Better Off Ted
Encyclopedia
Better Off Ted is an American satirical
situation comedy
series, created and written by Victor Fresco
(known for his other television series Andy Richter Controls the Universe
and the short-lived show Life on a Stick
), who also serves as the show's Executive Producer. The series premiered on the ABC
network on March 18, 2009.
Better Off Ted focuses on the titular 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 dictates the series' events by regularly breaking the fourth wall
and directly addressing the audience as he serves as the show's on-camera narrator. 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 the two laboratory scientists Phillip Myman (Jonathan Slavin
) and Lem Hewitt (Malcolm Barrett
).
The series has received critical acclaim, with particular praise going towards its witty and satirical humour. Its second season holds a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic
. However, despite such positive feedback, the show's debut only drew in 5.64 million viewers and continued to have extremely low ratings. Although many expressed skepticism towards whether or not it would return, the show was renewed for a second season. On May 13, 2010, ABC
officially canceled the series due to low viewership. Two episodes remain unaired in the United States
, but are available to view on Netflix
, Amazon Video on Demand, Xbox Live Marketplace
, and iTunes
.
In casting his crew, Fresco and his team worked fairly quickly. "You don't have a lot of time to cast, unfortunately, and it's the most important thing in the show, I think." says Fresco, "Good casting can transcend mediocre material but the best material in the world cannot transcend the mediocre casting. It's all about casting and I think we got really lucky in all five of these regulars."
Fresco approached Jonathan Slavin
, with whom he had previously worked on the sitcom Andy Richter Controls the Universe
, about playing the role of Phil. Being a fan of Slavin's work, he thought he'd be great for the role. Andrea Anders
, whom Fresco previously enjoyed on The Class, and Malcolm Barrett
were cast for the roles of Linda and Lem respectively. Portia de Rossi
met with Fresco about the role of Veronica. Fresco assessed during their meeting that de Rossi was completely convinced that the role was perfect for her and that she was born to play it. He thought de Rossi nailed the role and cast her. When asked what drew her to the role, de Rossi replied, "I'm really attracted to strong women." De Rossi further went on to say, "I kind of had to throw myself at [Fresco]. I told him I'd played this character who had similar qualities, very work driven, strong, insensitive, slightly chilly. I had to convince him I could play this character well and could play a character of this nature." Jay Harrington
was the first person Fresco met with when trying to cast someone as Ted Crisp. Although Fresco really liked Harrington, he decided to see more people before casting the role. After five weeks, Harrington was cast.
The characters are fully aware of Veridian's nature, and often try to manipulate the system in order to stop bad things from happening to them (and sometimes to mitigate the evil effects of some of Veridian's projects). They are also all susceptible to the potential rewards the company can offer despite the consequences of their actions, such as the company's attempt to hire Lem's mother, or the company's introduction of scented light bulbs with known flaws. Much of the comedy of the show comes from the characters' navigation of these morally ambiguous areas.
Jay Harrington, who plays Ted Crisp on the show, serves both as a main character and as an on-camera narrator. Throughout the show, he breaks the fourth wall
and speaks directly to viewers, offering inside information and observations while the action continues around him. Another plot element involves the use of mock commercial
s for Veridian Dynamics, thematically related to individual episodes and placed at the end or beginning of actual commercial breaks in all but a couple of episodes.
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the show's first season holds a score of 68 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 21 reviews. Misha Davenport of the Chicago Sun-Times
wrote favorably of the show, comparing its characters to those of the highly-acclaimed show Arrested Development. Linda Stasi of the New York Post
gave the show three-and-a-half out of four stars, lauding the cast and simply referring to it as "a very funny comedy". Ken Tucker
of Entertainment Weekly
gave the show a B+, stating "'Better Off Ted' is certainly the most original sitcom to come along in a while." Robert Bianco from USA Today
referred to the show as "well-cast and reasonably entertaining."
