Apple TV+ cannot and will not stop their ascension to sci-fi streaming supremacy. From For All Mankind (and upcoming spin off Star City) and The Gorge to Silo and of course Severance, dare we say that the tech giant’s streaming service has grown more prolific than Paramount Plus (home of Star Trek)? Somehow, that’s the case, and nobody seems to be complaining. Let’s talk about how Apple TV+ will soon roll out an adaptation of a beloved and acclaimed series of books by Martha Wells.
Release Date
This one snuck up on the world in a good way. Murderbot will premiere on May 16, 2025 with two episodes followed by weekly drops. That will culminate with a 10-episode season to end on July 11.
Plot
If you thought Silo (from showrunner Graham Yost) was an ambitious, worldbuilding adaptation, then Murderbot will throw down the gauntlet on a different note with a key change. That is to say, the leading actor throws off expectations by being objectively sexy in contrast to, you know, the character that The Murderbot Diaries readers know and love. Without the helmet, that “sexy” from Alexander Skarsgård cannot be suppressed.
With that said, this show will indeed be based upon The Murderbot Diaries, a 7-edition series (of full-length books and novellas) that snagged a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in addition to hitting the New York Times bestseller list. It might go without saying that expectations loom large with this sci-fi thriller that is also a work of comedy.
Yet the undeniable physical allure of a Skarsgård truly could be an issue. That will be a fine line to walk since the Murderbot (or SecUnit) is referred to as “it” by other characters in the books and is commonly regarded by fans as nonbinary or gender-less. Murderbot probably won’t be thinking about this too much, though, because bingewatching will be their main concern. Really:
“Murderbot” is an action-packed sci-fi series, based on the award-winning books by Wells, about a self-hacking security android who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable “clients.” Murderbot must hide its free will and complete a dangerous assignment when all it really wants is to be left alone to watch futuristic soap operas and figure out its place in the universe.
The Murderbot Diaries books are laden with the title character’s dry-humored, first-person narration, which should be a treat, and perhaps some clues will roll out when cast interviews begin along with more insight from executive producers, directors and writers Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz.
Skarsgård, for his part, appears to relish this role and skipped out on glitzy parties to get his head back in the game for resumed filming as “an android who has hacked his system so he’s got – or it’s got – free will, and it’s talking about going on these crazy adventures, but instead it’s watching soap operas.” He called the series “a blast,” so fingers will be crossed for multiple seasons.
Cast
Skarsgård’s TV-obsessed robot will be accompanied by David Dastmalchian (Late Night With The Devil) as Gurathin, an adorable, augmented human who tends to mess with Murderbot. This duo will be joined by Sabrina Wu (as Pin-Lee), Tattiawna Jones (as Arada), Tamara Podemski (as Bharadwaj), and Akshay Khanna (as Ratthi).
Trailer
Since no Murderbot trailer exists yet, why not relive the unpredictable opening moments of Prime Video/Amazon’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith?
