Warning! Spoilers ahead for Ted’s season 2 finale.
Ted’s season 2 finale has some radical developments that could completely change the show going forward. Seth MacFarlane’s live-action prequel spinoff from his blockbuster Ted movies proved to be a massive success when it premiered on Peacock in 2024, so it wasn’t long before Ted season 2 was greenlit and the series was off to the races.
There are some wild storylines in season 2 — Ted has an affair with a married woman, Susan goes to prison, and the family plays a D&D campaign to score some pot — but it might’ve saved the wildest one for last. In Ted season 2, episode 8, “Fraudcast News,” Matty has a heart attack and his doctor advises him to stay calm while he recovers.
But then, news comes through that O.J. Simpson has been acquitted in his murder trial, and the Bennetts go to extreme lengths to make sure their ultra-conservative patriarch doesn’t find out. This involves mocking up fake newspapers and filming fake newscasts to keep him living in blissful ignorance. It’s a great episode, but does it have a deeper meaning?
Ted & John’s Fake News Explained
Ted, John, and Blaire make a fake newspaper in Ted season 2
Like many white conservatives at the time, Matty is certain that Simpson is guilty of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. So, when the jury finds Simpson not guilty, the Bennetts fear that if Matty finds out, he’ll fly off the handle and possibly have another heart attack. This leads them to cook up a zany scheme to keep him none the wiser.
They go back to their old school, break in, and use the printing facilities to create their own phony copy of the Boston Globe. The front-page headline announces that Simpson has been found guilty and sent to prison, but they realize they can’t just hand him the front page — they need to fill out the rest of the edition, too.
They pad out the rest of the paper with other fake news stories that Matty would find appealing: America won the Vietnam War; kangaroos are fake; outspoken Viet Cong supporter Jane Fonda admits she’s a “piece of s***.” To keep Matty from watching TV, they claim that the cable is out, but they have to “fix” the cable when he threatens to call the cable company.
This expands their scheme to incorporate TV newscasts. They hire the amateur actor they met in season 1 to play both the cable guy and the anchorman, who gives a report detailing the fake Simpson verdict. They basically create the ‘90s version of a social media bubble around Matty, satirizing the conservative echo chambers that exist online today.
Why Matty Isn’t Mad About The Scam
Ted, John, Matty, Susan, and Blaire at a bar in Ted season 2
When Matty goes out and learns that Simpson was found not guilty, he has another heart attack. But when Ted and John confess to the scam, Matty isn’t angry. He had his first heart attack because he was mad at John for spending the summer sitting around with Ted instead of looking for a job or getting into a good college.
But when he finds out that John has been coming up with all this fake news every day, Matty is impressed that he had the initiative and work ethic to create daily newspapers and newscasts. He thought his son was lazy and unmotivated, but this scam shows him that John has a lot of untapped potential.
John’s Comic Strip Is A Nod To Seth MacFarlane’s Own Background
Ted and John looking at a piece of paper in Ted season 2
While creating the fake newspapers, John starts drawing his own comic strip, and it has a connection to MacFarlane’s own childhood. MacFarlane started out drawing comic strips for the local newspaper, and Ted’s season finale sees John drawing his own newspaper cartoon, “The Galumphs,” about a family’s wacky antics (which could also be interpreted as a proto version of MacFarlane’s career-defining creation, Family Guy).
Ted Season 2 Finale’s Connection To Season 1 Explained
Ted looking up in Ted season 2
Although it doesn’t have a direct narrative connection to the season 1 finale, Ted’s season 2 finale is connected to its predecessor in spirit. Both of Ted’s season finales have revolved around the O.J. Simpson case. Ted season 1 ended with the Ford Bronco chase interrupting John’s first sexual encounter, and the season 2 finale begins with the verdict.
Why John Goes To The Gym In The Final Scene
Ted and John sitting in the living room in Ted season 2
In the final scene of Ted’s season 2 finale, Ted asks John what he wants to do with his time. John takes him straight to the gym and tells him he wants to get super-jacked; so jacked that the people in his life will be concerned for him. This might seem like a jarring way to end the season, but it sets up how John is going to look like Mark Wahlberg in the future.
How Ted Season 2 Sets Up A Possible Season 3
Ted and John sitting in their room in Ted season 2
MacFarlane has yet to confirm whether Ted season 3 will happen, but season 2 leaves the door open for more stories. The season ends with Ted and John graduating from high school and going out into the real world to find jobs and their own apartment, so Ted season 3 would be a very different show, breaking up the Bennett household.