# Max Headroom (1987)

> A ruthless network kills investigative reporter Edison Carter and uploads his mind into a computer-generated TV host, Max Headroom, who must decide whether to serve his creators or expose them.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4395

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 14
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: science fiction, drama
- Created by: Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Matt Frewer, Chris Young, Jeffrey Tambor, William Morgan Sheppard, Concetta Tomei, Amanda Pays, George Coe, Lee Wilkof
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092402/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: satirical, paranoid, wry, neon-lit

## What critics say

Critics admired the show's satirical cyberpunk vision and Matt Frewer's performance as Max Headroom, while noting its uneven execution and a weaker second season.

## Synopsis

Max Headroom is a United States science fiction dystopian series that aired in 1987 and 1988. Matt Frewer plays investigative reporter Edison Carter, who uncovers a deadly secret at Network 23 and is run down in an apparent accident, after which his mind is uploaded into Max Headroom, the world's first self-aware computer-generated television host. Chris Young plays Bryce Lynch, a young associate caught up in the chase, while Jeffrey Tambor appears as Murray. The engine of the show is the tension between a digital host built to serve his corporate creators and his own growing will to expose them. Episodes move through a near-future world where networks fight an unrelenting ratings war and the airwaves determine who holds power. Across two seasons, the show blends sharp media satire with a neon-lit, cyberpunk atmosphere, offering a wry, paranoid, and inventive tone. Fans of Blade Runner, of Network's skewering of television, and of cyberpunk screen fantasies will find much to enjoy here, even as the series' uneven second season reveals its limits.

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