next morning.

That's great, because he did it, it was a favor when Peter lives in Atlanta, and he didn't want to get on a plane that morning, but he did that as a favor. He's such a great actor, and when you do The Orville for so many years, and that was a tough show to work on, there's a camaraderie of we'll always find each other. We'll all always love each other in a way. Alanna's probably worked on hard projects before, and you just have this kind of Platoon feeling of what we've been through together that you'll always have. It was great to have them on the show, and the fact that Seth uses the same people all the time because he trusts them is awesome.

It might be like picking a favorite child, but sticking to The Orville, did you have a favorite Gordon moment? I like to think about that time travel episode.

Grimes: That's the one.

That's the one heartbreaking, visceral episode in the show.

Grimes: That's the one for me for a couple of reasons. I think it is, I love time travel, anything time travel, as I'm sure you do, too, and to do it in that way was great. Working with Leighton Meester was awesome, and we were just out of COVID for that episode, so all these things were happening at the same time. Again, the trust that Seth put in an entire episode, because that episode's a lot about me, and it rests on my shoulders to make that kind of work. That was a challenge, and that one hundred percent is called "Twice in a Lifetime" that episode, and that episode is a beautiful piece of television.

Alanna, Scott, thank you for your time. You both have wonderful chemistry, and All in the Family kind of vibes.

Ubach: Thank you.

Grimes: Thank you. That's a great compliment. We appreciate it.

Season two of Ted premieres March 5th on Peacock.

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