Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach on Ted Season 2, Dungeons and Dragons, and How Their Characters are Dealing with Parenthood

Ted Season 2 is finally here, and there’s plenty to look forward to seeing in this season of the Seth MacFarlane comedy. That’s especially true when it comes to Matty and Susan’s perspectives this season.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach about Ted Season 2, how Matty and Susan are dealing with parenthood, that Dungeons and Dragons episode, and more. (You can watch the full interview below.)

Although there seem to be many things that drive the family into insanity, Grimes and Ubach believe that it’s the overall chaos that, somehow, keeps them together in Ted Season 2.

“The instability keeps them stable,” Ubach began. “I think that’s exactly what it is!”

“The second everything was perfect, both of them would just probably die,” Grimes joked. “Especially Susan, because Susan has to deal with Matty, the kids, Ted, and the whole thing.”

“My favorite part of this show, and it might’ve been in [Season 1], was when somebody felt bad for Susan, and she went, ‘Why? I love this. I love what I do!’ I connect with that so well because Susan is the only thing keeping this family together, and her desire to do so is awesome,” he said.

Furthermore, Ted Season 2 brings out the physical and emotional humor in Matty and Susan in many ways. During our conversation, Ubach and Grimes discussed how playing into those extremes helps develop their overall characters.

“There’s just so much to play with,” Ubach explained. “What the writers give you, they’re constantly creating these huge playgrounds, and Scott and I, the biggest thing we have in common is that we love to play. We love to be silly, and we love making people laugh.”

“The sillier, the better. We’re of the Mel Brooks-era of actors, young actors.”

“[Seth MacFarlane] loves to reel us in because if you give us constraints, we might not go there in the first place,” Grimes added. “Alanna and I like to be big, and then he’ll go, ‘Okay, bring it back in.'”

“He also did something really brilliant this season. That first episode is so physical, so all over the place, and so loud that you just sell yourself to the audience so quickly. Everything after that — it’s just cake.”

Grimes also reiterated how the viewers trust them to be as comical as they can be. “They trust us, we’re going to make them laugh, we’re going to make them cry, but we come out of the gate so quick on this season too,” Grimes said.

One of the episodes that blends comedy with the fantasy genre is Ted Season 2 Episode 3, “Dungeons and Dealers.” That episode sees the family having to win a game all under the manipulation of a dungeon master played by Brennan Lee Mulligan.

As an experienced player of the game, Mulligan went hand-in-hand with MacFarlane when it came to the direction of the story. Grimes and Ubach recalled what it was like having Mulligan on board.

“The show doesn’t work without him, and I mean that,” Grimes said. “Seth would not have been able to direct that episode without the direction that he was putting us in because he’s the guy.”

“Seth would go to him [and ask], ‘Would we do this?’ [Brennan] goes, ‘Yeah,’ and then Seth would put the camera. That helped the direction of that because he’s telling a story, and then we’re going into the story.”

Grimes strongly believes that “Dungeons and Dealers” will resonate with Dungeons and Dragons players. “Seth understands, and I use this term because I’m a nerd, that all the nerds out there are just going to adore this and it’s his gift to them,” Grimes said.

Ubach does have some familiarity with the world of Dungeons and Dragons, having previously voiced a character in Prime Video’s The Legend of Vox Machina. However, Ubach is still learning the ropes.

“I have an eight-year-old son who’s just starting to understand the Dungeons and Dragons thing,” Ubach noted. “I was just starting to understand Pokémon, but now he’s onto Dungeons and Dragons.”

“Hopefully, I will finally understand what it really is all about because I have no idea. There’s just so much to learn. I tried while we were filming, and I just scratched the surface!”

Watch the full conversation with Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach:

Grimes did try playing Dungeons and Dragons before, but it didn’t click with him at first.

“I tried when I was a kid, and I wanted to be so good at it,” Grimes recalled. “I wanted to because I think it’s such an intelligent game. I now see it, this episode [and] watching Stranger Things, I wish I knew it.”

“All those sets, they were all practical,” Grimes noted. “Seth built all those sets, so we’re in this forest in a soundstage. They don’t do that kind of stuff anymore.”

Another episode in Season 2 that stands out is Ted Season 2 Episode 5, “The Sword in the Stoned.” While John and Ted are off to audition for a school play, Matty and Susan find themselves working part-time jobs at a Dunkin’ Donuts.

Of course, there’s bound to be shenanigans, which continually escalate with this episode. Grimes and Ubach also talked about their experiences and love for Matty and Susan’s story here.

“Oh, it’s so well written,” Ubach praised. “Isn’t it beautifully written? Chef’s kiss!”

“First of all, just to talk about Dunkin’, a lot of Boston people watch this show, because it’s an homage to Boston,” Grimes added. “They’re going to love that we work at Dunkin’. What you’re referring to, though, who does that?”

“It’s not to be cute or to be special or to have it go viral. It’s just Seth’s mind going, ‘How can we make this different?’ It’s not to be cute or to be special or have it go viral. It was [just] so much fun to film!”

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Ted Season 2 is now streaming on Peacock.

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