The sci-fi action comedy Murderbot season 1 is the hottest show premiering this weekend. Apple TV+ turned an award-winning collection of novels into a series that’s fun to watch, with an enjoyable mix of laughs and fight sequences… with some suspense mixed in.
Here’s why you should tune in this weekend, whether you’ve read Martha Wells’ books or not.
Murderbot: Apple TV+ sci-fi show is best new streaming show
The Murderbot Diaries is a collection of seven novels/novellas about a cyborg — part robot, part human — built to provide security in very dangerous situations. Wells’ action-packed bestsellers follow the cyborg as it breaks the programming that forces it to kill … and then goes looking for a purpose.
An Apple TV+ adaptation started streaming Friday, May 16. TL;DR: Go watch it now! (I compiled some reasons why for those who want to know more.)
1. It holds true to the brilliant novels … mostly
Photo: Apple TV+
There’s a good chance you’re reading this to find out if Apple TV+ butchered Martha Wells’s books. I’m happy to say the series generally keeps the spirit of the novels, and most of the details too.
It’s a smart decision by Apple. Multiple books and novellas in The Murderbot Diaries series won Hugo and Nebula awards. It could have won even more, but Wells started turning down award nominations after she thought she’d gotten enough. Yes, the books are that good.
Most importantly, the series captures the tone of the written versions — an enjoyable cocktail of laughs and violence. Alexander Skarsgård is spot on as Murderbot, getting the character’s combination of snark, awkward personality and fighting skills just right.
But the Murderbot season 1 isn’t a slavish adaptation of All Systems Red, the first novella. The most significant change is that the Apple TV+ show builds suspense by repeatedly raising the possibility that Murderbot could simply kill all the humans he’s forced to deal with, something that Martha Wells mostly glossed over.
Other changes are less significant. Dr. Mensah, the head of the PreservationAux survey team that the cyborg protects, is very close to the book character, but much of the rest of the team is much goofier. They’re comedy relief — an improvement over the novella in which they often didn’t have a lot to do besides be potential victims.
2. Murderbot is just fun to watch
Photo: Apple TV+
Whether you’ve read the books or not, Murderbot season one is fun. I like action shows and I like comedies, and this is both.
In the first season of the series — both book and TV — Murderbot acts as a Security Unit for a team of scientists exploring a remote planet. When unexpected dangers threaten the expedition, they discover that their very heavily armed cyborg went rogue by secretly disabling its governor module and therefore doesn’t have to obey them. Still, the SecUnit is their best hope, if it can get them to trust it.
That’s the exciting part of the series, but Murderbot is also a comedy. Part of the humor comes from the cyborg’s extreme awkwardness around humans. Also, when it’s not saving people, the SecUnit really just wants to be left alone to watch soap operas.
I’m so pleased that Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, who adapted the books for Apple TV+, realized how important it is to embed The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon into this story. This is Murderbot’s favorite soap opera, and it’s both a wonderful source of humor for the TV series and a way to humanize the cyborg.
Beyond the excellent writing, Apple didn’t skimp on the budget. The special effects are top-notch, which is critical for a sci-fi series like this one.
3. Murderbot is the opposite of a horror series
Screenshot: Apple TV+
With a name like Murderbot, some viewers will likely tune in to see a Terminator-like killing machine. Nope. The lead character calls itself Murderbot because it hates killing people even though killing people is part of its job. And it’s very good at its job.
Alexander Skarsgård is a wonderful choice to play Murderbot. He definitely has the body for an action hero, but his funny voice-over narration adds so much to the success of the TV show.
Just don’t think this series is like a made-for-TV Deadpool, another action comedy narrated by the lead character. In that Marvel movie series, people get killed for laughs. Murderbot includes nothing of the sort.
The cyborg SecUnit, despite a scary name, is surprisingly relatable. So many of us have pondered the same questions that it does, like whether an acid bath might be preferable to being forced to make eye contact with someone we dislike.
Murderbot season 1 premiered today!
The 10-episode Murderbot season 1 made 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.
When you finish Murderbot, Apple’s streaming video service also includes a library of drama, comedies, musicals, children’s shows, nature documentaries, etc.
