- Ten episodes set to hit AppleTV+ in May 2025
- Alexander Skarsgård leads the cast
- First trailer has been unveiled
Apple TV+ is set to premiere Murderbot, a new sci-fi action-comedy series based on Martha Wells’ best-selling The Murderbot Diaries book series.
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Not to be confused with the 2023 horror film of the same name, Murderbot follows a SecUnit, a security cyborg, that secretly hacks its own programming to gain autonomy.
In true anti-hero fashion, SecUnit adopts the name Murderbot, has a sarcastic and humorous attitude and a penchant for watching TV shows.
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The franchise has long had a dedicated fan base, and news about the production has been eagerly anticipated. With the first trailer unveiled on 9 April 2025, here’s everything you need to know.
Who stars in Murderbot?
Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård is playing the role of the beloved Murderbot.
Skarsgård, who is also a producer on the show, is best known for portraying vampire Eric Northman in the television series True Blood and tech mogul Lukas Matsson in the drama series Succession (2021–2023).
He’s also found success on the big screen, featuring in movies such as Godzilla vs Kong (2021) and The Northman (2022).
The Preservation team – a scientific expedition group – is made up of a strong ensemble cast. Noma Dumezweni portrays Dr. Mensah, the compassionate and principled leader of the mission that Murderbot is assigned to protect. David Dastmalchian steps into the role of Gurathin, a sharp but often confrontational scientist.
Sabrina Wu plays Pin-Lee, a key member of the research crew, Tattiawna Jones appears as Arada, Akshay Khanna takes on the role of Ratthi, and Tamara Podemski rounds out the team as Bharadwaj.
Additionally, Clark Gregg, John Cho, DeWanda Wise, and Jack McBrayer appear in a subplot that takes the form of a show-within-a-show. The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon is a fictional soap opera that Murderbot obsessively watches.
What is the plot?
According to Apple TV+’s official summary, “Murderbot 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 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.”
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Skarsgård said Murderbot “just doesn’t get humans at all. It’s not a deep hatred, it’s just zero amount of curiosity. It’s confused by humans and wants to get away from them.”
One of the show’s co-creators Chris Weitz added, “It’s a bit of a coming-of-age story as well,” likening the android to a distracted teenager who half-heartedly performs its security duties, but really just wants “to look at your phone and not deal with people.”
The plot for season one – which will consist of ten episodes – is reportedly based on Wells’ first book, All Systems Red. The story revolves around a scientific expedition on an alien planet that turns deadly prompting the soap-opera-obsessed Murderbot to intervene.
The first trailer introduces the scientists Murderbot must protect, the futuristic sci-fi world they inhabit – including the alien-like monsters that share it – and offers a glimpse of a scene from The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.
“I was built to protect and obey humans, and humans…are idiots,” it says in voiceover. “But now that I’ve hacked my programming I can do what I want. As long as they don’t find out.”
When is Murderbot released?
Murderbot will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on 16 May.
If you fancy imagining things for yourself first, get stuck into the The Murderbot Diaries books.
There are currently seven primary books in series, as well short stories and novellas, bringing the total number of works to 16.
The seven main books are: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse.
