We interrupt your viewing of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon to check out the thrilling trailer for the upcoming Apple TV+ series Murderbot, based on Martha Wells' best-selling series.
Emmy Award-winning actor Alexander Skarsgård stars as the titular "Murderbot," a security construct who has gone rogue. But unlike most rogue robot stories, Murderbot just wants to be left alone to enjoy his television shows. Don't we all?
It has to hide that his systems have allowed him free will, continuing to participate in dangerous missions while longing to catch up on interstellar soaps and contemplate his place in the universe.
Watch the official trailer below.
Murderbot has a unique tone, leaning into sci-fi and humor, just like the novel. It's not a typical dark and gritty science fiction show and instead a welcome change of pace. Although Skarsgård has done more dramatic roles in recent years, watching the star in comedic roles is always nice, as he has exceptional timing.
The 10-episode series will debut this May, with the first two episodes dropping on Friday, May 16. After that, one episode will drop per week until the finale on July 11.
Murderbot comes from Academy Award nominees Chris and Paul Weitz for Paramount Television Studios. The Weitz brothers wrote, directed, and produced the series under their Depth of Field banner, with Skarsgård on board as an executive producer.
Well's book series, The Murderbot Diaries, won both a Hugo and a Nebula Award. It's a fun and fast-paced read for sci-fi fans that I highly recommend. Wells is a consulting producer on the series, which likely accounts for how faithful the show appears to be to its source material.
Horror fans will recognize Late Night with the Devil star David Dastmalchian as part of the cast alongside Noma Dumezweni, Sabrina Wu, Tattiawna Jones, Tamara Podemski, and Akshay Khanna.
Murderbot premieres on Friday, May 16, exclusively on Apple TV+.