Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future is a 1985 cyberpunk television film created by British company Chrysalis Visual Programming Ltd. for Channel 4. Max Headroom was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton, while the TV movie story was developed by Stone and screenwriter Steve Roberts. The television film was created to provide a backstory and origin for the character Max before he started appearing regularly as host and veejay of a new music video programme on Channel 4, The Max Headroom Show.

The story depicts a near-future where corrupt corporations control much of the world and manipulate the public for the sake of ratings and wealth. Events lead crusading journalist Edison Carter to crash a motorcycle and suffer head trauma from a parking lot safety sign reading "MAX. HEADROOM: 2.3 M" (an overhead clearance of 2.3 metres). While unconscious, Carter's mind and memories are used as the basis for a new artificial intelligence that adopts the name Max Headroom. While Carter recovers and exposes corporate corruption, his AI twin Max becomes popular as a witty TV host who criticizes society and media. Both Edison Carter and Max Headroom are portrayed by actor Matt Frewer.

On 4 April 1985, Channel 4 transmitted the TV movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future, starring Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, Paul Spurrier, Nickolas Grace, and W. Morgan Sheppard. Two days later, Max began appearing regularly as the veejay of The Max Headroom Show. HBO (which owned another cable television provider Cinemax) provided some of the original funding and the series later ran on Cinemax for American audiences. Following its cancellation, American network ABC commissioned Chrysalis to produce a new dramatic television series based on the characters, concepts, and world established in the film Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future. The new programme, entitled simply Max Headroom, featured Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays and W. Morgan Sheppard reprising their original roles. Each episode began with the phrase "20 Minutes into the Future."