A recent 4K restoration of the award-winning drama series Mad Men has begun streaming on HBO Max, but viewers have spotted numerous technical mistakes, including mislabelled episodes and a visible crew member operating a fake vomit machine.
The error occurs in the episode 'Red in the Face', originally the seventh of the first season, but now labelled as the sixth on HBO Max. In the scene, two crew members are visible working a machine used to simulate vomiting for actor John Slattery's character, Roger Sterling. Fans speculated that the mistake resulted from changes in aspect ratio during the remastering process, which required digital removal of the crew that was apparently missed.
The Guardian found three mislabelled episodes in the first season, causing them to play out of order. Viewers watching straight through would see the fourth episode, then the seventh, followed by the fifth and then the sixth.
This is not the first time HBO has faced post-production gaffes. In 2019, a coffee cup from a Belfast chain was spotted in a scene from Game of Thrones, which was later digitally removed.
Mad Men, which originally aired on AMC from 2007 to 2015, won 16 Emmys. The 4K restored version, errors included, arrived on HBO Max via a licensing deal with Lionsgate TV. The series also continues to stream on AMC+, though not in 4K.
