The wait is almost over for fans of Martha Wells' Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Murderbot novels.
Nearly two years after Apple TV+ secured the adaptation rights, the first poster and trailer for the highly anticipated sci-fi series have arrived, showcasing Emmy Award winner Alexander Skarsgård (Succession, Big Little Lies, The Northman) as the intriguing titular character.
In a previously released interview with Empire,Skarsgard revealed, "Ironically, I found Murderbot more relatable than most characters I’ve ever played. There’s a social awkwardness, or just trying to figure out how to fit into a group."
On the premise of the show, he went to explain, "It’s not interested in humans, humans are idiots. It’s kind of appalled by them, and it’s been treated horribly by all its clients up until this moment."
"But then it ends up on this weird planet with this weird group of humans that are outside the corporate system, and they don’t believe in indentured servitude, they want to talk to Murderbot and invite Murderbot in, instead of storing it in the tool shed, like other clients have done, and that freaks Murderbot out."
In addition to Skarsgard, the series also stars Noma Dumezweni (“Presumed Innocent”), David Dastmalchian (“Oppenheimer”), Sabrina Wu (“Joy Ride”), Akshay Khanna (“Critical Incident”), Tattiawna Jones (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Tamara Podemski (“Outer Range”).
Apple TV+ has confirmed the global premiere date for its highly anticipated 10-episode science fiction series for Friday, May 16, 2025. The streaming service will launch the series with its first two episodes, followed by a weekly release of subsequent episodes every Friday through July 11.
The series is an adaptation of Martha Wells' critically acclaimed and award-winning "Murderbot Diaries," published by Tor Books. The literary series began in 2017 with the release of "All Systems Red" and has since expanded to encompass seven novels, with the most recent installment, "System Collapse," published in November 2023.
About Apple TV's Murderbot:
It's rogue. It's powerful. It would rather be watching TV.
Based on Martha Wells’ bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series, “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. 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.
“Murderbot" hails from Paramount Television Studios. The Weitz brothers will write, direct and produce under their Depth of Field banner. Andrew Miano also executive produces alongside Depth of Field. David S. Goyer executive produces alongside Keith Levine for Phantom Four. Wells will serve as consulting producer.