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The Star
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
'Murderbot' review: Paranoid androids are comedy gold
If that snarky, cynical fan-favourite K-2SO from Rogue One and Andor had a human face, it could very well belong to Alexander Skarsgard. One thing, though: this is not exactly the droid you're looking for. And all his snark is internalised, not spewed. Also, this isn't anywhere near the Star Wars universe but in a ruthlessly capitalist section of a (presumably) vast galactic realm more directly "descended" from our own society. Welcome to the universe of Murderbot, the new Apple TV+ sci-fi comedy based on the well-regarded The Murderbot Diaries series of novels by Martha Wells. This initial season is based on the first instalment All Systems Red, and covers how the titular entity a) gains independent thought; and b) hides it from everyone so he doesn't get melted down for scrap. Initially designated a SecUnit (short for Security Unit, duh), he hacks his "governor module" (think "restraining bolt" in Star Wars parlance, only built-in) and christens himself Murderbot, not because he wants to be a killing machine – it just sounds cool. 'If that stinking, two-faced ugly bug monster shows its face again, I'll just – er wait, it's behind me, isn't it?' After finishing his assignment on a mining colony, Sec... Murderbot suddenly finds himself in the "employ" of a motley group of scientists exploring a distant planet. While he belongs to the Corporate Rim, the above-mentioned ruthlessly capitalist faction, his new hirers are regarded as hippies, forced to take him along for insurance (as in policy, premiums, etc) purposes. Led by the empathetic Mensah (Noma Dumezweni), this egalitarian (I hesitate to use the "w" word) bunch is initially reluctant to have Murderbot around. As for our favourite newly-independent entity, let's say he is conflicted, to put it mildly. Murderbot would like nothing better than to spend his days inactive, bingeing on the thousands of hours of soap operas he has squirrelled away in his memory banks. (Yes, the future has no shortage of those, with some hilarious series-within-a-series cameos that I just refuse to spoil here.) But duty calls, and it's not easy saving his clueless clients from themselves and the perils of a hostile world where giant sand centipedes with mouths at both ends appear to be the least of their troubles. The first two sitcom-size episodes (of 10) just dropped last week, and offered some pretty hilarious moments mixed in with alien planet peril. A lot of the mirth stems from Murderbot's internalised issues as he struggles to mask his contempt for his companions – all of it compounded when they order him to remove his helmet, leaving him quite literally unmasked in an already awkward situation. Skarsgard handles this aspect of the character's struggles as though he were truly a recently liberated automaton, keeping his frame stock-still while conveying his inner turmoil through his eyes, the tilt of his head, and the near-panic in his internal voice. At this point, my unfamiliarity with Wells' books made me wonder why his Corporate makers went to all the bother of giving SecUnits organic parts, including a face. So that they could tell by a robot's expressions if it/they/pronoun of choice had hacked their governor module and gained (gasp) emotions? Whatever the reason, it gives showrunners Paul and Chris Weitz (the American Pie and About A Boy colla-bro-rators) a chance to mine the situation for comedy gold. Possibly the most well-orchestrated nugget is unearthed in the second episode, Eye Contact, when the group's resident "human computer" Gurathin (the wonderful David Dastmalchian, playing a mentat-of-sorts again?) conducts a weird interrogation/bonding session with Murderbot. It's a magnetic scene that crackles with the uncertainty of what might happen next, and delivers high hopes for the rest of this adaptation. New episodes of Murderbot arrive every Friday on Apple TV+.
Geek Vibes Nation
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
‘Murderbot' Review - Your New Favorite Workplace Comedy With A Sci-Fi Twist
Alexander Skarsgård in 'Murderbot,' premiering May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+. | Photo Credit: Apple TV+ If you were a human/AI construct with the free will to do whatever you wanted, how would you spend your time? Well, if you're Murderbot, you'd catch up on all of your shows instead of doing your job. Based on Martha Wells' beloved series, The Murderbot Diaries, Apple TV+'s Murderbot follows the exploits of a human/AI construct who finds itself in a life-or-death situation as it struggles to keep its clients safe on an alien planet. Part sci-fi epic and part zany workplace comedy, Murderbot delivers an experience unlike any other. With a dynamic cast led by Alexander Skarsgård, David Dastmalchian, and Noma Dumezweni, Murderbot is hilarious, emotionally satisfying, and quite thrilling. But more than anything else, it's a look at exactly what makes us human and how that little bit of humanity can transcend life forms in the most moving of ways. Meet Murderbot, the Most Relatable 'Bot in the Universe Meet Murderbot (Skarsgård), a Security Unit tasked with keeping the Company's clients safe at all costs—and spying on them, of course. But Murderbot's managed to covertly hack its governor module, giving it a taste of free will and the freedom to consume copious amounts of media while on the job. When its latest set of clients, a research team from an unaffiliated planet outside the Corporate Rim, gets attacked by an unknown species in the middle of an expedition on an uninhabited planet, Murderbot finds