The long-awaited 4K remaster of Mad Men arrived on HBO Max this Monday, but instead of a pristine upgrade, viewers were greeted with an unexpected behind-the-scenes spectacle. Lionsgate has confirmed that a corrected set of episodes is on the way after an unedited version of the show was mistakenly delivered to the platform.
Fans who began streaming the new transfer quickly spotted several editing blunders. One moment in particular, from Season 1’s “Red in the Face”, drew widespread attention online: crew members can be seen operating a contraption to simulate Roger Sterling’s (John Slattery) drunken vomiting.
A viewer posted on X: “The new 4K transfer of ‘Mad Men’ on HBO somehow does not have any of the post-production edits added in, which means you get stuff like this where you can see the crew member manning the puke machine after Roger has too many oysters lmao.”
In addition to the unpolished shots, fans noticed that some episode titles were initially mislabeled, an issue that has since been corrected. However, as of press time, the unedited footage remained online, with the now-viral “vomit wrangler” moment still intact. Insiders confirmed the mix-up stemmed from the wrong masters being supplied to HBO Max.
The series, which previously streamed in 4K only on AMC+ and certain ad-supported services, made its high-definition debut on HBO Max this week. Created by Matthew Weiner, Mad Men originally aired from 2007 to 2015 on AMC and remains one of television’s most acclaimed dramas, collecting 16 Emmys and 116 nominations, including four consecutive wins for Outstanding Drama Series.
Jon Hamm leads the ensemble cast as Don Draper, alongside Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Rich Sommer, Aaron Staton, Kiernan Shipka, Jessica Paré, and John Slattery.
