The ten-episode series will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, May 16, 2025, followed by new episodes every Friday through July 11.
Synopsis
Based on Martha Wells’ best-selling, Hugo and Nebula Award winning book series “The Murderbot Diaries”, the series is a sci-fi thriller/comedy about a self-hacking security construct who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients. Played by Alexander Skarsgård, 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.
Review
In the near six years since Apple TV+ first launched the streamer has become a heavy-hitter in the industry. Apple has quietly built a formidable slate of series and movies which has rapidly found themselves awards contenders. With its seemingly limitless budgets Apple has been able to craft some of the most visually stunning sci-fi storytelling in recent years. This week sees the debut of their latest, a ten-episode adaption of Martha Well’s The Murderbot Diaries book series.
The series stars Alexander Skarsgård as the titular Murderbot, a security unit under the control of a shady megacorporation. Murderbot has been able to bypass his own programming gaining self control. Though he chooses to call himself Murderbot. Rather than going on a killing spree he instead chooses to become more human, finding himself drawn to watching hours of soap opera or “premium” programming as he calls it. Much of the series follows SecUnit after he is hired by a group called PreservationAux from a peaceful planet outside the rule of The Company. Travelling with them to a remote scientific planet, SecUnit is forced to confront his own humanity alongside his growing connection to his team.
The series hangs on the understated performance of Skarsgård. Triple-threat writer/producer/directors Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz task Skarsgård with creating an incredibly nuanced character who reads as a beautiful analogy for neurodiversity. Across the season we witness SecUnit learning to understand and interpret the behaviours of those around him. All whilst the PreservationAux team is doing the same with him. Skarsgård has a natural charm which makes SecUnit inherently likeable. When teamed with razor sharp dry wit and awkward physicality and you’ve got an android who could go toe-to-toe with Brent Spiners Data.
Supporting Skarsgård are an incredible cast of familiar faces. The PreservationAux team is led by Noma Dumezweni as Mensah. A smart, compassionate and noble leader who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. David Dastmalchian joins as Gurathin, a scientist with cyborg enhancements which often put him at odds with SecUnit. Then there’s Sabrina Wu as Pin-Lee, a scientist and legal counsel to the team, Tattiawna Jones as Arada, Akshay Khanna as Ratthi and Tamara Podemski as Bharadwaj. Each is well cast and becomes an integral part of the Murderbot puzzle. Though Dumezweni and Dastmalchian shine, the entire group functions together exceptionally well.
The ten-episode format affords the series plenty of time to develop the group dynamic as well as individual subplots. Whilst it isn’t a straight up workplace comedy, Murderbot does take some of those sensibilities and apply them to antics which take place at the science outpost. Giving each of the ensemble cast even the smallest subplot works swiftly to grow our connection with them. By the season finale I was pleasantly surprised at how much I had come to enjoy seeing them as a family. In this regard Murderbot is a surprise which creeps up on your episode-by-episode. It may have taken a couple of episodes to get going, but by the end I was nothing short of fully invested.
The Weitz brothers have created a satisfying arc to the season. Through its ten episodes is embraces what it means to be human whilst celebrating all of its nuances and flaws. Whilst there are classist and political undertones, these take a backseat to really explore the human condition in a beautiful and meaningful way. I’m interested to see, should the show continue, how this exploration could work with different types of stories. But for the setup of season one the pieces really do all fit together perfectly.
As I mentioned at the beginning, Apple seems to have limitless money to plough in to their productions. Murderbot isn’t quite on the same level as Foundation when it comes to scope. But it’s immaculately produced. The native creatures around the research base look incredible on screen. Likewise, SecUnit takes a few heavy knocks throughout the season and the mix of practical and visual effects is thrilling. The production design also set the series apart from other sci-fi fare currently on our screens. In particular SecUnit’s suit design is completely unique. Where the traditional trope for robotic technology is square and steel. SecUnit’s mask features some very satisfying curves as well as earthier tones.
After completing his mission with PreservationAux there’s a final hurdle for SecUnit to cross in order to full embrace his individuality. The finale, which I sincerely hope is a season and not series finale, acts as a brilliant closing chapter to this first tale. But it also opens up a universe of possibilities. After spending several hours in SecUnit’s company, I’m genuinely invested in his future and can’t wait to see how much further his humanity can develop.
Verdict
Though it takes a couple of episodes to win over the audience, MurderBot is an engaging series which a heady mix of comedy, action and humanity. Its message of embracing our flaws and accepting those of the people around us is timeless and effortlessly brought to life by the series inspired casting choices. Take note Apple, we need more MurderBot in our futures.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