After returning for a second season, the show became even more acclaimed and is considered by some critics to be a vast improvement on its first. On Metacritic
, it holds a score of 84 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 11 reviews. Linda Stasi of the New York Post
gave the show's second season a perfect score, calling it "hilarious and even funnier this year than last." Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
also gave the show's second season a perfect score, praising the show's return, saying it "means there's finally something good (and funny) on Tuesday nights." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
gave the show's return an A-, stating "Thank goodness Better Off Ted has returned intact. I love everything about this show, from star Jay Harrington's delivery of Ted's straight-man lines with WASP ramrod posture to the show's up-front critiques of corporate capitalism."
's lowest-rated comedy debut since 2005. The show's first season continued to experience both a drop and mild fluctuation in ratings, taking in only 2.41 million for its finale. After being renewed, the show's second season premiered to a low 3.82 million viewers.
, editorial assistant Anna Hiatt included the show in the website's list of The Best TV Shows of 2009. Josh Bell, a writer from About.com
, ranked the series second on his list of The Best TV Comedies of 2010. In 2009, the show was nominated for an Ewwy Award for Best Comedy Series.
on May 13, 2010. In an interview with New York Magazine, Victor Fresco, the show's creator, was asked why he thought the show didn't catch on. He responded, "I think not enough people knew about it. It wasn’t like we had a lot of people watch it and they didn’t come back to it. If anything, I think we were building slowly, but to me the way TV works is you spend a lot of money advertising and promoting, or you have to let a show stay someplace for a long period of time and an audience slowly comes to it. And I don’t think we got either of that". Fresco also added, "I still feel there’s an audience out there for it, because I know that the people who liked it, liked it a lot."
At the time of its cancellation, two episodes of Better Off Ted had yet to be broadcast by ABC. The network announced on May 27, 2010 that it would air the two episodes back-to-back on June 17, 2010, contingent on the 2010 NBA Finals not requiring a seventh game. Ultimately, however, a seventh game was needed, and thus ABC did not air the final two episodes of the series.
As of November 2011 no release of Season 2 on DVD has occurred. Also, it was initially announced that a Blu-ray edition would be released of Season 1, but this likewise has yet to occur.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
series, created and written by Victor Fresco
Victor Fresco
Victor Fresco is an American television writer, producer and show creator. He is credited with creating the critically acclaimed television series Better Off Ted, which ran for two seasons on ABC. Fresco also created the FOX show Andy Richter Controls the Universe, for which he was nominated for a...
(known for his other television series Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe is a sitcom which aired from 2002–2003 on the Fox network. The series was Andy Richter's first starring role after leaving Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2000....
and the short-lived show Life on a Stick
Life on a Stick
Life on a Stick is an American sitcom that premiered on Fox on March 24, 2005. Thirteen episodes of the show were completed, but Fox only showed the first five before pulling the show due to poor ratings.-Premise:...
), who also serves as the show's Executive Producer. The series premiered on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network on March 18, 2009.
Better Off Ted focuses on the titular protagonist, Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington
Jay Harrington
Jay H. Harrington III is an American actor. His most recent role was the title character in the ABC sitcom Better Off Ted.- Personal life :...
), 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 dictates the series' events by regularly breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and directly addressing the audience as he serves as the show's on-camera narrator. Supporting characters include Ted's supervisor Veronica Palmer (Portia de Rossi
Portia de Rossi
Portia Lee James DeGeneres , known professionally as Portia de Rossi , is an Australian-American actress, best known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter on the television series Ally McBeal and Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the sitcom Arrested Development...
), co-worker and love interest Linda Zwordling (Andrea Anders
Andrea Anders
Andrea Anders is an American actress, known for her roles as Alex Garrett on the NBC sitcom Joey, Nicole Allen on the CBS sitcom The Class, and Linda Zwordling on the ABC sitcom Better Off Ted. She was most recently seen as Alice on the ABC sitcom Mr...
), his daughter Rose (Isabella Acres
Isabella Acres
Isabella Acres is an American child actress, who recently played Rose on Better Off Ted.- Personal life :Isabella Acres was born in Atlanta, where she discovered her love for acting in children's theater. She then relocated to Los Angeles...
