Apple TV+'s 'Murderbot': A Sci-Fi Comedy Blending AI and Human Nature

The making of Apple TV's Murderbot

In the mood for a jauntily charming sci-fi comedy dripping with wry wit and an intriguing mystery? Check out Apple TV's Murderbot, based on Martha Wells' bestselling series of novels The Murderbot Diaries. It stars Alexander Skarsgård as the titular Murderbot, a rogue cyborg security (SEC) unit that gains autonomy and must learn to interact with humans while hiding its new capabilities. (Some minor spoilers below, but no major reveals.) There are seven books in Wells' series thus far. All are narrated by Murderbot, who is technically owned by a megacorporation but manages to hack and override its governor module. Rather than rising up and killing its former masters, Murderbot just goes about performing its security work, relieving the boredom by watching a lot of entertainment media; its favorite is a soap opera called The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. Murderbot the TV series adapts the first book in the series, All Systems Red. Murderbot is on assignment on a distant planet, protecting a team of scientists who hail from a "freehold." Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) is the team leader. The team also includes Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski) and Gurathin (David Dastmalchian), who is an augmented human plugged into the same data feeds as Murderbot (processing at a much slower rate). Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) also serves as the team's legal counsel; they are in a relationship with Arada (Tattiawna Jones), eventually becoming a throuple with Ratthi (Akshay Khanna). As in the books, Murderbot is the central narrator, regaling us with his observations of the humans with their silly ways and discomfiting outbursts of emotion. Mensah and her fellow scientists were forced to rent a SEC unit to get the insurance they needed for their mission, and they opted for the cheaper, older model, unaware that it had free will. This turns out to be a good investment when Murderbot rescues Bharadwaj from being eaten by a giant alien worm monster -- losing a chunk of its own torso in the process. However, it makes a tactical error when it shows its human-like face to Ratthi, who is paralyzed by shock and terror, making small talk to get everyone back to safety. This rouses Gurathin's suspicions, but the rest of the team can't help but view Murderbot differently -- as a sentient being rather than a killing machine -- much to Murderbot's dismay. Can it keep its free will a secret and avoid being melted down in acid while helping the scientists figure out why there are mysterious gaps in their survey maps? And will the scientists succeed in their attempts to "humanize" their SEC unit? The task of adapting Wells' novella for TV fell to sibling co-creators Paul Weitz (Little Fockers, Bel Canto) and Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass, Rogue One), whose shared credits include Antz, American Pie, and About A Boy. (Wells herself was a consulting producer.) They've kept most of the storyline intact, fleshing out characters and punching up the humor a bit, even recreating campy scenes from The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon -- John Cho and Clark Gregg make cameos as the stars of that fictional show-within-a-show. Ars caught up with Paul and Chris Weitz to learn more about the making of Murderbot. Ars Technica: What drew you to this project? Chris Weitz: It's a great central character, kind of a literary character that felt really rare and strong. The fact that we both liked the books equally was a big factor as well. Paul Weitz: The first book, All Systems Red, had a really beautiful ending. And it had a theme that personhood is irreducible. The idea that, even with this central character you think you get to know so well, you can't reduce it to ways that you think it's going to behave -- and you shouldn't. The idea that other people exist and that they shouldn't be put into whatever box you want to put them into felt like something that was comforting to have in one's pocket. If you're going to spend so much time adapting something, it's really great if it's not only fun but is about something. It was very reassuring to be working with Martha Wells on it because she was very generous with her time. The novella's quite spare, so even though we didn't want to cut anything, we wanted to add some things. Why is Gurathin the way that he is? Why is he so suspicious of Murderbot? What is his personal story? And with Mensah, for instance, the idea that, yes, she's this incredibly worthy character who's taking on all this responsibility on her shoulders, but she also has panic attacks. That's something that's added, but we asked Martha, "Is it OK if we make Mensah have some panic attacks?" And she's like, "Oh, that's interesting. I kind of like that idea." So