New Apple TV+ series ‘Murderbot’ is ‘so much fun’ – Paste Magazine

Apple’s “Murderbot,” starring and executive produced by Emmy Award winner Alexander Skarsgård, makes its global debut May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Based on Martha Wells’ bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series, “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. 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.
Lacy Baugher Milas for Paste Magazine:
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Based on the popular series of novels known as the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, the series is one part sci-fi adventure, one part workplace comedy, and one part snarky excavation of the nature of free will, all interspersed with some truly hilarious snippets from a futuristic space soap opera. (Yes, really.) It is both genuinely funny and surprisingly moving, a sharp-eyed social commentary, and a meditation on the role of both technology and connection in broader society (in every definition of the word). And most of all? It’s so much fun.
Murderbot’s slow growth, as well as the genuine connection it forges with its charges, is not only deeply satisfying to watch unfold, but feels remarkably earned at the same time. That the show manages to pull this off without ever getting too heavy-handed or sentimental about it is just one of many of its apparently endless talents…
Given the seemingly thankless task of playing a sentient robot who fervently eschews things like emotion and eye contact, Skarsgård nevertheless manages to infuse Murderbot with suitably subtle layers, often through little more than minute changes in facial expression or vocal inflection. Those who only know him from HBO’s True Blood or the Viking film The Northman may be surprised to discover how genuinely funny Skarsgård is, with a real gift for deadpan line delivery and comedic timing… [T]his is, ultimately, Skarsgård’s show, and he more than rises to the challenge.
With each episode clocking in at around 25 minutes or so (you truly love to see it!), the ten-episode first season (all of which were made available for review) is brisk and propulsive, carefully balancing droll humor, action, and a sprinkling of thoughtful emotion.

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MacDailyNews Take: If you haven’t seen it, yet, here’s the trailer:

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