Season 1 - 10 episodes (2025)
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Created by: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz
Based on: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski, Tattiawna Jones
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A security android struggles with emotions and free will while balancing dangerous missions and desire for isolation, evading detection of its self-hacking as it finds its place.
Verdict
This show's sense of humor is so understated, all from the viewpoint of an anti-social robot. Much of that derives from a robot annoyed by humans and their pathetic plights that only interrupt him from watching his favorite premium television show. This hints at the morality of enslaving lifelike robots and ramifications of free will, but as the season progresses Murderbot begins to care for his clients despite his statements that he'd rather be rid of them. It's a lot of fun, the humor hits the right note, and it ends really well, though more heartfelt than humorous. It's never less than entertaining.
Watch It.
Review
A robot with some amount of sentience, programmed to guard people in a mining colony, becomes increasingly annoyed with his job. A company rents him out as security. When he manages to break his governor module that forces him to obey humans, he's free to make his own decisions and names himself Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård). He bides his time, blending in as he'd be decommissioned if anyone finds out about his upgrade.
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| Alexander Skarsgård plays Murderbot |
Murderbot's favorite new perk is that he can can enjoy television now, with his favorite show being The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. He just wants to watch his show but humans keep bothering him. He's annoyed with and apathetic about his job and humans, still following orders. The robot's deadpan delivery is quite amusing. It's social anxiety by proxy, and Murderbot is continually frustrated with human's stupid choices. The humans he's been designated to protect are suspicious of him as he's desperately trying to hide his secret.
The crew treats Murderbot like a human though he doesn't like it. The only thing Murderbot hates more than protecting stupid humans is having to sit and talk with them. Even worse is having to look them in the eye. The humans think they're involved in some kind of conspiracy. They want to explore, and of course Murderbot must follow. Despite Murderbot's claims that he'd rather be rid of humans, he continues to protect them, risking his own safety. The humans figure out he has no governor, and that he was protecting them out of choice rather than programming. They're also shocked at how much television he watches. With his secret out, they treat him even more like a human. Now he has to deal with this new world where he converses with humans instead of taking orders.
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| Alexander Skarsgård plays Murderbot |
This show keeps getting better. Murderbot frequently uses Century Moon episodes as a guide on how to approach various social situations. Being a sci-fi soap opera, that doesn't always render the best results. With trouble on a lander, Murderbot has to admit he deleted the ship's repair manual from his memory so he could download more episodes. I love Murderbot's dead pan observations. He's always pessimistic, annoyed with humans, and painfully blunt about his limited capabilities. Humans think robots can do anything, but Murderbot knows better.
Episode nine is the big fight where Murderbot has to craft a plan to save the humans, the same humans he professes not to like. In the final episode, the humans try to come up with a way to keep him instead of the company taking him back or worse decommissioning him. This has already been renewed for a second season, and I can't wait to see where this goes. It's an excellent show, and I appreciate the style of humor. The shorter episodes keep the pacing quick.
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