Toby Fox is messing with us again. Honestly, it’s what he does best. Ever since the Spamton Sweepstakes ended, the phrase I love TV Deltarune has become a sort of mantra for the theorists living in the dark corners of Reddit and Tumblr. We are all staring at a blank screen, waiting for Chapter 3 to drop, and the static is starting to talk back.
You remember the ending of Chapter 2, right? Kris rips out their Soul, climbs through a window, slashes Toriel’s tires, and then—in a moment that launched a thousand YouTube essays—turns on the television before opening a brand new Dark Fountain in the middle of the living room. The room fills with smoke. The screen smiles.
That smile is everything.
The Mystery of Mike and the TV Face
If you’ve spent any time in the community, you know the name Mike. Spamton G. Spamton, our favorite [Number 1 Rated Salesman1997], practically screams the name in a fit of glitchy PTSD. He warns Kris not to believe "anything you see on TV" and specifically tells them to stay away from "Mike."
But who is Mike? Is he the TV?
For a long time, the I love TV Deltarune hype was centered entirely on a discarded 1997 Big Shot soda commercial, but Toby Fox took it further during the charity auction. We got glimpses of a character that seems to be a cathode-ray tube (CRT) television with a malicious grin. Fans have dubbed this entity Tenna, based on the URL clues found on the official Deltarune website (specifically the d_a_m_n_y_o_u_t_e_n_n_a hidden page).
It’s not just a game. It’s an ARG that hasn't fully ended yet.
The obsession with the TV character stems from how Toby handles meta-commentary. In Undertale, Flowey represented the player's boredom and completionist urges. In Deltarune, the TV seems to represent entertainment itself—the voyeuristic nature of us watching Kris, Susie, and Ralsei. When people say they love the TV in Deltarune, they aren't just talking about a boss fight. They are talking about the fact that the next chapter is likely going to be a parody of broadcast television, complete with game shows, weather reports, and maybe even those weird 3:00 AM infomercials.
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What the Spamton Sweepstakes Actually Revealed
Let’s get specific. During the 2022 Sweepstakes, several "lost" pages were discovered. One page featured a shadowy figure that looked remarkably like a television set. The text was jagged. Angry. It suggested a deep, personal rivalry between Spamton and whoever is running the show in Chapter 3.
Spamton was a "Big Shot" who lost it all. If the TV—let’s call him Tenna for now—is the one who pulled the strings, we’re looking at a villain who controls information. That’s a scary thought in a world where your Soul is already being piloted by an external force (us).
Most fans think Mike and Tenna are two different people. Mike might be the "good guy" or a fellow victim, while Tenna is the one holding the remote. It’s complicated. It’s messy. It’s exactly why the community is losing its mind.
Why the Chapter 3 Setting Changes Everything
The living room of the Dreemurr household is different from the school's computer lab. This is a personal space. We’ve got Toriel’s chair, the kitchen, and that old TV that's been sitting there since Asriel was a kid.
When the Dark Fountain opened, it didn't just create a world; it swallowed a home.
Expect the "I love TV" aesthetic to manifest as a literal television studio. Toby Fox shared some music previews and screenshots a while back showing off a "Green Room" and what looks like a soundstage. This suggests that Chapter 3 won't be a sprawling kingdom like the Cyber World. It’ll be a tightly produced, claustrophobic series of sets.
Think about the implications of Toriel being in the Dark World. She’s the first "Lightner" parent to enter a fountain with us. Her presence fundamentally shifts the stakes. The humor won't just be about "Internet memes" this time; it’ll likely poke fun at daytime soaps and domestic dramas.
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The TV isn't just a screen. It’s a mirror.
The Cathode Ray Aesthetic
Visually, the I love TV Deltarune movement is obsessed with scanlines and static. There is something inherently nostalgic and creepy about old tech. Unlike the neon-soaked, high-speed fiber optics of Queen’s domain, the TV world feels dusty. Analog.
It feels like something that was forgotten.
- The "smile" on the screen at the end of Chapter 2 looks like a distorted version of the drawing Kris and Asriel made as kids.
- The static sound effect used in the game's files is titled "smile," linking it back to Entry Number 17 and W.D. Gaster.
- We might finally see the "Man behind the tree" in a more high-definition (or low-definition) light.
Fact-Checking the "Mike" Rumors
Look, some people will tell you Mike is definitely the final boss. We don't know that. Toby Fox loves a subverted expectation. Remember how everyone thought the "Knight" was going to be the main antagonist of Chapter 2, and then Queen just showed up and started asking about arcade games?
The same thing could happen here. Mike might be a washed-up weather reporter who helps us. Tenna might be a literal antenna that thinks it's a god.
What we do know—factually—is that the game files for Chapter 2 contain a hidden sprite of a TV face that matches the one we see in the final cutscene. This isn't a fan-made "creepypasta." It's in the code.
The connection to the real-world 1997 Mike Ditka Big Shot soda commercial is also real. It’s a bizarre piece of trivia that Toby leaned into, but it’s likely just the "spark" for the character rather than a literal biography of who Mike is in the game.
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The Darker Side of the Screen
There is a theory that the TV world represents Kris's desire to escape reality. Think about it. Kris is lonely. Their brother is at college. Their parents are divorced. The TV is a window to a world where things make sense, where there are scripts and laugh tracks.
But television is also fake.
If Chapter 3 is a parody of TV, then the "boss" of that world is essentially a director. They are someone who wants to keep the "show" going forever. This mirrors our own desire as players to keep the game going, to never reach the ending.
When you say I love TV Deltarune, you’re acknowledging that the game is starting to comment on your own consumption of it. It’s getting meta. It’s getting weird.
Actionable Insights for the Patient Fan
While we wait for Toby to finish the "Chapter 3-4-5" bundle, there are things you should actually do to prepare. Don't just scroll through endless theory threads that lead nowhere.
First, go back and play Chapter 2, but pay attention to the "interactive" objects in the Dreemurr house before you go to the library. Look at the TV. Look at the birdcage. The state of the house before the fountain opens will dictate the geography of the Dark World in Chapter 3.
Second, familiarize yourself with the "Spamton Sweepstakes" archives. There are dozens of hidden links (like the "blue" link and the "shadow" link) that contain canon lore about the TV world. Most players missed these because they were only live for 24 hours.
Lastly, keep your expectations in check. Toby has stated that Chapter 3 will be more "lighthearted" and "experimental" in its gameplay mechanics compared to the epic scale of Chapter 2. It’s a bottle episode.
How to Find the Hidden Content
- Check the official Deltarune website and look for any URL changes after a developer update.
- Analyze the "Friendship" stats. In the TV world, your relationships with Toriel and Undyne (who might show up because of the slashed tires) will likely change the "Recruit" mechanics.
- Watch for the "Shadow Mantle." Seam mentions an item you need to fight the next secret boss. If you haven't beaten Jevil and Spamton NEO, do that now. You won't be able to survive the TV-themed secret boss without the gear from the previous two.
The TV is glowing. The static is getting louder. Whatever happens when Chapter 3 finally airs, it's going to change how we look at the Dreemurr family forever. Just remember what Spamton said: don't trust the commercials.