Mad Men 4K Remaster On HBO Max Includes Error In Iconic Vomiting Scene

December 2, 2025

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Mad Men‘s new HBO Max release now includes a major error in an iconic scene 18 years later. For the first time, the Emmy-winning AMC series has been remastered in 4K and was released on HBO Max on December 1.

Now, audiences have noticed an error in the new 4K release of Mad Men on HBO Max that wasn’t visible in the original version. During the scene in which Roger Sterling (John Slattery) drunkenly vomits oysters on the office floor in front of clients, a crew member is visible at the edge of the frame holding the hose to create the puking effect. See the moment below via DiscussingFilm on X:

The scene in question comes from Mad Men season 1, episode 7, “Red in the Face,” which has also been incorrectly labeled on HBO Max as “Babylon.” Meanwhile, season 1, episode 5, “5G” is incorrectly labeled as “Red in the Face.” At the time of writing, HBO Max has yet to correct these errors.

Vulture, which first noticed the visual error, explains that it isn’t actually HBO Max’s fault. According to someone with knowledge of the situation, the streamer was sent the wrong files from Lionsgate Television, who is currently working on providing the correct versions, and HBO Max will update the episodes as soon as they’re available.

Still, the Mad Men mishap continues HBO’s trend of visual errors from Game of Thrones season 8’s infamous coffee cup incident to more recent examples from The Last of Us and House of the Dragon.

Created by Matthew Weiner, Mad Men stars Jon Hamm as Don Draper, the enigmatic and exceptionally talented creative director at the fictional advertising agency Sterling Cooper on Madison Avenue during the 1960s. Mad Men‘s cast also includes Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, and Kiernan Shipka.

Aired for seven seasons from 2007 to 2015, Mad Men won a total of 16 Emmys, including becoming the first basic cable show to win Outstanding Drama Series, taking home the award each of its first four seasons, and is now widely considered one of the best TV shows of all time.