The series ran on ABC from 31 March 1987 to -officially for two seasons, though only fourteen episodes were made. This in turn became the pilot for an American series, whose first episode was presented in an extended edition to American audiences in 1986 on Cinemax. This was developed into a television movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future that presented the character's backstory. Max Headroom was originally created for a non-fiction entertainment show, a British music video show called The Max Headroom Show. The character's name came from the last thing Carter saw before the accident: a bar with a sign warning of low clearance, marked 'Max. Max Headroom was created from the memories of a reporter, Edison Carter, who was injured in an accident that put him into a coma. The background story provided for the Max Headroom character presents a dystopic look at a run-down near-future dominated by television and large corporations. This was then superimposed over a moving geometric background, which was originally hand-drawn cel animation, though computer generated in the American television series. Max's image was actually that of actor Matt Frewer in latex and foam prosthetic makeup with a fiberglass suit.

Computing technology in the mid-1980s was not sufficiently advanced for a full-motion, voice-synced human head to be practical for a television series. Notwithstanding the publicity for the character, the real image of Max was not computer generated. Max Headroom was featured in a music video programme, a feature film, a dramatic television series and television commercials.

The character was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton. Max Headroom is a fictional British artificial intelligence, known for his surreal wit and stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled voice.

George Stone, Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton

Max headroom episodes