The Max Headroom Signal Hijacking (1987)

On November 22, 1987, two Chicago television stations experienced bizarre signal intrusions that baffled investigators and entered the pop culture zeitgeist. At 9:14 p.m. during the sports segment of WGN-TV’s newscast, viewers’ screens went black, then a bizarrely nodding figure in a Max Headroom mask and sunglasses appeared in front of a rotating corrugated metal background. This interruption, accompanied by a buzzing sound, lasted for about 20 seconds before engineers changed uplink frequencies, regaining control of their broadcast, and returned to a perplexed Dan Roen back at the studio.

“𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 – 𝒔𝒐 𝒂𝒎 𝑰…”

Later that night, during a broadcast of Doctor Who on WTTW at 11:15 p.m. the same masked figure appeared again, this time speaking with distorted audio. The figure’s rambling monologue included references to sportscaster Chuck Swirsky, lyrics from The Temptations 1966 hit “(I know) I’m Losing You”, the theme for 1960s cartoon Clutch Cargo, and the New Coke commercial tagline ‘Catch the Wave.’ The transmission ended with the masked figure removing his mask (with face off camera) and crying out “Bend over, b—h!” then leaned over to reveal his naked rear which proceeded to be faux spanked with a flyswatter by a woman in a French maid costume. The hijacker’s signal then went to black. The WTTW incident lasted for approximately 90 seconds due to the lack of engineers on duty at the station’s broadcast tower.

The hijacking was technically sophisticated, requiring a powerful microwave transmission to override the stations’ signals. Experts believe the hijackers were likely located within the line of sight of both broadcast towers, which were situated atop tall buildings in downtown Chicago. Despite an investigation by the FCC and the FBI, the perpetrators were never identified. Speculation has centered on disgruntled employees, members of the hacker community, and individuals inspired by the subversive themes of the Max Headroom television show. No one has ever claimed responsibility for the incident, which became a cultural touchstone, especially after the rise of the internet, where it has fueled online discussions.

Max Headroom was a character originating on British station Channel 4 in the one-hour dystopian sci-fi movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future. The character (portrayed by Canadian actor Matt Frewer) carried over into The Max Headroom Show, where “Max” hosted music videos; then was introduced to US viewers in March 1987 on an ABC series adaptation of the original Channel 4 film, exploring themes of corporate control and technological manipulation in a TV-obsessed society. The character took on a life of its own outside the fictional TV series narratives, appearing as ‘himself’ in everything from TV commercials to The Late Show with David Letterman, comic books, and video games.

Some have drawn parallels between the hijackers’ use of the Max Headroom persona and the character’s role as a critique of media and consumerism. The hijackers may have chosen Max Headroom as a symbol of their own dissatisfaction with media or as a convenient disguise simply due to the popularity of the character at the time. Was it performance art, a form of protest, or just a prank? We may never know.