An Interview with Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh from ‘Ted’

TED -- Pictured: "Ted" Key Art -- (Photo by: Peacock)

Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh are a pair of accomplished producers that have worked on some popular shows, such as Modern Family and King of the Hill. Currently they serve as Executive Producers, Writers and Co-Showrunners of the upcoming Peacock series, Ted, and we here at NTG had the distinct honor of being able to sit down with both of them to discuss the latest chapter in the life and times of Ted the Teddy Bear.
 
John Betancourt: I would love to know what inspired this series.
 
Paul Corrigan: Well, I mean, I think, you know, it's been a long time since anyone has seen Ted and I think there was sort of a pent-up demand to see what Ted can get up to again. And, you know, the movies explored, Ted and John as adults, basically, adults in years only, but adults, and we wanted to see like, what their life was like growing up, and what their family life and their home life was like, the years that formed them, sort of more than the years where they're fully formed. So, like, I think, that is what sort of spurred the conversation to get this project going.
 
Brad Walsh: I mean, I think was it was exciting to focus on a period of time that was unexplored for those characters. So, it freed us up in a lot of ways, because obviously, we have to be totally true to the project, and we have established characters. But there's also a lot of freedom there to develop new characters, and to go into new areas with stories because this is all unexplored territory.
 
John Betancourt: That leads me to my next question, what kind of challenges did you guys run into in assembling a prequel since you have to stay true to the future? But, you know, find the foundation in the past?
 
Brad Walsh: Sure, that was a challenge. I mean, tonally matching the show. And still bringing it back to the 90s is sort of… that's a shift, but you still want it to be consistent. So that was, that was a challenge. Luckily, Seth wrote the pilot, so he sort of set the stage in a way that was exciting to see and read. And suddenly, it was clear from the get-go, that was going to work. I mean, Paul, and I have written a lot of comedy, but no rated R comedy. So personally, it was that was a challenge just to sort of work outside our comfort zone a little bit, we maybe police ourselves almost naturally at this point, we've had to sort of stop that. They are often like, runs in rooms and bits and story ideas that don't wind up on network television that have to be toned down or just thrown away. And that happens a lot less frequently with a show like Ted, a joke run that you have in the room that seems completely irreverent and inappropriate winds up on the show.
 
Paul Corrigan: And one of the great things about it being a prequel is we were able to take a little bit of liberty with what's in the movies. So, you know, we could fudge things a little bit. But as long as we stayed true to the tone, and we didn't contradict anything outright, I think we were in pretty good shape.
 
John Betancourt:  Obviously, Ted is beloved, absolute popular franchise, and I'm sure folks are chomping at the bit to see it. But what are each of you most excited for audiences to experience when this premieres.
 
Paul Corrigan: I'm really excited to let people see the friendship when they were teenagers and sort of how sweet that friendship has always been, and how, you know, Ted is always there for John and helps John through his life. But I think in this, as Ted is sort of going to high school, you see John as a support system for Ted as well. I think that relationship is going to be kind of fun to explore.
 
Brad Walsh: Oh, yeah, I think there's an innocence to this show that isn't in the movies. And I think that'll be fun for viewers to see. I feel like this time of life when you're an adolescent. And this is actually the time that we were young as well. It was difficult to navigate for anyone and then navigating it with your best friend makes it a little bit better. So, I think, hopefully, people will laugh a lot, and then recognize that there's a heart at the center of this show.
 
John Betancourt: Last question that I have for you, gentlemen, today. What are each of you most proud of when it comes to what you've assembled here?
 
Brad Walsh: Well, one of the challenges going in was this… just the technical challenges here, and I don't want to pretend that I was in charge of the technical challenges, but I was excited to learn about how to handle that and how to navigate it going forward. So, I feel like I was… I'm proud…. I'm proud to now have that knowledge. Thanks to Seth and the team around him, and being able to, like just learn in his shadow was fun.
 
Paul Corrigan: I agree with that. And say, like, you know, from the writing staff, to the cast, to the crew that made all these things happen, the thing I'm proud of is being able to be part of that team, and to work with all these people who are kind of the best at what they do. And it was, it was humbling, and yet sort of exhilarating.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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