While it wouldn’t be inaccurate to recognize Apple TV+ as a home for prestige period dramas, the streaming service has also become one of the best places for high-budget science-fiction shows. Whether you’re a newcomer to the genre or more into large-scale worldbuilding, it’s no exaggeration to say that there’s literally something for every viewer. There’s already a selection that includes sci-fi that nudges up against psychological thriller (Severance), sci-fi alt-history drama (For All Mankind), and grandiose, hard sci-fi (Foundation) — and now, Apple TV+ is poised to add sci-fi comedy into that existing mix with the premiere of Murderbot.
Created by Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz, and adapted from The Murderbot Diaries series by author Martha Wells, the streamer’s latest science-fiction offering is starkly different from any show that precedes it, courtesy of a hilariously lovable protagonist, a diverse ensemble cast anchored by several standouts, and breezy, half-hour episodes (all 10 of which were provided for review) that take after the spirit of the original novella in both pacing and twists. As a result, Apple TV+’s Murderbot could never be accused of overstaying its welcome, but this series definitely deserves to follow in the source material’s footsteps and continue the titular character’s story.
What Is ‘Murderbot’ About?

Murderbot opens by dropping us into the perspective of its main character — literally. From the very first scene, we’re made privy to the inner thoughts of a cyborg known as a SecUnit, or Security Unit (Alexander Skarsgård), that has taken some important, albeit risky, steps to establish its own independence and autonomy. In addition to hacking its own system, overriding the governor module that forces it to obey every human command, the SecUnit has also given itself a name: Murderbot.
While a lack of a governor module could result in Murderbot going rogue and killing its clients before fleeing, the SecUnit doesn’t instantly make good on its idle thoughts of murdering humans — not when it would much rather spend its time quietly consuming 7,532 hours of content (and counting) downloaded into its memory. Without question, its favorite series is The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon (think a space soap opera in the vein of the original Star Trek), which, in the world of the series, stars actors played by the likes of John Cho, Clark Gregg, DeWanda Wise, and Jack McBrayer.
Ironically, Murderbot doesn’t seem predisposed to murder at all when it can binge-watch hundreds upon hundreds of episodes of Sanctuary Moon instead — but everything changes when it’s contracted to protect a group of scientists from PreservationAux, led by Dr. Mensah (Noma Dumezweni), who are conducting an expedition on an alien planet. Despite its inward apathy toward humans, an early incident involving some particularly dangerous fauna forces Murderbot into action. However, some of Murderbot’s strange behaviors also earn the suspicion of one of the scientists, an augmented human named Dr. Gurathin (David Dastmalchian), who starts poking around into the SecUnit’s programming to determine what’s going on. As Murderbot is reluctantly positioned closer and closer to its new clients, their squishy emotions, tendencies to form attachments, and collaborative decision-making start to have an effect. Soon, Murderbot isn’t sure what to think about all these new feelings it’s having, but it might not be as annoyed by these humans as it claims.
Alexander Skarsgård Is a Murderbot To Root For

Image via Apple TV+

The success of a Murderbot adaptation arguably lives or dies on the strength of its lead. If you can’t buy into the character’s immediate disdain for humanity, which gradually evolves into… less disdain, it would be difficult to root for such an individual. From minute one, however, Skarsgård’s performance immediately helps to craft a Murderbot that you’re happy to follow on its adventures, no matter what happens next. Since the novella on which the season is based, All Systems Red, is entirely told from Murderbot’s point of view, the series translates it to the screen by continually relying on the lead character’s voiceover, which not only establishes a helpful level of backstory but also leads to some hilarious instances of interjection throughout. There’s no point where we’re forced to wonder what Murderbot might be thinking; it doesn’t hesitate to clue us in immediately.
Part of what makes this version of Murderbot so endearing is the level of physical intricacy that Skarsgård is able to pull off, not just through shifts in facial expressions (whenever Murderbot happens to have its helmet off) but also subtleties in body language. There’s not much movement from Skarsgård’s Murderbot at first glance — the way in which he can hold his body perfectly still should be lauded on its own — but as it grows closer to its clients, their influence starts sneaking into its unconscious mannerisms. Other aspects of the character feel explicitly more autistic-coded; Murderbot isn’t a fan of being touched, bluntly stating as much on several occasions, and considers direct eye contact to be something even worse than torture. Yet even these facets are remarkably more humanizing, especially once the scientists start to pick up on how their SecUnit prefers to be engaged. Through a combination of precision and vulnerability, Skarsgård’s Murderbot is just as likely to catch you off-guard with a perfectly-timed beat of humor as it will nearly bring you to tears.

