Max Headroom Could Be Getting a Comeback

1980s icon Max Headroom is making a long-overdue comeback.

According to Deadline, AMC is now developing a Max Headroom drama, with Matt Frewer reprising the role of the world’s first “Artificial Intelligence” TV personality.

The new Max Headroom series is being written by Halt & Catch Fire scribe, Christopher Cantwell, who will also act as showrunner. That feels like a particularly good choice, seeing that this show was all about the ‘80s computer revolution. Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah’s SpectreVision and All3Media will produce the project.

The character first appeared in a 1985 British cyberpunk movie, Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future but went on to host The Max Headroom Show where he played a selection of music videos in between snarky commentary and hilariously timed visual glitches.

Of course, Max was a smash hit, gaining quite a following. He even appeared in adverts for new Coke, as well as on the cover of Newsweek.

But he became an even bigger sensation when ABC produced Max Headroom – a drama that continued the story that was introduced in the earlier film. The show aired on ABC between 1987 and 1988 when the character’s popularity began to take a hit.

However, he’s remained a cult figure over the years, often referenced in pop culture shows such as Bojack Horseman and even Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He even made a rare appearance in Selena Gomez’s music video, “Love You Like A Love Song”.

Max Headroom’s look is iconic, encapsulating the forward-thinking of the ‘80s computer revolution while remaining distinctly of the era.

Essentially a satire of older television hosts, Max came along at the perfect time – his computer-generated style, heavy makeup, and plastic suit created a very different kind of TV host that the ‘80s youth went wild about.

Although Frewer is best known for Max Headroom, he recently had roles in Fear the Walking Dead and Orphan Black, and notably played the character Moloch in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.