The newly released 4K version of “Mad Men” on HBO Max was supposed to give viewers an upgraded look at the series.
Instead, fans quickly spotted a glaring production mistake where a crew member operating a fake vomit machine is fully visible in one of the show’s earliest and most memorable scenes.
The error appears in the Season 1 episode “Red in the Face” when Roger Sterling (John Slattery) gets sick after downing oysters and martinis before being forced to climb 23 flights of stairs.
When Roger begins vomiting, the remaster reveals a crew member crouched behind him, holding a hose and pumping out the fake vomit. At one point, another person’s hand is clearly resting on the operator’s shoulder.
Viewers immediately began sharing the blunder online.
“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,” one fan wrote on X during their rewatch.
“This is hilarious, and the extra hand on the crew member’s shoulder is killing me,” added another. “Like someone else is giving him extra emotional support while he shoots fake vomit from a tube.”
“How did they not like, at least assign an intern to watch this to spot issues before this was put on the site?” a third viewer questioned.
But that wouldn’t be the only botched scene that appeared during the 4K “Mad Men” release upon its rollout on Monday.
A similar incident unfolds during Season 2, Episode 4, when Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) is walking down the street with ads for SIM cards and “the best tacos and burritos in LA” on display in the background – despite the series taking place in 1960s New York City.
People familiar with remastering processes suggested the issue stemmed from the method used when converting older shows shot on 35mm film to higher resolution formats.
The technique widens the frame, revealing parts of the image that were originally cropped out of the broadcast version. Those areas often contain equipment, crew or unfinished set elements that are typically removed digitally during post-production.
Several Season 1 episodes of “Mad Men” on HBO Max, meanwhile, were mislabeled or appeared out of order during the rollout.
Some users reported clicking on one title only to find the contents of a completely different episode, although that issue has reportedly been fixed.
Insiders have since told The Hollywood Reporter that Lionsgate delivered the wrong 4K files to HBO Max, and that Lionsgate was in the process of getting the streaming giant the correct files.
The Post has reached out to HBO Max and Lionsgate for comment.
“Mad Men” aired on AMC from 2007 to 2015. Created by “Sopranos” writer Matthew Weiner and starring Jon Hamm as ad man Don Draper, the show scored 16 Emmy Awards and 116 nominations during its seven-season run.
“‘Mad Men’ is a great addition to the HBO Max library of iconic content,” Warner Bros. Discovery said after HBO Max announced the acquisition of the hit series from Lionsgate last month.
“We are thrilled that HBO Max will provide fans the opportunity to enjoy the series in a fresh way with an enhanced 4K viewing experience,” the company added at the time.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
