For Max Burkholder, who plays the young John Bennett on Peacock’s hit series Ted, the experience of watching the show’s second season is a bit like looking at a distant memory. With the series having dropped in early March, Burkholder sat down to discuss the strange passage of time in television, the "home" feel of a Los Angeles soundstage, and why nothing in the Seth MacFarlane universe is ever truly off-limits.

While fans are currently binging the new episodes, for Burkholder, the work has been finished for a long time. The cast wrapped production on Season 2 back in late January or early February of 2025 - over a year before it finally hit screens.

"Watching the show and seeing everyone’s reaction to it makes it feel like it is happening to someone else," Burkholder admitted, describing the experience as a form of derealization. It’s a feeling he’s familiar with; he explains that once a project is complete, he often feels it is "none of his business anymore" and no longer identifies with it. Still, he admits it feels "really cool" to see the audience embrace the new season so warmly.

Now a resident of New York, Burkholder enjoyed the rare opportunity to return to his roots for the shoot. "Not enough stuff films in LA anymore," he noted, sharing that he stayed at his parents' house during production.

Growing up as a child actor having started in the industry at the age of three, the soundstage environment is where Burkholder feels most at home. "There’s a certain magic filming on a soundstage," he said. "It does feel like home. There’s something to be said about filming on location, on a soundstage, or doing something live...there are different aspects, and there’s stuff to find cool in all three."

When you’re working on a Seth MacFarlane project, the boundaries of typical television usually don't apply. Burkholder describes the series as a "live-action cartoon," where the characters are stretched to their limits.

When asked if anything this season shocked him, he was mostly unfazed, though he did point to one specific storyline. "I didn’t think there would be an abortion episode," he shared. "That was a little bit shocking. But subject matter-wise, not really. It’s Seth; there’s no bridge too far."

To Burkholder, the only real limit on the show is the commitment to staying true to the characters and their relationships. Beyond that, there is no ceiling on what the Bennett family and their foul-mouthed bear can get into.

Given that he has spent the majority of his life in front of a camera, Burkholder is remarkably grounded about his permanent place in the digital "ether." When asked how it feels to know he’ll be on screens forever, he joked, "If I didn’t like it, it’s a little late now."

In a lighter moment, he was asked what inanimate object he would choose to be if he returned as a sentient being. Eschewing the typical cuddly stuffed animal, Burkholder went for something more functional. "A blender or an oven; Something that could eat food."

Watch the interview below.