Giorgia Whigham and Max Burkholder Talk Ted Season 2, Brennan Lee Mulligan, and That DnD Episode

Based on the films of the same name, the TV series Ted is back for Season 2 on Peacock. In Season 2, Ted goes to John’s senior year in high school as the two, alongside John’s parents and cousin Blaire, navigate life.

Ted Season 1 may have had some hijinks, but Season 2 looks to be bigger and crazier than its predecessor.

I had the opportunity to speak with stars Max Burkholder and Giorgia Whigham about Ted Season 2, how John and Blaire’s relationship has grown since Season 1, and how the Dungeons and Dragons episode came to be.

Although Ted Season 2 looks to be wilder, there’s one thing that’s keeping this family together: rationality. While John, Matty, and Susan may get into shenanigans, Whigham and Burkholder believe in the necessity of Blaire’s rational presence.

“I think Blaire’s the driving force in the stability there in the whole house,” Whigham said. “Not to toot my own horn or anything, but yeah, in their relationship, it’s built on her trying to keep them as grounded as possible.”

“A hundred percent,” Burkholder added. “She does her best, and we go off the rails quite a bit anyway, but without her more calming influence, I think things would be even more of a mess.”

Additionally, with Blaire being the character that maintains the cohesiveness of the family, she’s bound to be in some trouble with her cousin, John. Yet, both of them are always there for each other, even if things might go wrong.

Burkholder and Whigham divulged how their dynamic as John and Blaire has improved since Ted Season 1, both as their characters and as co-stars.

“We’re pretty tight outside of the shoot,” Burkholder said. “We became friends real quick, starting with Season 1, so I feel like that closeness and that trust being there really does help loosen everything up.”

“We come in to work with an already formed relationship outside of it,” Whigham continued. “Also, just in terms of [character], there’s a couple great scenes where Blaire is the one in distress, and Ted and John are the ones that ultimately come to her aid.”

“I think she really needs that. It’s unexpected, and it feeds that beautiful relationship that they have.”

While the episodes in Ted Season 2 are wild in their own ways, there’s one specific episode that stands out: Ted Season 2 Episode 3 “Dungeons and Dealers”.

This episode not only sees the family trying to win a game of Dungeons and Dragons, but also features a fan-favorite star: Brennan Lee Mulligan.

Although fans speculated whether it was actually Mulligan before, it has been confirmed that he is in this episode. When it came to bringing Mulligan on board, Burkholder was the one who had this idea first.

“I love playing [Dungeons and Dragons],” Burkholder shared. “I’m a bit of a forever DM!”

“I am a huge fan of Critical Role, [Dimension 20], [Worlds Beyond Number Podcast], all of it. I was the one who originally pitched, ‘Oh, we should absolutely get this guy in to play the DM.’ It was honestly huge for me.”

Furthermore, Burkholder shared his experience working with Mulligan that day. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as quiet on set as the days when Brennan was on set because I don’t get starstruck that easily,” Burkholder recalled.

Watch the full conversation with Max Burkholder and Giorgia Whigham:

Although Burkholder was a big player before this episode, Whigham had no experience with the tabletop game. However, when they filmed “Dungeons and Dealers,” Whigham fully embraced this side of nerdom with open arms.

“[It was] definitely my first experience with it,” Whigham noted. “It was amazing to have him by my side. Honestly, not even blowing smoke, that was so helpful.”

“Just being really immersed in the world — like you said, they were practical sets. Everything, with the costumes and the sets — it was so amazing. We were in it, 24/7, on set because the cast holding was in the tavern.”

“Anywhere you walked in that soundstage was a forest or a cave. It was so cool!”

Given how Ted Season 2 Episode 3 was set in a fantasy world, there were some things that the cast knew they had to take. For Burkholder, that one item was a sword that he still has to this day.

“We finished shooting what last February and last January, so I’ve had it since then,” Burkholder said. “It’s next to my couch in my apartment in New York!”

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Ted Season 2 is now streaming on Peacock.

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