Max Headroom Will Be Back On The Air At AMC With Original Actor Matt Frewer
The 80s icon, Max Headroom, is coming back in a new series on AMC. A drama series reboot for the “computer generated” host is being developed by the network, with Matt Frewer set to reprise his role, and Christopher Cantwell set to write and be the showrunner. The show will be produced by Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah’s SpectreVision and All3Media.
Max Headroom made his first appearance in the cyberpunk TV movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into The Future. In this, Edison Carter is a journalist being chased by enemies in a parking garage when he is forced to crash his motorcycle and break through an entrance reading “Max Headroom: 2.3 Metres.” An AI program based on his mind is created while Carter is unconscious. The AI develops its own personality and identifies as “Max Headroom” and becomes a TV host that only exists on broadcast signals and computer systems.
RELATED:
Max is known for his quick wit, biting commentary, and glitching. Frewer appeared as the supposed computer-generated host in various contexts, including the music video talk show The Max Headroom Show, the ABC drama Max Headroom, and a variety of ads in the 80s, most notable for New Coke. Unfortunately, the character’s popularity started to wane toward the end of the 80s (and perhaps was tainted by his likeness being used in an infamous broadcast signal intrusion incident). Still, he remains a cult favorite, being referenced in shows such as Bojack Horseman and Agents Of S.H.I.E.LD. in addition to music videos such as Eminem’s “Rap God.”
Cantwell, Frewer, and Lisa Whalen are set to executive produce the series alongside Wood and Noah. The series marks a return to the 80s for both AMC and Cantrell, who co-created, executive produced, and co-show ran the PC revolution drama series Halt and Catch Fire with Christopher C. Rogers. No further information is available at this time.
READ NEXT:
Source(s): Deadline, All That's Interesting