Is Seth MacFarlane Getting Serious?

As serious as spandex, apparently

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Michael Buckner / Getty Images

Seth MacFarlane speaks onstage at the 11th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles, June 9, 2012.

Seth MacFarlane is perhaps best known as the creator of the animated series Family Guy, which is perhaps best known for offending people. (His other claims to fame include holding the records for the youngest person to run a network television show and as the highest-paid TV writer.) On June 29, when Ted arrives in theaters, he’ll add a movie to his list of achievements. It’s the story of a man (played by Mark Wahlberg) living with the consequences of a childhood wish for his teddy bear to come to life—and it is likely to both warm hearts and, in typical fashion, turn stomachs. After all, Ted is a bear with a bong.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbo_pQvU7M]

In this week’s issue of TIME, Joel Stein writes about how Ted came to be and what it all means for MacFarlane—not to mention MacFarlane’s six months of tap-dance lessons and why he directed while wearing a spandex suit.

As astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (yes, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson) told Stein: “Seth is always working, even when he’s just hanging out.”

Read the full story here.