The Mystery of Blaire: A New Character in the Ted Universe

Introduction

Seth MacFarlane’s new Ted prequel series has introduced Blaire to shake things up in the Bennett household – did Blaire appear in the movies or is she an original character created for the TV show? The Ted prequel show sees a 16-year-old John Bennett and his foul-mouthed teddy bear growing up in a Massachusetts suburb in 1993. While Ted and John’s friendship is the same in the series as in the movies, the prequel show makes a few tweaks to the franchise’s other character dynamics. The biggest dynamic shift is the arrival of Blaire, played brilliantly by Giorgia Whigham.

Blaire in the living room in Ted

The Ted series has made a few minor changes to the characters who appeared in the original movies. In the first film’s opening flashback, when John wishes Ted to life, his mom is called Helen and she’s played by Lois Griffin voice actor Alex Borstein, while his dad is called Steve and he’s played by renowned comedian Ralph Garman. In the TV series, John’s parents are called Susan and Matty, and they’re played by Euphoria’s Alanna Ubach and American Dad!’s Scott Grimes. But despite having new names (and new actors), at least those characters did appear in the movies in some form. Blaire is a different story.

The Bennetts sit at the dinner table in Ted

The Role of Blaire

Blaire is John’s cousin who’s a couple of years older than him. She’s been staying with the Bennetts while she goes to a nearby college and studies English lit. At the end of the show’s pilot episode, Blaire explains that she doesn’t need to live with the Bennetts. Her own family’s house is 45 minutes away from her campus, so she could commute to school, but she grew up with a rough home life that culminated in her troubled brother going to jail. She lives with the Bennetts because they’re slightly less dysfunctional, and because she wants to save John from going down the same path as her brother.

Blaire and Sarah on a couch in Ted

As a young progressive who’s heavily involved in political causes, Blaire presents a hilarious counterpoint to John’s staunchly conservative dad, Matty. Ted borrows All in the Family’s dynamic of a family sitcom about the clashing political views of different generations. Matty is like Archie Bunker, a blue-collar suburban dad who constantly complains about liberals, while Blaire is like Mike Stivic, the younger liberal relative who challenges the patriarch’s antiquated views. Ultimately, having Blaire in the house to argue with Matty has given the cast of Ted a much more compelling dynamic than if she’d been left out of the show.

Blaire sits with John and Ted in Ted

Despite being depicted as an important figure in John’s childhood in the TV series, Blaire did not appear in either of the Ted movies. She’s an original character created specifically for the TV series to add the crucial perspective of a young progressive woman living under the same roof as a middle-aged conservative patriarch. Throughout the series, Blaire looks out for John and he comes to view her as an older sister. With this extra context, it seems odd that Blaire wasn’t seen in either of the movies. She certainly would’ve been invited to John’s wedding, and she would’ve had a lot to say about Ted’s fight for civil rights.

Blaire looking confused in Ted

The Future of Blaire

Since Ted 2 underperformed at the box office, Ted 3 has been mooted by Hollywood. But if the new Ted TV show is a hit, then it might renew interest in a potential threequel. If Ted 3 does get made, then MacFarlane has given himself plenty of new story opportunities with the series. A potential Ted 3 could revolve around a family reunion with Mark Wahlberg’s older John reconnecting with an older Blaire. Whigham couldn’t reprise the role in Ted 3 (unless Ted 3 is made 30 years from now), but she could pass the torch to an older actor who will recapture the character’s spirit.

Ted and Blaire stand in the hallway at prom in Ted