ABC’s 14-Part Cyberpunk Masterpiece Deserves To Be As Big As Black Mirror

Published Sep 13, 2026, 8:30 PM EDT

Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones. 

You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep."

Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant. 

Black Mirror is one of the best cyberpunk TV shows of all time, but it is not the only masterpiece in the genre, and despite dramatic recent advances in visual effects, one ABC TV show from the 1980s deserves to be just as big. Cyberpunk is a sci-fi subgenre that combines extreme technological developments with a breakdown in society, usually resulting in clear social classes, as seen in shows like Altered Carbon and the movie Blade Runner. While today's special effects can produce visually stunning sci-fi TV shows, the theme transcends time.

Following William Gibson's groundbreaking 1984 novel, Neuromancer, which is generally considered the founding work of the genre, some of the best sci-fi TV shows of the 1980s have been cyberpunk. This includes the 14-episode Max Headroom, which is based on the short British film, Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future. The show is set in a world controlled entirely by an oligarch of TV networks, where investigative journalist Edison Carter works to expose their unethical practices before being injured in a motorcycle accident and recreated as an AI likeness known as Max Headroom.

Max Headroom Is A Forgotten Cyberpunk Masterpiece

Being released during a golden age of sci-fi could be a blessing for TV shows, with a good chance of being noticed if scheduled well. However, Max Headroom might have been one of the best sci-fi TV series at the time, but it was scheduled in a slot that competed with ratings juggernauts Dallas and Miami Vice, while other sci-fi series like Doctor Who and Star Trek dominated attention. Max Headroom was much darker than most other series and years ahead of its time, leaving it as a perfect but forgotten sci-fi show that is only recently gaining some attention.

Despite not receiving the praise and fame that the show deserved, Max Headroom was a critical success, with Rotten Tomatoes reporting a 92% positive critics' rating. It may not be surprising that the show's legacy has outlasted it, with other TV shows adopting the cynical, satirical tone that set Max Headroom apart. The series was the blueprint for media-critical sci-fi that explored human consciousness, with Dollhouse, episodes of Love, Death & Robots, and even Batman Beyond echoing its themes and aesthetic. Most recently though, Black Mirror has revived some of its best plot points, both clearly and in genius hints.

Black Mirror Was Clearly Influenced By Max Headroom

Image via MovieStillsDB

Max Headroom's main plot feels straight out of Black Mirror, proving just how ahead of its time the original show really was. The episode "The Waldo Moment" focuses on a fictional TV character that takes on a life of its own, going from a ludicrous joke to a formidable opponent. The anti-establishment tone contrasted with the bright and colorful character are extremely similar, and had the two shows been part of the same universe, it would not be a stretch to imagine that Max Headroom was a warning, with one character saying, "Imagine that. All your politicians in little boxes."

One of Black Mirror's best episodes is extremely hard to watch because of its timely nature and disturbing implications. "Common People" follows the married couple Mike and Amanda, who go to desperate measures when Amanda is diagnosed with a brain tumor. The pair are virtually enslaved by a subscription service that keeps Amanda alive but turns her into a living advertisement when payments lapse. This echoes Max Headroom's "blipverts," which condense adverts but kill people. "Common People" is less outwardly violent but more harrowing, yet both shows share this core idea.

Comparing Max Headroom to Black Mirror
Title	Year	Rotten Tomatoes critics' rating	Rotten Tomatoes audience rating
Max Headroom	1987	92%	-
Black Mirror	2011	83%	80%

While Charlie Brooker has not explicitly credited Max Headroom for influencing Black Mirror, its themes are reflected across many of the show's episodes. Still, the clearest tribute comes in "San Junipero," during which a TV screen shows clips of the series, establishing the 1980s setting and being a clever Easter egg. San Junipero is populated with recreated digital versions of its citizens, which is the exact set-up for Max Headroom. It is easy to miss when watching the episode for the first time, but a second watch highlights Max Headroom's enduring influence on Black Mirror, sci-fi, and cyberpunk.