), and the two laboratory scientists Phillip Myman (Jonathan Slavin
Jonathan Slavin
Jonathan Slavin is an American actor.-Biography:Slavin may be best known for his portrayal of neurotic Byron Togler on the Fox network's sitcom Andy Richter Controls the Universe and as scientist Phil Myman on ABC's sitcom Better Off Ted....
) and Lem Hewitt (Malcolm Barrett
Malcolm Barrett (actor)
Malcolm Barrett is an American actor.He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. He has appeared as a series regular on Fox's The Sketch Show and Luis....
).
The series has received critical acclaim, with particular praise going towards its witty and satirical humour. Its second season holds a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. However, despite such positive feedback, the show's debut only drew in 5.64 million viewers and continued to have extremely low ratings. Although many expressed skepticism towards whether or not it would return, the show was renewed for a second season. On May 13, 2010, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
officially canceled the series due to low viewership. Two episodes remain unaired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but are available to view on Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
, Amazon Video on Demand, Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
, and iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
Origin
Victor Fresco, the show's creator, has cited his being a new parent as inspiration for the show. In an interview with NPR, he discussed how having a kid piqued his interest to develop a show about the disconnection between a person's public and personal lives, such as how parents teach their kids to be moral, yet work for giant corporations. According to Fresco, Ted Crisp is the single father and his daughter serves as his moral compass. Fresco stated that since he's worked for a few giant companies, he didn't base Veridian Dynamics on any specific corporation. The show's name was based on the idea that a person is better off if they are Ted, that essentially the average person wants to be Ted. Fresco has stated that he wasn't a fan of the show's title, but hadn't spoken of changing it.Casting
Fresco approached Jonathan Slavin
Jonathan Slavin
Jonathan Slavin is an American actor.-Biography:Slavin may be best known for his portrayal of neurotic Byron Togler on the Fox network's sitcom Andy Richter Controls the Universe and as scientist Phil Myman on ABC's sitcom Better Off Ted....
, with whom he had previously worked on the sitcom Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe is a sitcom which aired from 2002–2003 on the Fox network. The series was Andy Richter's first starring role after leaving Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2000....
, about playing the role of Phil. Being a fan of Slavin's work, he thought he'd be great for the role. Andrea Anders
Andrea Anders
Andrea Anders is an American actress, known for her roles as Alex Garrett on the NBC sitcom Joey, Nicole Allen on the CBS sitcom The Class, and Linda Zwordling on the ABC sitcom Better Off Ted. She was most recently seen as Alice on the ABC sitcom Mr...
, whom Fresco previously enjoyed on The Class, and Malcolm Barrett
Malcolm Barrett (actor)
Malcolm Barrett is an American actor.He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. He has appeared as a series regular on Fox's The Sketch Show and Luis....
were cast for the roles of Linda and Lem respectively. Portia de Rossi
Portia de Rossi
Portia Lee James DeGeneres , known professionally as Portia de Rossi , is an Australian-American actress, best known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter on the television series Ally McBeal and Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the sitcom Arrested Development...
met with Fresco about the role of Veronica. Fresco assessed during their meeting that de Rossi was completely convinced that the role was perfect for her and that she was born to play it. He thought de Rossi nailed the role and cast her. When asked what drew her to the role, de Rossi replied, "I'm really attracted to strong women." De Rossi further went on to say, "I kind of had to throw myself at [Fresco]. I told him I'd played this character who had similar qualities, very work driven, strong, insensitive, slightly chilly. I had to convince him I could play this character well and could play a character of this nature." Jay Harrington
Jay Harrington
Jay H. Harrington III is an American actor. His most recent role was the title character in the ABC sitcom Better Off Ted.- Personal life :...
was the first person Fresco met with when trying to cast someone as Ted Crisp. Although Fresco really liked Harrington, he decided to see more people before casting the role. After five weeks, Harrington was cast.