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‘Murderbot’s Standouts Include Noma Dumezweni and David Dastmalchian

One of the disadvantages of the story told in All Systems Red is that we’re locked into Murderbot’s perception of events, which also extends to the characters — even if its mind is still a wildly entertaining place to be. Apple TV+’s adaptation, however, immediately has more freedom to explore the rest of the cast. Although the main group of PreservationAux scientists is scaled down somewhat from the book’s version, with some characters combined for the screen, the end result is an ensemble that becomes increasingly endearing as the plot unfolds. Naturally, we get a crash course in all the thorny interpersonal dynamics — including who has a crush on whom — courtesy of Murderbot itself. Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) and Arada (Tattiawna Jones) are a married couple who might be entertaining the possibility of bringing someone else into their arrangement, while Ratthi (Akshay Khanna) could be considered scatterbrained at best and Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski) finds herself in the position of having to patch people up more than once.
While everyone has a certain degree of importance in PreservationAux’s overall mission, Mensah is the one overseeing the expedition, and Dumezweni immediately asserts herself both as an authority figure and a strong emotional core for the story, equally in possession of resilience and warmth. Over time, Mensah’s dynamic with Murderbot evolves into the series’ beating heart, especially as the characters find themselves in physically or emotionally vulnerable positions with each other. One particular scene, in which Murderbot taps into its extensive bank of Sanctuary Moon episodes as a means of self-soothing, proves to be a meaningful turning point in their relationship, but it also leads to the type of deeper attachment that Murderbot isn’t really interested in maintaining.
Alongside Dumezweni, Dastmalchian is another standout within the cast as Gurathin, whose doubt about Murderbot’s true intentions initially starts them off on the worst foot possible. While his efforts to poke around Murderbot’s inner workings are more adversarial, the series also has the opportunity to develop Gurathin beyond merely being an antagonist until he forges more of a begrudging alliance with the SecUnit. It’s an expansion the likes of which isn’t necessarily extended to every member of the ensemble; Anna Konkle’s character, for instance, the details of which veer too heavily into spoiler territory, practically departs from the narrative as quickly as she appears.
Yet when held up against book-to-screen adaptations, Murderbot will arguably go down as one of the strongest so far this year, as well as one of Apple TV+’s best sci-fi shows yet, thanks to a delightfully layered lead performance from Skarsgård, a terrific ensemble fortified by Dumezweni and Dastmalchian, and a perfect blend of laugh-out-loud comedy and high-stakes drama. With so many more potential Murderbot books that could follow suit in being adapted, there’s no reason for this story about a lovable curmudgeon of a cyborg not to continue for as long as possible — even if it would hate the fact that we’re all paying attention.
Murderbot premieres May 16 on Apple TV+.

Murderbot

Alexander Skarsgård is a lovably awkward Murderbot in Apple TV+’s excellent sci-fi adaptation.

Release Date

May 16, 2025

Network

Apple TV+

Pros & Cons

Skarsgård’s Murderbot is awkward and endearing, with comedic timing that takes you by surprise.
Noma Dumezweni is the heart of the series and its main ensemble, delivering a powerful performance as Dr. Mensah.
The series delves more deeply into the human scientists and their backstories than the novella.
I’d easily watch an entire Sanctuary Moon spin-off.

Certain characters are somewhat less-developed within the overall season.