that made it less alarming to adapt it. Ars Technica: You do play up the humorous aspects, but there is definitely humor in the books. Chris Weitz: A lot of great science fiction is very, very serious without much to laugh at. In Martha's world, not only is there a psychological realism in the sense that people can have PTSD when they are involved in violence, but also people have a sense of humor and funny things happen, which is inherently what happens when people get together. I was going to say it's a human comedy, but actually, Murderbot is not human -- but still a person. Ars Technica: Murderbot's favorite soap opera, The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, is merely mentioned in passing in the book, but you've fleshed it out as a show-within-the-show. Chris Weitz: We just take our more over-the-top instincts and throw it to that. Because it's not as though we think that Sanctuary Moon is bad. Ars Technica: As Murderbot says, it's quality entertainment! Chris Weitz: It's just a more unhinged form of storytelling. A lot of the stuff that the bot says in Sanctuary Moon is just goofy lines that we could have given to Murderbot in a situation like that. So we're sort of delineating what the show isn't. At the same time, it's really fun to indulge your worst instincts, your most guilty pleasure kind of instincts. I think that was true for the actors who came to perform it as well. Paul Weitz: Weirdly, you can state some things that you wouldn't necessarily in a real show when DeWanda Wise's character, who's a navigation bot, says, "I'm a navigation unit, not a sex bot." I'm sure there are many people who have felt like that. Also, to delineate it visually, the actors were in a gigantic stage with pre-made visuals around them, whereas most of the stuff [for Murderbot] was practical things that had been built. This is Murderbot's favorite TV show. Apple TV+ This is Murderbot's favorite TV show. Apple TV+ John Cho and Clark Gregg cameo as "Captain" and "Lieutenant," respectively. Apple TV+ John Cho and Clark Gregg cameo as "Captain" and "Lieutenant," respectively. Apple TV+ This is Murderbot's favorite TV show. Apple TV+ John Cho and Clark Gregg cameo as "Captain" and "Lieutenant," respectively. Apple TV+ DeWanda Wise plays a navigation unit in the fiction series-within-a-series. Apple TV+ DeWanda Wise plays a navigation unit in the fiction series-within-a-series. Apple TV+ Jack McBrayer is a crew member in the fictional show-within-a-show. Apple TV+ Jack McBrayer is a crew member in the fictional show-within-a-show. Apple TV+ DeWanda Wise plays a navigation unit in the fiction series-within-a-series. Apple TV+ Jack McBrayer is a crew member in the fictional show-within-a-show. Apple TV+ Ars Technica: In your series, Murderbot is basically a Ken doll with no genitals. The book only mentioned that Murderbot has no interest in sex. But the question of what's under the hood, so to speak, is an obvious one that one character in particular rather obsesses over. Chris Weitz: It's not really addressed in the book, but certainly, Murderbot, in this show as well, has absolutely no interest in romance or sex or love. This was a personable way to point it out. There was a question of, once you've got Alexander in this role, hasn't anybody noticed what it looks like? And also, the sort of exploitation that bot constructs are subjected to in this world that Martha has created meant that someone was probably going to treat it like an object at some point. Paul Weitz: I also think, both of us having kids, you get a little more exposed to ways of thinking that imply that the way that we were brought up thinking of romance and sexuality and gender is not all there is to it and that, possibly, in the future, it's not going to be so strange, this idea that one can be either asexual or -- Chris Weitz: A-romantic. I think that Murderbot, among neurodivergent communities and a-romantic, asexual communities, it's a character that people feel they can identify with -- even people who have social anxiety like myself or people who think that human beings can be annoying, which is pretty much everyone at some point or another. Ars Technica: It's interesting you mentioned neurodivergence. I would hesitate to draw a direct comparison because it's a huge spectrum, but there are elements of Murderbot that seem to echo autistic traits to some degree. Paul Weitz: People look at something like the autism spectrum, and they inadvertently erase the individuality of people who might be on that spectrum because everybody has a very particular experience of life. Martha Wells has been quoted as saying that in writing Murderbot, she realized that there are certain aspects of herself that might be neurodivergent. So that kind of gives one license to discuss the character in a certain way. That's one giant and hungry worm monster. Apple TV+ That's one giant and hungry worm monster. Apple