Plot
Better Off Ted revolves around the concept of characters working for a stereotypically evil company. The company, Veridian Dynamics, experiments on its employees, twists the truth, and will stop at nothing to achieve its goals. It has been mentioned that Veridian has swayed presidential elections, created killer pandas and robots, weaponized pumpkins, and that there are only three governments left in the world which are more powerful than Veridian.The characters are fully aware of Veridian's nature, and often try to manipulate the system in order to stop bad things from happening to them (and sometimes to mitigate the evil effects of some of Veridian's projects). They are also all susceptible to the potential rewards the company can offer despite the consequences of their actions, such as the company's attempt to hire Lem's mother, or the company's introduction of scented light bulbs with known flaws. Much of the comedy of the show comes from the characters' navigation of these morally ambiguous areas.
Jay Harrington, who plays Ted Crisp on the show, serves both as a main character and as an on-camera narrator. Throughout the show, he breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and speaks directly to viewers, offering inside information and observations while the action continues around him. Another plot element involves the use of mock commercial
Parody advertisement
A parody advertisement is a fictional advertisement for a non-existent product, either done within another advertisement for an actual product, or done simply as parody of advertisements—used either as a way of ridiculing or drawing negative attention towards a real advertisement or such an...
s for Veridian Dynamics, thematically related to individual episodes and placed at the end or beginning of actual commercial breaks in all but a couple of episodes.
Cast
- Jay HarringtonJay HarringtonJay H. Harrington III is an American actor. His most recent role was the title character in the ABC sitcom Better Off Ted.- Personal life :...
as Theodore Margaret "Ted" Crisp: Ted is the titular character, and also the show's narrator. He is the senior vice-president of the Research and Development department at Veridian Dynamics, and is well respected and loved by most of the employees – and even members of the otherwise difficult upper management. He balances his desire to maintain his position at the company with his feeling that he must demonstrate a moral center to his daughter. He has had sexual relations with his immediate supervisor, although she remains emotionally distant. He also has interest in Linda, who was a new hire to Veridian Dynamics at the launch of the series.
- Portia de RossiPortia de RossiPortia Lee James DeGeneres , known professionally as Portia de Rossi , is an Australian-American actress, best known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter on the television series Ally McBeal and Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the sitcom Arrested Development...
as Veronica Palmer: Veronica is Ted's boss and immediate supervisor at Veridian Dynamics. She maintains a fierce and unapproachable workplace demeanor, and many employees have a deep fear of her. She seems cold and calculating, but it is also clear that she has more than grudging respect for Ted, and often recognizes what moral action is necessary to maintain balance in the workplace.
- Andrea Anders as Linda Katherine Zwordling: Linda is a tester in one of Veridian's departments. She finds herself very attracted to Ted, but maintains other relationships and reminds Ted repeatedly that he has rejected the idea of a workplace romance with her. She seems to be a bit of an outsider to the corporate culture. Often she is the character who demands that Ted consider the horrible ramifications of the company policies or activities. Her relationship with the scientists is strained by her rejection of the weird things they do in the name of science.
- Jonathan SlavinJonathan SlavinJonathan Slavin is an American actor.-Biography:Slavin may be best known for his portrayal of neurotic Byron Togler on the Fox network's sitcom Andy Richter Controls the Universe and as scientist Phil Myman on ABC's sitcom Better Off Ted....
as Dr. Philip "Phil" Myman: Phil is one of the laboratory scientists in Veridian's Research Department. He is usually working or hanging out with Lem, who works with him on almost every project. He generally does whatever he can to be accepted and avoid conflicts. He is married, and makes frequent references to his wife, who seems to hate him.
- Malcolm BarrettMalcolm Barrett (actor)Malcolm Barrett is an American actor.He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. He has appeared as a series regular on Fox's The Sketch Show and Luis....
as Dr. Lem Hewitt: Lem is one of the laboratory scientists in Veridian's Research Department. He is best friends with his lab partner Phil, who works with him on almost every project. Lem is just as conflict averse as Phil, and seems just as willing to roll over and take whatever abuse the company has to offer. He grew up in the shadow of his mother (Khandi AlexanderKhandi AlexanderKhandi Alexander is an American dancer, choreographer, and film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for the roles of Dr. Alexx Woods on CSI: Miami and as Catherine Duke on NewsRadio. She also had a major recurring role on ER as Jackie Robbins, sister to Dr. Peter Benton...
