If you’re a fan of science fiction, you need to be watching Apple TV. Between For All Mankind, Pluribus, Silo, Foundation, Dark Matter, and more, the streaming service has an embarrassment of great sci-fi content, and it seems like there’s always more on the way. One of the streamer’s newest sci-fi hits is Murderbot, a dramedy about a security robot (Alexander Skarsgård) that hacks itself to gain free will, a secret it must keep from its employers lest they melt it down. The first season ended with Murderbot, which is the name the security unit gives itself, slipping away from its well-meaning employers and hopping on a transport ship bound for parts unknown. That’s also how All Systems Red, the first book in author Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series, ends.

The second season will presumably adapt the next book in the series, Artificial Condition. Murderbot’s employers, a group of do-gooding researchers who treat it with respect, do not appear in that book. But, according to Variety, all of the actors who play them will be back. That includes Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones, and Tamara Podemski. Murderbot made some changes to the book, and keeping the Preservation Alliance characters around longer may be another alteration. However, Murderbot will also be meeting a wide array of new characters, some of whom will be played by big-name actors. New cast members for Season 2 include Blair Underwood (L.A. Law), Michael Sheen (Good Omens), Nicholas Braun (Succession), Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens, Ratatouille), Steve Buscemi (Fargo, Boardwalk Empire), Topher Grace (That ’70s Show), and comedian Wanda Sykes. Fellow Apple TV stars Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard from Ted Lasso) and Tramell Tillman (Mr. Milchick from Severance) will also appear. And those are just some of the bigger names. The cast will also include Bridget Everett, Britne Oldford, Damian Young, Divian Ladwa, Ella Jay Basco, Etienne Beydon, Griffin Newman, Jaedynn Latter, Jason George, Kali Reis, Katy O’Brian, Maddy Strauss, Marc Menchaca, Martha Plimpton, Meredith Salenger, and Nia Otchere-Sarfo.

We don’t know what characters any of these actors will play, although we can guess where Murderbot may meet them. In Artificial Condition, Murderbot travels to a mining site where it may or may not have committed an atrocity, a plot point teased numerous times in the first season. To get there, it enlists the help of an arrogant research transport vessel that names itself ART, short for Asshole Research Transport. A comedian like Patton Oswalt or Wanda Sykes could be a good fit for that role. Murderbot Season 2 will also see the returns of actors Clark Gregg, John Cho, DeWanda Wise, and Jack McBrayer, all of whom play roles on the sci-fi soap opera The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, a show that Murderbot is especially fond of. Season 2 is shaping up to an ambitious outing. Expect it to premiere on Apple TV sometime in 2027.

Release Date

May 15, 2025

Network

Apple TV+

Directors

Aurora Guerrero, Roseanne Liang

Franchise(s)

The Murderbot Diaries