I can't say I was particularly interested when I learned that Peacock was producing a "Ted" prequel show; the two "Ted" movies released in the 2010s were entertaining, but when the credits rolled for "Ted 2," I remember clearly thinking that the concept of bringing a foul-mouthed teddy bear to life had I distinctly remember thinking that I had reached my limit

So when "Ted" debuted on Peacock earlier this month, I was in no hurry to see it But then, a few days later, something strange began to happen--my social feeds started flooding with friends sharing the clip And even more amazingly, the short clips they posted made me laugh out loud So I decided it was worth checking to see if the show could sustain the level of comedy, or if I had just seen the highlights

To my delight, I found that "Ted" lived up to its social media hype Sure, it has all the usual traits of a Seth MacFarlane project, but it's also hilarious, silly, and oddly charming It's only January, but "Ted" may well be my favorite show of the year

"Ted" follows the misadventures of a boy named John Bennett (Max Burkholder) and his sentient teddy bear Far from being a cuddly stuffed animal, Ted is a mischievous, pot-smoking slob with a bad habit

Whereas the two films focus on John (played by Mark Wahlberg) as an adult, the show is a prequel, portraying 16-year-old John as he attempts to navigate the troubled waters of high school Of course, growing up is difficult enough, but John's awkward adolescence is made even more difficult by Ted's constant disruptions

Ted is the worst sidekick imaginable, but at the heart of the show is the friendship between boy and bear, which is oddly touching Ted is a walking disaster, but he cares deeply about John, and vice versa, and their friendship is nurtured well from the very first episode, so while there are no dramatic twists and turns, there are some heartfelt moments between the two

But "Ted's" main business is laughter, and the show's main concern is to make viewers giggle Seth MacFarlane's trademark comedy style is well known at this point, so there will be a few irreverent gags and a few offensive remarks However, from what I have seen of the first half of "Ted's" seven-episode first season, there are fewer mean-spirited jokes than on McFarlane's other shows, such as "Family Guy" and "American Dad"

"Ted" is generally very funny, but not afraid to get a little serious if necessary I was surprised by a tender scene in the first episode in which John and his cousin Blair (Giorgia Wigham) discuss their dysfunctional family

"Ted" seems to be winning a lot of admirers right now, as it has an impressive 90% viewer score on Rotten Tomatoes And even on IMDb, where high ratings are a little harder to come by, this peacock original series has a high rating of 81/10

Rotten Tomatoes has a less generous critics score of 69%, which is rather reasonable given MacFarlane's penchant for bawdy humor However, this is the same score as the first "Ted" film, which received mostly favorable reviews in 2012, and is a vast improvement over the lackluster 2015 sequel, which only managed a rotten score of 45%

While you probably shouldn't expect "Ted" to make a big splash during next year's awards season, it is a show that seems to understand its audience and is of higher quality than many, including myself, had expected

If you are looking for an easy-to-watch show that consistently makes you laugh and you don't mind a sprinkling of bizarre potty humor, "Ted" is a must-see show

Far from groundbreaking, but very entertaining The quality of Ted's CGI animation should also be noted These fuzzy playthings look amazingly realistic

Compared to the latest shows on rival streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Max, Peacock's original content seems unlikely to gain much traction

Additionally, it has been a pleasant diversion to launch Peacock outside of live Premier League streaming this month