What Are Critics Saying About Alexander Skårsgard's New Apple TV+ Comedy?
If you're looking for something completely different to stream this weekend, it sounds like Apple TV+'s new dystopian comedy Murderbot might be just thing.
Starring Alexander Skårsgard as the titular android, the show launched with its first two episodes on Friday, and is already boasting a near-perfect critical score of 98% on the reviews aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Curious as to exactly what critics are saying about the timely new series? Take a closer look below...
'Murderbot has managed the impossible. It's found a way to take the oldest, most tired, most overused premise in all of science-fiction – 'What does it mean … to be human?' – and mine it for comedy gold. So, yeah. Murderbot is the best comedy series I've seen this year and I'm gonna be shouting that from the rooftops.'
'But despite having all the trappings of yet another dystopian sci-fi series – a genre at which Apple excels – Murderbot quickly proves the shiny, happy opposite. This winning dose of cosy escapism will warm the cockles of any heart, artificial or otherwise.'
'[A] killer adaptation… while this isn't Apple TV+'s first foray into space, action or comedy, this is the first time the platform has gone into a story that blends all three together. With that unique combination, along with the novella's signature premise, the execution of bringing Wells's Murderbot to life has resulted in something rather special.'
'Skarsgård's ability to pair his chiselled, leading-man good looks with a very goofy sense of humour (recently utilised to good effect in Succession) makes Murderbot an enjoyable, lightweight watch. It might not grapple with the big philosophical questions of the present day, but it might give you a – brief – respite from thinking about the coming AI apocalypse.'
'This is one I can definitely recommend, mostly because I enjoyed Skarsgard and his narration and internal dialogue so much.'
'The show is more of a comedy with periodic moments of action, suspense, and pathos. For the most part, the shift in tone and genre works because of Skarsgård [...] His delivery of the voiceover narration is both funny and surprisingly sweet at times.'
'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.'
'Though the pacing improves and the characters' interactions become more meaningful as the series goes on, when 'stupid fucking humans' remains the bulk of the commentary and 'I don't have a stomach so I can't throw up but if I did, I would' are a representative sample of humour, it feels like a wasted opportunity.'
'Murderbot often seems undecided about what it wants to be. With its short episodes — around 25 minutes — and workplace-comedy set-up, it primes you to expect a sitcom, but it doesn't have sitcom rhythms or structure. It's plot-light and its comedy is less in jokes than Murderbot's observations of humanity. It is, by its nature, largely about just watching people exist, in their myriad peculiar ways.'
'Skarsgard makes Murderbot a success, even if some readers will lament that he isn't the Murderbot they extrapolated from the page.'
The first two episodes of Murderbot are now streaming on Apple TV+, with new instalments every Friday.
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