Max Headroom: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

It is the day after tomorrow, and television networks rule the planet. The TV sets themselves do not turn off, and the programming is designed to keep citizens in a state of complacency. Society is in a shambles, with poverty rampant. In the shadows of the Networks, untold millions live on the streets with only a TV to their names, and many can only make their living by selling dead bodies on the organ transplant black market. The one ray of hope is Edison Carter, investigative reporter for Network 23. Edison covers the stories that matter, and he is the voice of the people who have no other. Edison, of course, winds up on the wrong side of some very bad men who try their best to have him killed. An attempt to find out what he knows by reading his brain with a computer inadvertently creates a stuttering, manic computer simulation of Edison that calls itself Max.

Series details

• Title: Max Headroom
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama, Science-Fiction
• Premiere date: 1987-03-31
• Final broadcast date listed: 1988-05-12
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ABC
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 7.5/10
• TVMaze ID: 6606
• IMDb ID: tt0092402
• TVDB ID: 75361

Cast and credited roles

• Matt Frewer — Edison Carter
• Matt Frewer — Max Headroom
• Amanda Pays — Theora Jones
• George Coe — Ben Cheviot
• Chris Young — Bryce Lynch
• Jeffrey Tambor — Murray
• William Morgan Sheppard — Blank Reg

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1987-03-31; final listed air date 1987-05-05; episode order: 6.
• Season 2: premiered 1987-09-18; final listed air date 1988-05-12; episode order: 8.

Source and licence

Adapted from Max Headroom on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.