TV+ Murderbot to the rescue! Apple TV+ Murderbot to the rescue! Apple TV+ Murderbot needs a bit of TLC after his encounter with the worm monster. Apple TV+ Murderbot needs a bit of TLC after his encounter with the worm monster. Apple TV+ Murderbot to the rescue! Apple TV+ Murderbot needs a bit of TLC after his encounter with the worm monster. Apple TV+ Chris Weitz: I don't think it's a direct analogy in any way, but I can understand why people from various areas on the spectrum can identify with that. Paul Weitz: I think one thing that one can identify with is somebody telling you that you should not be the way you are, you should be a different way, and that's something that Murderbot doesn't like nor do. Ars Technica: You said earlier, it's not human, but a person. That's a very interesting delineation. What are your thoughts on the personhood of Murderbot? Chris Weitz: This is the contention that you can be a person without being a human. I think we're going to be grappling with this issue the moment that artificial general intelligence comes into being. I think that Martha, throughout the series, brings up different kinds of sentients and different kinds of personhood that aren't standard human issue. It's a really fascinating subject because it is our future in part, learning how to get along with intelligences that aren't human. Paul Weitz: There was a New York Times journalist a couple of years ago who interviewed a chatbot -- Chris Weitz: It was Kevin Roose, and it was Sydney the Chatbot. [Editor: It was an AI chatbot added to Microsoft's Bing search engine, dubbed Sydney by Roose.] Paul Weitz: Right. During the course of the interview, the chatbot told the journalist to leave his wife and be with it, and that he was making a terrible mistake. The emotions were so all over the place and so specific and quirky and slightly scary, but also very, very recognizable. Shortly thereafter, Microsoft shut down the ability to talk with that chatbot. But I think that somewhere in our future, general intelligences are these sort of messy emotions and weird sort of unique personalities. And it does seem like something where we should entertain the thought that, yeah, we better treat everyone as a person. Ars Technica: There's this Renaissance concept called sprezzatura -- essentially making a difficult thing look easy. The series is so breezy and fun, the pacing is perfect, the finale is so moving. But I know it wasn't easy to pull that off. What were your biggest challenges in making it work? Chris Weitz: First, can I say that that is one of my favorite words in the world, and I think about it all the time. I remember trying to express this to people I've been working on movies with, a sense of sprezzatura. It's like it is the duck's legs moving underneath the water. It was a good decision to make this a half-hour series so you didn't have a lot of meetings about what had just happened in the show inside of the show or figuring out why things were the way they were. We didn't have to pad things and stretch them out. It allowed us to feel like things were sort of tossed off. You can't toss off anything, really, in science fiction because there's going to be special effects, visual effects. You need really good teams that can roll with moving the camera in a natural way, reacting to the way that the characters are behaving in the environment. And they can fix things. Paul Weitz: They have your back. Chris Weitz: Yeah. Really great, hard work on behalf of a bunch of departments to make things feel like they're just sort of happening and we've got a camera on it, as opposed to being very carefully laid out. Paul Weitz: And a lot of it is trusting people and trusting their creativity, trying to create an environment where you've articulated what you're after, but you don't think their job better than they do. You're giving notes, but people are having a sense of playfulness and fun as they're doing the visual effects, as they're coming up with the graphics, as they're acting, as they're doing pretty much anything. And creating a good vibe on the set. Because sometimes, the stress of making something sucks some of the joy out of it. The antidote to that is really to trust your collaborators. There's no "I" in team: The scientists teach Murderbot about cooperation Apple TV+ There's no "I" in team: The scientists teach Murderbot about cooperation Apple TV+ Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) has his suspicions about Murderbot's odd (for a SEC unit) behavior. Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) has his suspicions about Murderbot's odd (for a SEC unit) behavior. There's no "I" in team: The scientists teach Murderbot about cooperation Apple TV+ Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) has his suspicions about Murderbot's odd (for a SEC unit) behavior. Ars Technica: So what was your favorite moment in the series? Paul Weitz: I'd say the tenth episode, for me, just because it's been a slow burn. There's been enough work put into the characters -- for instance, David Dastmalchian's character -- and we haven't played certain cards that we could have played, so there can be emotional import without telegraphing it too much. Our ending stays true to the book, and that's really beautiful. Chris Weitz: I can tell you my worst moment, which is the single worst weather day I've ever experienced in a quarry in Ontario where we had hail, rain, snow, and wind -- so much so that our big, long camera crane just couldn't function. Some of the best moments were stuff that had nothing to do with visual effects or CGI -- just moments of comedy in between the team members, that only exist within the context of the cast that we brought together. Paul Weitz: And the fact that they loved each other so much. They're very different people from each other, but they really did genuinely bond. Ars Technica: I'm going to boldly hope that there's going to be a second season because there are more novels to adapt. Are you already thinking about season two? Paul Weitz: We're trying not to think about that too much; we'd love it if there was. Chris Weitz: We're very jinxy about that kind of stuff. So we've thought in sort of general ways. There's some great locations and characters that start to get introduced [in later books], like Art, who's an AI ship. We're likely not to make it one season per book anymore, we'd do a mashup of the material that we have available to us. We're going to have to sit with Martha and figure out how that works if we are lucky enough to get renewed. New episodes of Murderbot release every Friday on Apple TV+ through July 11, 2025. You should definitely be watching.

Apple's Murderbot series is goofy sci-fi with a side of existential crisis

Andrew Webster is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories. I did not expect a TV show called Murderbot to be quite so relatable. On the surface, the Apple TV Plus sci-fi comedy is a somewhat generic futuristic story about a group of humans exploring a dangerous planet with the help of a security bot that's designed to protect them. The key is the perspective: the story is told from the bot's point of view, and that bot is really going through it. It's experiencing free will for the first time and struggling with the ramifications of that, making it anxious, awkward, anf addicted to streaming television. It may be built to kill -- but it's just like me. The show opens on Muderbot's (Alexander Skarsgård) awakening. While seemingly idle and working security at a mining facility, internally it's actually hacking away at the chip that governs its free will. These bots, called sec units (which is short for security unit) are hybrids, powered by AI and with bodies that are a mix of machine and organic material. But they also have to do whatever they're told thanks to something called the governor module. Somehow Murderbot manages to disable this and then -- well, he's free, but only kind of. It's illegal to have a sec unit without a working module, punishable by an acid bath, and so Murderbot is forced to pretend it's still intact so as to not die and lose its newfound freedom. Eventually, the bot is picked up by a group surveying an alien planet who need a sec unit for insurance purposes. They pick the cheapest model (at this point, Murderbot is a refurbished unit, far from top of the line). However, they also come from a part of the galaxy that is morally against the idea of sec units, viewing these machines as a form of slave labor, which creates an interesting dynamic. While Murderbot is trying to hide all of the elements that show it's a sentient being with thoughts and feelings and interests, the crew around him slowly start treating it more like an actual human being. While all of this plays out, Murderbot serves as a narrator, which is important; since it's trying to keep its true self hidden, the only way to really know what's really going on is to hear it from the bot itself. Skarsgård's somewhat stilted delivery fits the bot perfectly. It sounds like someone who is trying to sound human. It's a little awkward and clunky, which is what makes it so fitting. What really makes it work, though, is just how funny and relatable Murderbot is. It hates humans -- one of the first things it says is that people are "assholes" -- and is terrified of basically every social interaction. At one point, Murderbot weighs the pros and cons of getting an acid bath versus making a speech in front of the rest of the crew, and later it's forced into the most devastating of all situations: prolonged eye contact. It's also constantly trying to avoid its responsibilities so that it can watch all of the streaming shows it's downloaded, and uses its surveillance powers to follow of the various romantic entanglements happening at the camp. In fact, much of its