Max Headroom proved to be a hit for ABC in its first season, but then the network rescheduled it to a tough timeslot and killed the series.
[Updated]
What Is It?
This show takes place in a dystopian, near-future setting where mega-corporations control the world and keep the public distracted with television shows that live or die by up-to-the-minute ratings results. (Wait, that’s our present!) While trying to uncover corporate corruption, investigative reporter Edison Carter (played by Matt Frewer), who works for Network 23, is involved in an accident that leads to the creation of his AI alter ego Max Headroom (also played by Frewer). Together, the two then team up and fight to expose the sinister undertakings of their mega-corporation-dominated world.
Aired: ABC, 1987-88, 2 Seasons Totaling 14 Episodes
Starring: Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, Chris Young, W. Morgan Sheppard
Created By: Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton, George Stone
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Why Was It Cancelled?
Back in the mid-80s, computer-generated character (sort of) Max Headroom became an instant cultural phenomenon as the host of a music video/talk show program and a U.S. produced series sprang from the British TV movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes in the Future which provided his origin story. Quirky, subversive, over-the-top, and the first cyberpunk TV show, Max Headroom offered a satire on television (and technology in general) run amok but may have been too smart and prescient for its own good. (Read more about the series at Cult-SciFi.com.) It proved quite popular when it bowed in 1987 for a short, six-episode run, though it definitely helped to have hit series Moonlighting as its lead-in.
But for its second season, ABC moved the show to Fridays at 9 PM EST where it had to contend with stiff competition against popular entries Dallas and Miami Vice. The ratings plummeted and Network 23 . . . err . . . ABC responded immediately to the overnight ratings results (driven by their own poor scheduling decisions) and cancelled the series early in the season after only eight episodes had been produced. And thus, Max Headroom ultimately fell victim to the very thing it satirized.
After the cancellation was announced, the Max Headroom character gave the following speech (aping the infamous words of Winston Churchill): “We will fight them on the streets of Dallas… We will fight them on the streets of Miami… Vice… and if the ratings book lasts for a thousand years, they will say this is Max Headroom’s finest hour.”
Should It Be Rebooted?
Yes, and that may very well be happening. This is most certainly a series that is still relevant today, and there are plenty of targets for its satire in our current political and corporate environment. And since Matt Frewer is still alive and kicking, now is the best time to move forward with a new version of the show. AMC has put that into development and Frewer will be onboard as the voice of Max Headroom. I would also assume he will return as an aged Edison Carter, but they may get a younger actor to act as the series lead with Carter as more of a background character. There is no word yet on whether the other actors from the original series will return, and whether this will be a continuation or a complete reboot. The announcement came in July 2022 and there has been no update since then, so it is unclear where the production stands, especially after the mess with the strikes. But we can only hope that this goes forward as planned at some point.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD, but it has not received the Blu-ray treatment yet. It is not currently available for streaming, but you can purchase it VOD from providers like Amazon.com.
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