itself in the kind of life-or-death situation usually restricted to its favorite soap opera, 'Sanctuary Moon'. But can Murderbot be as heroic as its favorite TV characters? Or is it destined to fail spectacularly, taking its clients down with it? With Murderbot, showrunners Chris and Paul Weitz take elements of zany workplace comedies and epic sci-fi thrillers and turn them into something altogether unique. Murderbot spins a tale of finding humanity within the most artificial of sources. Murderbot just wants to be left alone, unbothered by humans and their pesky emotions. And yet, as the season progresses, it learns exactly how human it really is. Skarsgård nails the mixture of apathy, dry humor, and genuine pathos that make up Murderbot. It's a difficult balance to pull off; too much sarcasm would feel insincere, while too much sincerity would feel unearned. But Skarsgård pulls it off with his restrained, almost-wooden expressions and superb vocal and physical humor. Through Skarsgård's lens, it's not that Murderbot doesn't care about its clients or its surroundings, just that it's still learning who it is and how it fits into this zany world. Skarsgård takes audiences on that journey alongside Murderbot brilliantly, giving the series a very warm emotional core to ground its bigger-than-life sci-fi antics. An Out of This World Ensemble Joining Skarsgård's Murderbot are the researchers from the Preservation Alliance—Mensah (Dumezweni), Gurathin (Dastmalchian), Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu), Arada (Tattiawna Jones), Ratthi (Akshay Khanna), and Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski). The Preservation Alliance researchers' warmth and often quirky behavior upturn the rigid, emotionally sterile life that Murderbot's grown accustomed to. In fact, the crew's quasi-bohemian dynamic makes Murderbot quite uncomfortable, especially as the crew frequently treats it like a person rather than an artificial construct. But that dynamic is where Murderbot's real drama lies. In the face of life-threatening danger, can this apathetic, anxiety-ridden artificial construct and this ragtag group of emotionally raw humans come together, overcome their past traumas, and save each other's lives? It's a tricky ask to trust a SecUnit whose name is literally Murderbot with your life, though, that's for sure. Dumezweni and Dastmalchian lead this dynamic ensemble of characters. Dumezweni provides buckets of warmth as the leader of the crew. She's immensely empathetic, a trait that holds the team together in times of crisis. Her scenes with Skarsgård are easily among the show's best. They're just two beings trying to find their way through this messed-up situation while holding onto their humanity. Conversely, Dastmalchian is the resident skeptic, constantly at odds with Murderbot, whom he trusts about as far as he can throw it. He's so petty and prickly, and he makes for a brilliant foil for Skarsgård's Murderbot. Dastmalchian's quirky, off-putting humor pairs nicely with Skarsgård's deadpan nature, and the two make quite a comedic duo. The rest of the ensemble fill out the cast nicely, each of them breathing life into the members of the Preservation Alliance and somehow looking even zanier than Skarsgård's quirky Murderbot. Loads of Fun, But Unevenly Paced While Murderbot excels at its worldbuilding and character development, the narrative itself sometimes feels a bit stretched out and unevenly paced. Adapted from the first of Martha Wells' Murderbot novellas, All Systems Red, this first season of Murderbot takes a story told in about 150 pages and stretches it to ten half-hour episodes—for better or worse. On the one hand, both the characters and the world of The Murderbot Diaries are greatly expanded in the TV series, given the room to grow and breathe in ways they couldn't possibly in Wells' original novellas. The Preservation Alliance members, in particular, really come to life in this adapation. And the glimpses at the wider world of the Corporate Rim add some much-needed texture to Murderbot's plight. On the other hand, however, this season of Murderbot stretches the plot of All Systems Red about as thin as it can get. There's just not quite enough meat to the story to really justify the number of episodes, and so there are times when the show moves at breakneck speed and others when it feels like it's spinning in place, trying to kill time before moving onto the next major plot beat. Chris and Paul Weitz do a respectable job of smoothing over these moments with superb character beats that mostly make you ignore that feeling of stagnation. But there are a few episodes that just feel so superfluous you can't help but wish the show would just get on with it. As it is, Murderbot's an immensely fun watch from start to finish, even if it feels a bit longer than it needs to be. Final Thoughts Overall, Murderbot just might be the next big streaming hit. Even with its uneven pacing that makes the season feel longer than it needs to, Murderbot delivers in spades where it counts. Featuring a combination of epic sci-fi worldbuilding mixed with zany workplace comedy shenanigans, an outstanding physical and vocal performance from Alexander Skarsgård, and an ensemble cast headed by Dumezweni's empathetic warmth and Dastmalchian's absurdist prickliness, Murderbot has all of the elements it needs to be the breakout streaming hit of the summer. It's a thrilling, heartwarming, and deeply irreverent look at what makes us human and how we can all better connect with each other buried underneath an absurdist sci-fi comedy. And really, what more could you ask for? Murderbot premieres Friday, May 16, on Apple TV+ with new episodes dropping weekly.
