The Apple TV+ adaptation of the brilliant Murderbot novels by Martha Wells got a premiere date for the sci-fi action series: May 16. And a first glimpse at Alexander Skarsgård as the lead character came out, too.
Plus, fans of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning books can take hope from Apple’s synopsis of its show, as it closely follows the written version.
Think of Murderbot as a sci-fi Western
The Murderbot Diaries is a collection of seven novels about an android — part robot, part human — built to provide security in very dangerous situations. It’s designed to kill, but this is no Terminator. Wells’ action-packed bestsellers follow the android as it breaks the programming that forces it to kill and goes freelance as a security specialist.
The book series is reminiscent of classic Western films starring Clint Eastwood. The main character is haunted by a violent past but now uses skills developed through violence to help innocent people.
The official teaser synopsis for the Apple TV+ adaptation says:
“Based on Martha Wells’ bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series of the same name, 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.”
Those who love the books should be reassured that Apple’s description for the TV series so closely matches Wells’ creation. It’s too early to say anything definitive, but it seems that when Chris and Paul Weitz adapted the novels, they didn’t ignore the source material — as has happened all too often in other adaptations of sci-fi and fantasy series.
Following the books only makes sense. Among many others, the novels earned the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Series. They could have won even more awards, but Wells started refusing nominations.
Whether the upcoming show will be based on All Systems Red, the first novel in the Murderbot series, is unknown at this time. Almost any of the action-packed stories could be turned into a season of the TV show.
In front of and behind the camera
Photo: Apple TV+
We do know the adaptation stars Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgård, perhaps best known for his role on Succession.
The ensemble cast also includes 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).
As noted, the adaptation was done by Oscar nominees Chris and Paul Weitz (About a Boy, Mozart in the Jungle).
Premiering in May
The 10-episode Murderbot sci-fi series will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, May 16, 2025. These will be followed by new episodes every Friday through July 11.
Watching comes with a subscription to Apple TV+. The service is $9.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle.
And Apple’s streaming video service also includes a library of drama, comedies, musicals, children’s shows, nature documentaries, etc.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
