Rejoice, sci-fi nerds! We officially have a release date for Murderbot, the highly-anticipated TV show based on the beloved Murderbot Diaries books by Martha Wells. We knew this show was coming, but I doubt I'm alone in my surprise at how soon we'll get to watch it. Murderbot premieres May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+. That's only a few months away!
Murderbot stars Alexander Skarsgård in the title role as the self-hacking security construct known as Murderbot. The show is created by Chris and Paul Weitz, the masterminds behind Mozart in the Jungle. Skarsgård also serves as an executive producer, which has me very curious about his relationship to the source books. Was he a huge Murderbot fan before signing on to do the show? I must know more!
According to a press release from Apple, the first season of Murderbot is slated to run for 10 episodes. The first two drop on Friday, May 16, with one episode per week coming after that until the season finale on July 11. That will presumably cover the entirety of the first Murderbot novella, "All Systems Red." Although 10 episodes sounds like a lot for just one novella; I'm kind of wondering if the show will do more than one book per season.
For many readers, the most exciting thing about this announcement is that a Murderbot show is being made at all and we're actually about to watch it. Martha Wells has written five novellas and two full-length novels in The Murderbot Diaries to date, and they've all been huge hits with sci-fi lovers. The series has won numerous awards, including multiple Hugos, Nebulas, and Locus Awards. They're science fiction with a strong comedic streak, thanks in large part to the quirky hero at their heart, the self-proclaimed Murderbot who would love nothing more than to binge soap operas but ends up getting wrapped up in human affairs.
If you're not familiar with this series, trust me when I tell you it's one to mark your calendar for. I'll let the official description fill you in a little more on what it's about:
Murderbot official description
Based on Martha Wells' best-selling, Hugo and Nebula Award winning book series “The Murderbot Diaries,” “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. Played by Skarsgård, 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.
In addition to Skarsgård, Murderbot stars Noma Dumezweni (Presumed Innocent), David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer), Sabrina Wu (Joy Ride), Akshay Khanna (Critical Incident), Tattiawna Jones (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Tamara Podemski (Outer Range).
Murderbot is produced by Paramount Television Studios. Chris and Paul Weitz wrote, directed and produced the series, with David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight), Keith Levine (Hellraiser), and Andrew Miano (The Farewell) serving as executive producers alongside Skarsgård. Author Martha Wells is attached as a consulting producer.
If you're not familiar with Murderbot (or just looking for an excuse for a re-read), Wells and publisher Tordotcom just released brand new editions of The Murderbot Diaries stories that collect them all for the first time in a widely available paperback format. It's a perfect way to spend some quality time with Murderbot and get hyped for the TV series before it premieres May 16 on Apple TV+.
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