Once upon a time, Alexander Skarsgård played a powerful Norse vampire in True Blood whose disdain for humans was only tempered by the delight he took in feeding from them. In Murderbot, Skarsgård channels Eric Northman as a security robot who would rather be watching soap operas than minding the tiresome humans he's supposed to protect. But as with everything in life, it's complicated.
The new Apple TV Plus sci-fi comedy is a delightfully mischievous and wildly entertaining series that delivers laughs, thrills and heart.
Murderbot, based on the novel All Systems Red by Martha Wells, is the story of a futuristic society where humans are working in the far reaches of the galaxy and they rely on security robots, referred to as SecUnits, for protection. Skarsgård plays a SecUnit who manages to hack his governance system, essentially freeing himself from the government's control. He chooses the name Murderbot, but despite his newfound freedom he has to maintain the appearance of being a fully compliant SecUnit or risk being melted down.
Murderbot is selected to accompany a group of free-spirited scientists on a research mission to a dangerous region. Newly liberated Murderbot has since hacked into the galaxy's vast entertainment system (think: every streaming service rolled into one) and would rather watch his beloved space soap opera than keep an eye on his hippyish new charges, but over time his disdain for them shifts as they treat him like one of their own instead of a machine.
Like most sci-fi entries, Murderbot spends time exploring the ethical dilemma that comes with robots being used as servants. In the pilot episode, Murderbot shows how his governance programming requires him to do whatever humans ask him to do, even when it leads to harm. Now that he's thrown off the controls, he doesn't want to put himself in danger (as he does feel pain) but failure to perform his duties put him at greater risk of being discovered.
Skarsgård is a fantastic actor who excels in dramatic roles, but he's really at his best when he can add wit and humor to his characters. Murderbot despises humans and makes it clear through his inner monologue, but Skarsgård's delivery is peppered with wit and biting humor that channels everything fans loved about his True Blood role.
Murderbot excels because the cast works so well together. The research team, comprised of Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski and Tattiawna Jones, is fun to watch. Each member of the team has some kind of quirk that hasn't escaped Murderbot's keen observation. In fact, it's those quirks that make him appreciate the research team because they resemble his soap operas.
With 10 roughly 30-minute episodes to the season that will release weekly on Apple TV Plus, Murderbot is easy to follow with a plot that doesn't get bogged down by its sci-fi identity, even though it is unmistakably a science fiction show set in outer space.
While I loved the story and the acting, my biggest criticism isn't necessarily reflected at the show so much as it's the larger issue of only giving fans just 10 episodes (which is generous compared to the six or eight episodes of other limited series). For a 30-minute show, the episodes fly by and though Murderbot will release new episodes weekly, it's a shame that the story couldn't have more time and space to develop.
All in all, though, Murderbot is the kind of sci-fi series that could (and should) easily develop a cult following. But thanks to Skarsgård's brilliance we can see it becoming a mainstream hit with a very bright future.
Murderbot premieres May 16 on Apple TV Plus.
