There are some wild storylines in season 2 \u2014 Ted has an affair with a married woman, Susan goes to prison, and the family plays a D&D campaign to score some pot \u2014 but it might\u2019ve saved the wildest one for last. In Ted season 2<\/a>, episode 8, \u201cFraudcast News,\u201d Matty has a heart attack and his doctor advises him to stay calm while he recovers.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t find out. This involves mocking up fake newspapers and filming fake newscasts to keep him living in blissful ignorance. It\u2019s a great episode, but does it have a deeper meaning?<\/p>\n Ted & John’s Fake News Explained<\/p>\n 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\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t just hand him the front page \u2014 they need to fill out the rest of the edition, too.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s a \u201cpiece of s***.\u201d To keep Matty from watching TV, they claim that the cable is out, but they have to \u201cfix\u201d the cable when he threatens to call the cable company.<\/p>\n 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 \u201890s version of a social media bubble around Matty, satirizing the conservative echo chambers that exist online today.<\/p>\n Why Matty Isn’t Mad About The Scam<\/p>\n 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n John’s Comic Strip Is A Nod To Seth MacFarlane’s Own Background<\/p>\n While creating the fake newspapers, John starts drawing his own comic strip, and it has a connection to MacFarlane\u2019s own childhood. MacFarlane started out drawing comic strips for the local newspaper, and Ted\u2019s season finale sees John drawing his own newspaper cartoon, \u201cThe Galumphs,\u201d about a family\u2019s wacky antics (which could also be interpreted as a proto version of MacFarlane\u2019s career-defining creation, Family Guy<\/a>).<\/p>\n Ted Season 2 Finale’s Connection To Season 1 Explained<\/p>\n Although it doesn\u2019t have a direct narrative connection to the season 1 finale, Ted\u2019s season 2 finale is connected to its predecessor in spirit. Both of Ted\u2019s season finales have revolved around the O.J. Simpson case. Ted season 1 ended<\/a> with the Ford Bronco chase interrupting John\u2019s first sexual encounter, and the season 2 finale begins with the verdict.<\/p>\n Why John Goes To The Gym In The Final Scene<\/p>\n In the final scene of Ted\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n How Ted Season 2 Sets Up A Possible Season 3<\/p>\n ![\"Ted,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ted-john-and-blaire-make-a-fake-newspaper-in-ted-season-2.jpg\"\/)
\n Ted, John, and Blaire make a fake newspaper in Ted season 2<\/p>\n![\"Ted,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ted-john-matty-susan-and-blaire-at-a-bar-in-ted-season-2.jpg\"\/)
\n Ted, John, Matty, Susan, and Blaire at a bar in Ted season 2<\/p>\n![\"Ted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ted-and-john-looking-at-a-piece-of-paper-in-ted-season-2-1.jpg\"\/)
\n Ted and John looking at a piece of paper in Ted season 2<\/p>\n![\"Ted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ted-looking-up-in-ted-season-2.jpg\"\/)
\n Ted looking up in Ted season 2<\/p>\n![\"Ted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ted-and-john-sitting-in-the-living-room-in-ted-season-2.jpg\"\/)
\n Ted and John sitting in the living room in Ted season 2<\/p>\n![\"Ted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ted-and-john-sitting-in-their-room-in-ted-season-2.jpg\"\/)
\n Ted and John sitting in their room in Ted season 2<\/p>\n