HBO Max Slammed for ‘Mad Men’ 4K Title Errors, Color Issues, and Crew Member Mistakes

by

It’s common to update older shows for modern, large screens, but HBO’s recent 4K upgrade of their acclaimed drama has caused problems. Many viewers are complaining that changes to the show’s colors and lighting have negatively impacted the series, even calling the changes a ‘ruin’ of what was previously a near-perfect production.

The critically acclaimed series Mad Men, often considered one of HBO’s finest alongside The Sopranos, is now available on HBO Max in 4K. However, the 4K upgrade didn’t go as planned. Fans quickly noticed and criticized several obvious errors in the updated version of the show, turning what should have been a positive update into a frustrating experience.

A BlueSky user noticed something new in a remastered version of the American Dad! episode “Red in the Face.” The episode is famous for a scene where Roger vomits oysters, but this updated version reveals a crew member who was previously hidden from view. In the screenshot shared online, you can clearly see the person operating the machine that created the “vomit” on the right side of the screen.

HBOMax has started showing a ‘remastered’ 4K Mad Men and they’ve messed things up so during Roger’s oyster vomit scene you can now see the crew men with the vomit hose on the right
— Paul Haine (@paulhaine.bsky.social) 2025-12-02T11:28:47.018Z

Several users have reported incorrect episode labeling on the platform. For example, an episode is showing up as “Babylon” when it should be something else, and selecting “Red in the Face” actually plays the “5G” episode. Many viewers are also criticizing the new color grading and lighting, with some suggesting the poor quality indicates the remaster may have been assisted by artificial intelligence.

HBO episodes are also mislabeled! I just went to watch “Red in the Face,” the oyster vomiting ep, and it played “5G” instead?? The one labeled “Babylon” is actually the the vomitorium ep
— Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren.bsky.social) 2025-12-02T13:39:57.768Z

Remastered Upgrades Don’t Always Work Out as Planned

The recent update to Mad Men isn’t the only show to receive criticism for noticeable mistakes and altered visual settings. When Fox updated Buffy the Vampire Slayer, viewers pointed out similar problems – including a visible lighting setup in one scene – and complained about the show’s overall appearance being negatively changed.

Disney+ faced criticism after adding The Simpsons following Disney’s purchase of Fox. Many fans were unhappy with changes made to the show’s original aspect ratio, which resulted in parts of the picture being cut off and ruined some jokes and scenes.

As a film buff, I always think sometimes it’s best to just leave things as they are, or at least really double-check your work before releasing it. I’m sure HBO will fix the obvious problems with Mad Men eventually, but by then, the damage will be done – those mistakes will have already spread all over social media, and likely others will be discovered too.

Read More

2025-12-02 19:20