A new 4K restoration of Mad Men now streaming on Max has drawn attention from viewers who say the upgraded release includes technical mistakes, mislabeled episodes and a previously unseen production error.
Fans of the series, which originally aired from 2007 to 2015 on AMC, noted that several episodes in the first season appear out of order on the platform. According to viewer reports, the sequence on Max lists the seventh episode as the sixth, resulting in a viewing order in which the fourth episode is followed by the seventh, then the fifth and sixth. The Guardian identified three mislabeled episodes in the season.
One scene in particular has circulated widely online after viewers noticed crew members visible during a moment involving Roger Sterling, played by John Slattery. In the scene from “Red in the Face,” a fake vomit mechanism is being operated by crew just outside the intended frame. Users on Reddit and X questioned how the oversight occurred, suggesting it may stem from adjustments made during the 4K remastering process. A remaster typically requires revisiting original visual elements, including aspect ratio changes and digital cleanup.
The situation recalls earlier instances in which HBO programming attracted attention for on-screen production errors. In 2019, a coffee cup left on a table during a Game of Thrones episode became a viral moment before the company removed it from the stream.
Mad Men, created by Matthew Weiner and starring Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss, earned 16 Emmy Awards during its eight-year run. All seven seasons continue to stream on AMC+, while the restored 4K version appears on Max under a licensing agreement with Lionsgate Television.
