Better Off Ted

Better Off Ted
Better Off Ted's logo
Genre
Created byVictor Fresco
Starring
Narrated byJay Harrington
Composers
  • Chris Alan Lee
  • Scott Clausen
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26 (2 unaired in the U.S.)
Production
Executive producerVictor Fresco
Producers
  • Marc Solakian
  • Skip Beaudine
Production locationsLos Angeles, California
Editors
  • Lisa Bromwell
  • Robert Bramwell
  • Peter Beyt
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time21 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseMarch 18, 2009 (2009-03-18) –
August 24, 2010 (2010-08-24)
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Better Off Ted is an American satirical sitcom series, created by Victor Fresco, who also served as the show's executive producer. The series ran on the ABC network from March 18, 2009, to January 26, 2010.[5]

Better Off Ted focuses on the protagonist, Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington), a single father and the well-respected and beloved head of a research and development department at the fictional, soulless conglomerate of Veridian Dynamics. Ted narrates the series' events by regularly breaking the fourth wall and directly addressing the audience on camera. Supporting characters include Ted's supervisor Veronica Palmer (Portia de Rossi), co-worker and love interest Linda Zwordling (Andrea Anders), his daughter Rose (Isabella Acres), and laboratory scientists Phillip Myman (Jonathan Slavin) and Lem Hewitt (Malcolm Barrett).

The series received critical acclaim, with particular praise going towards its witty and satirical humor. Its second season holds a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic. However, despite such positive feedback, the show's debut drew in only 5.64 million viewers and continued to have extremely low ratings.[6] Although many expressed skepticism that it would return, it was renewed for a second season.[7] On May 13, 2010, ABC officially canceled the series due to low viewing figures.[8] Two episodes that went unaired in the United States were broadcast in international markets and are available to view on Hulu, digital stores, and home video.[9]

  1. ^ Kilcoin, Brigid (March 22, 2009). "ABC's 'Better off Ted' succumbs to an unoriginal premise". Michigan Daily. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  2. ^ Woerner, Meredith (February 5, 2009). "Could Better Off Ted Save The Science Fiction Comedy Genre?". io9. New York: Gawker Media. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  3. ^ Dan Seitz (January 26, 2015). "All The Reasons 'Better Off Ted' Should Be The Next Comedy You Binge Watch On Netflix". Uproxx.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  4. ^ Ken Tucker (December 8, 2009). "Better Off Ted". EW.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  5. ^ "ABC Announces New Thursday Night Comedy Block With "In the Motherhood" and "Samantha Who"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  6. ^ Mitovich, Matt. "Ratings: All-Time Low Harshes Lost's Mellow". TV Guide. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  7. ^ "ABC Picks Up V; Renews Better off Ted: Also ordering Eastwick and much more for next season". IGN. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  8. ^ "Report: FlashForward, Romantically Challenged, Better Off Ted, Scrubs Canceled". Archived from the original on May 18, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  9. ^ Lee, Stefanie. "The Unaired Better Off Ted Episodes are Now Available!". TV.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.