) a renowned scientist.
- Isabella AcresIsabella AcresIsabella Acres is an American child actress, who recently played Rose on Better Off Ted.- Personal life :Isabella Acres was born in Atlanta, where she discovered her love for acting in children's theater. She then relocated to Los Angeles...
as Rose Crisp: Rose is Ted's preteen daughter. She attends the Veridian Dynamics daycare program when her nanny is not available, but prefers to stay at home. According to Ted, "her mom ran off to Africa to go save the world." She is often the voice of reason on the show. When Ted talks with her about work she points out the terrible choices the company makes, and often helps Ted focus on what needs to be done to set things straight.
Critical response
Critics have praised Better Off Teds witty and satirical humor, as well as its cast. According to MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the show's first season holds a score of 68 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 21 reviews. Misha Davenport of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
wrote favorably of the show, comparing its characters to those of the highly-acclaimed show Arrested Development. Linda Stasi of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
gave the show three-and-a-half out of four stars, lauding the cast and simply referring to it as "a very funny comedy". Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker was an English footballer who played as a left winger....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the show a B+, stating "'Better Off Ted' is certainly the most original sitcom to come along in a while." Robert Bianco from USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
referred to the show as "well-cast and reasonably entertaining."
After returning for a second season, the show became even more acclaimed and is considered by some critics to be a vast improvement on its first. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, it holds a score of 84 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 11 reviews. Linda Stasi of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
gave the show's second season a perfect score, calling it "hilarious and even funnier this year than last." Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
also gave the show's second season a perfect score, praising the show's return, saying it "means there's finally something good (and funny) on Tuesday nights." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the show's return an A-, stating "Thank goodness Better Off Ted has returned intact. I love everything about this show, from star Jay Harrington's delivery of Ted's straight-man lines with WASP ramrod posture to the show's up-front critiques of corporate capitalism."
Ratings
The show's pilot episode averaged a total of 5.64 million viewers, which made it ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's lowest-rated comedy debut since 2005. The show's first season continued to experience both a drop and mild fluctuation in ratings, taking in only 2.41 million for its finale. After being renewed, the show's second season premiered to a low 3.82 million viewers.
Accolades
On TV.comTV.com
TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
, editorial assistant Anna Hiatt included the show in the website's list of The Best TV Shows of 2009. Josh Bell, a writer from About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, ranked the series second on his list of The Best TV Comedies of 2010. In 2009, the show was nominated for an Ewwy Award for Best Comedy Series.
Cancellation
The series was officially canceled by ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on May 13, 2010. In an interview with New York Magazine, Victor Fresco, the show's creator, was asked why he thought the show didn't catch on. He responded, "I think not enough people knew about it. It wasn’t like we had a lot of people watch it and they didn’t come back to it. If anything, I think we were building slowly, but to me the way TV works is you spend a lot of money advertising and promoting, or you have to let a show stay someplace for a long period of time and an audience slowly comes to it. And I don’t think we got either of that". Fresco also added, "I still feel there’s an audience out there for it, because I know that the people who liked it, liked it a lot."
At the time of its cancellation, two episodes of Better Off Ted had yet to be broadcast by ABC. The network announced on May 27, 2010 that it would air the two episodes back-to-back on June 17, 2010, contingent on the 2010 NBA Finals not requiring a seventh game. Ultimately, however, a seventh game was needed, and thus ABC did not air the final two episodes of the series.
DVD release
| Better Off Ted: The Complete First Season | ||||
Set details:
|
Features:
|
|||
| Release dates: | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1, 2009 | 2011 | |||
As of November 2011 no release of Season 2 on DVD has occurred. Also, it was initially announced that a Blu-ray edition would be released of Season 1, but this likewise has yet to occur.