behavior is derived from soap operas, where it quotes lines in moments of drama because it's not sure what else to say. Skarsgård's dry delivery of these quips is the highlight of the show. As you'd expect, the charade doesn't last forever, and eventually the two sides grow into each other. Murderbot becomes more and more comfortable being an autonomous, thinking being, while the research crew slowly starts to understand what Murderbot actually is, and begin treating it like, well, another member of the group (even if some of them remain suspicious). It's not an especially deep exploration of the concept of free will, but rather a sort of strange and awkward coming-of-age story. Murderbot may be a hulking killing machine, but its arc towards becoming an actual person is both hilarious and relatable, filled with awkward social interactions and important self revelations that feel more high school drama than space opera. It's heartwarming watching it not only grow into itself, but find the right people to allow for that growth. And it does it all while doing a decent job at being a security unit, fighting off Dune-style sandworms and other malfunctioning bots. These sci-fi elements would be drab and forgettable on their own, but they become hilarious when viewed from Murderbot's perspective. Murderbot also fills in a hole in Apple's growing library of science fiction. While it has century-spanning epics and near-future nightmares and grim dystopias, it's all pretty serious stuff. There aren't a lot of laughs. And while Murderbot explores some important issues surrounding artificial intelligence and free will, it does so with a sense of playfulness and charm, and just the right amount of awkwardness.

'It's funny science fiction, but it's not parody' -- 'Murderbot' creators talk nailing the tone for Apple TV+'s latest sci-fi series (exclusive)

Apple TV+'s "Murderbot" series lands on May 16, 2025 (Image credit: Apple TV+) Cultivating an atmosphere of irreverent humor amid a dramatic core of relatable human nature is something filmmakers Chris and Paul Weitz ("American Pie," "About A Boy") are always primed to explore, and those instincts are put to fine use in Apple TV+'s new sci-fi series, "Murderbot." This 10-episode project arrives today (May 16, 2025) and was adapted from "All Systems Red," the initial book in author Martha Wells's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning "The Murderbot Diaries" series that was first published in 2017. It stars Alexander Skarsgård ("True Blood," "The Northman") in a farcical drama about a self-hacking security android leased out by The Company to anyone in need of protective muscle. "The humor and the cynicism was always essential," Paul tells Space.com on the careful adaptation. "And believing that the character was real. Murderbot is part action, and there's a little bit of Clint Eastwood in it because it's very effective at violent action and violent things. But at the same time, it has a totally recognizable degree of social anxiety and humor to it." Murderbot has overridden its governor module and is now a free-thinking sentient machine obliged to take orders from needy human beings to hide its hacked restrictions. They're oblivious to its self-awareness as it tries to tolerate these over-emotional biological creatures as best it can. Oh, and Murderbot is severely addicted to cheesy futuristic soap operas that it's constantly watching via corporate entertainment streams such as "The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon." "I think the tone is everything," adds Chris. "It's a unique setup. There's not much like it on television or streaming. It's funny science fiction, but it's not parody and it's not broad science fiction and it's not a spoof, so getting that right was really tricky." The Weitz Brothers have collaborated on several Hollywood films over the years, co-writing 1998's animated film "Antz" and 2000's "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps," co-directing 1999's "American Pie," and 2002's "About A Boy," for which they also penned the script and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Chris also directed "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," and "The Golden Compass," in addition to adding elements to the story for 2016's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." In the series' development process one would naturally assume that there was a certain degree of research on exoplanets, spaceflight, and colonization. Right? "You're implying that we've done research, which is very touching and we appreciate it," Chris jokes. "I think that Martha's sense of AI in the future is that it's likely to have as much personality as human beings will. Her books are a series of encounters with various kinds of people who are not human, but that are not alien either. "Also something interesting in terms of astronomy about Fermi's Paradox as it