I’m excited for this! Apple TV+ is set to launch its new highly anticipated sci-fi series, Murderbot. Based on Martha Wells’ Hugo and Nebula Award-winning The Murderbot Diaries, a series of novellas and novels that are so good I would rank them high on my list of favourite Sci-Fi universes, is coming to your home on May 16th, 2025. The show stars Alexander Skarsgård (
) as a self-aware security android, or SecUnit, that has hacked its own governor module and now has free will. Rather than going on a murdering rampage, don’t let the name fool you; it prefers solitude and streaming soap operas like The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, while still performing its job of protecting humans.
The show is created by Chris and Paul Weitz (About a Boy), who also serve as executive producers alongside David S. Goyer (Foundation), with author Martha Wells contributing as a consulting producer. That makes me so happy! The series blends sharp humour, high-stakes action, and unexpected heart; I often laughed out loud while reading the books.
In addition to Skarsgård, the cast includes Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Tamara Podemski, and more. From what we can see in the official trailer, the series plays out like a workplace comedy, think The Office, wrapped in a sci-fi adventure plot.
Murderbot premieres with two episodes on May 16, with new episodes dropping every Friday until July 11. If this show shakes out like the books with its dry wit, genre-bending storytelling and deeply relatable protagonist, it is set to become a standout hit for Apple TV+’s growing sci-fi catalogue.