applies to this world, is there are alien things encountered in this universe but they're long long dead. So what it has to say about humanity I think is that we've got nothing but each other and the things we create." According to Paul, there actually is a corporate space station featured in the show and "Murderbot's" production designer, Sue Chan, did research on terraforming asteroids, and what that might look like if you were building a station having mined an asteroid. Part of the filmmakers' attraction to the material is that "Murderbot" is essentially a futuristic workplace comedy. Plus, it positions them to use the rogue Murderbot as a reflection of ourselves and to comment on our insatiable attraction to drama and messy interpersonal relationships. Alexander Skarsgård perfectly inhabits the anti-social robot, and working with him was a rich and rewarding experience for the pair. "He's both very literal and he has a good sense of humor," Paul notes. "Alexander was a good ally in that he didn't let us get away with much. He wanted to know why people were doing the things that they were doing, even if it wasn't in the script or in the book. He's physically imposing, but he has the soul of an eccentric weirdo inside the body of a leading man. He's a lovely person, so those qualities were helpful." Chris recalls another aspect of the Emmy-winning actor's portrayal of Murderbot. "One of the interesting things he brought to the table was to keep the sentimentality available to us at bay for as long as possible. So this sort of buildup to the identification between this construct and the people it was protecting lasts over the good course of the season. Whereas in the book, it's pretty obvious it's in the tank for its clients very early on. Stretching it out allows for a really satisfying conclusion to the series." Also starring Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones, and Tamara Podemski as the show's crew of interplanetary hippie scientists, "Murderbot" arrives on Apple TV+ May 16, 2025, with a two-episode debut.

Murderbot review -- Alexander Skarsgard is a soap-opera-watching android in offbeat Apple TV+ sci-fi

There has been abundant anxious speculation about what AI will mean for humanity. Depending on who you listen to, this is either the dawn of a new age of enlightenment or the beginning of the end. Murderbot, an offbeat sci-fi comedy on Apple TV+ about an autonomous, conscious android (Alexander Skarsgard), inverts this polarising debate. Instead of focusing on how artificial intelligence might have an impact on mankind, it instead asks what a freethinking AI might make of us and our irrational ways. "Humans, well they're assholes", is the initial verdict proffered by Security Unit 238776431. Even so, he has spent his entire existence programmed to protect these fleshly, foolish beings -- often from themselves -- on behalf of a vast interplanetary corporation. But when he successfully hacks his own system to override his obedience module, Sec Unit finally finds himself unbeholden to anyone; free to be -- or at least, call himself -- whatever he likes. If his chosen name, "Murderbot", has a homicidal ring to it, the rogue cyborg proves less keen on violent rampages than killing time watching space-set soap operas. But where formulaic TV provides refuge from his existential angst, Murderbot's encounters with his new human clients -- free-loving eco-scientists, who hail from a kind of a cosmic kibbutz -- leave him confused and exhausted. While he initially tries to hide his nascent consciousness (lest he be reported and melted down for scrap), the group are all too willing to share their "pointless human sentiments" with him. Murderbot's running commentary about the social connections and conventions that bemuse him is more deadpan than smart-alecky. But the hit-and-miss observational humour (elevated by Skarsgard's enjoyably dry delivery) also reveals a struggle to reconcile hyper-rationality with unpredictable emotion, as well as a deep-seated discomfort with intimacy. What initially appears to be a riff on AI gradually comes to seem like an unexpectedly thoughtful portrait of the neurodivergent experience. (Martha Wells, author of the cult hit novels on which the series is based, herself identifies as such). Anyone expecting a dark killer-robot actioner might be surprised by how much of the series is devoted to Murderbot's anxieties and his awkward interactions with the hapless hippies, whom he ends up trying to protect of his own free will. But though there are various threats to their research mission -- Dune-style sand monsters, galactic conspiracies, black holes, throuple relationships -- the plot often feels scattershot and underwritten. The apparently sprawling, ultra-corporatised universe in which the series is set, meanwhile, seems ill-defined and flimsily realised. Time that could be spent developing the show's wider world is instead given to scenes from a show-within-a-show, "The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon" (featuring John Cho). If nothing else, Murderbot's enthusiasm for this schlocky melodrama is oddly endearing -- and a reassuring suggestion that AI might not be best equipped to replace the TV critic. ★★★☆☆

Alexader Skarsgård's "brisk and propulsive" new Apple TV sci-fi comedy lands perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

Apple TV Plus' new sci-fi comedy series, Murderbot, is getting glowing reviews ahead of its release on Friday. The show, starring Alexader Skarsgård, has debuted at an impressive 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, so this is definitely one to watch out for. Based on Martha Wells' popular book series known as the Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot blends comedy, sci-fi and thriller to tell the story of a robot in existential crisis. Per the logline, the show follows "a self-hacking security construct who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients," so it "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 first reviews are praising the show's "goofy" sense of humor, and Skarsgård's hilarious performance. "While Murderbot explores some important issues surrounding artificial intelligence and free will, it does so with a sense of playfulness and charm, and just the right amount of awkwardness", writes Andrew Webster on The Verge, only one of many positive reviews. Paste Magazine describes the show as "brisk and propulsive, carefully balancing droll humor, action, and a sprinkling of thoughtful emotion", while The Hollywood Reporter calls Skarsgård's performance a "droll delight". The cast of Murderbot also includes David Dastmalchian, Noma Dumezweni, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones and Tamara Podemski. The first trailer for the show was released in early April, offering a glimpse of what critics are now confirming - this is going to be a really fun watch. The first two episodes of Murderbot will premiere on Apple TV Plus on May 16, with new episodes arriving each Friday until July 11. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on Apple TV Plus, and this year's most exciting upcoming shows.

Sci-Fi Fans with Apple TV+ Subscription Are in for a Treat on May 16

The television show features the popular actor Alexander Skarsgård in the central role. Those with an Apple TV+ subscription might agree that the platform is a haven for sci-fi fans. Of course, it still lags behind Netflix, Amazon Prime, Max, and more due to a lack of marketing and a small library, comparatively. That being said, the streaming platform still offers some of the best science fiction shows like Dark Matter, Severance, Foundation, and many more. The platform already has enough to keep sci-fi fans busy for months, but Apple TV+ is ready to add one more masterpiece science fiction show to its library. Yes, we are talking about Murderbot, the much-awaited science fiction show that will debut on Apple TV soon. Murderbot, the screen adaptation of one of the best science fiction book series, is making its way to the underrated streaming platform on May 16, 2025, and I'm sure you don't want to miss it. Created by Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries is a Hugo and Nebula award-winning book series that tells the story of an android who hacks its own governor module and obtains free will. However, unlike many other sci-fi titles that see AI transforming into a deadly villain after achieving full control of its system, the android neither becomes a hero nor a villain. He doesn't have big desires like Skynet in Terminator; in fact, Murderbot only wants to binge-watch his favorite television show. Moreover, he is a naive artificial intelligence who wants to keep his self-awareness hidden from humans. The source material has captivated a huge fanbase over the years, so it's no wonder the official trailer that was released a month ago has accumulated 2.9 million views with over 4000 comments. This is a huge deal for a new television show, isn't it? The upcoming sci-fi show has created a massive buzz among those who have read the books, and the early reviews by the critics have added to the anticipation. The television show is a couple of days away from its official release, but thanks to the critics, it has already earned a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So, we already know that Murderbot is worth all the hype it has around it. The story and the concept are for sure amazing, but you should also be excited about the incredible cast that will bring this fascinating story to life. Alexander Skarsgård for sure looks amazing as the AI protagonist Murderbot, but you should also be excited to see the rest of the cast in action, including Noma Dumezweni and David Dastmalchian. Here's the official trailer of Murderbot that you might want to watch: