Apple TV’s 10-Part Sci-Fi Series Is the Perfect Binge Before Season 2

Apple TV has no shortage of genre shows, with the streamer at the cutting edge of intense, highly demanding prestige sci-fi that features complex worldbuilding. While any sci-fi buff owes it to themselves to check out Severance, For All Mankind, Silo, and Invasion, the genre is not nearly as monolithic as it may seem, and has room for slightly more fun programming. Murderbot is a clever and surprisingly hilarious sci-fi show that is both highly specific in how it satirizes humanity and uniquely designed to be a new spin on what the future might look like. Although artificial intelligence is a theme that has been explored in sci-fi for over a century, Murderbot is among the first pieces of media to understand that robots will always reflect the traits of their creators, regardless of whether they are virtues or flaws.

Murderbot is based on the highly successful novel series of the same name by Martha Wells, which takes place in a somewhat distinct future where society has become intensely capitalized, and travel between star systems is possible through wormhole technology. Alexander Skarsgård stars as a private security machine who has been augmented to appear to be human, despite often being confused and annoyed by human behavior. Murderbot is an unlikely hero story, a captivating space opera, and a commentary on contemporary society that delivers more in its 30-minute episodes than most shows do with double the time. While its renewal ensures that there will be more adventures in the Murderbot universe very soon, Season 1 is so satisfying in its own right that it makes for a great binge.

What Is ‘Murderbot’ About?

There have been so many stories about artificial intelligence trying to destroy or take over its creators that Murderbot is refreshing, and quite funny, because the titular character is rather ambivalent about humanity. Murderbot often finds itself confused about the pettiness of human nature and sees its value as nothing more than the ability to create dramatized television programs. The show also hilariously lampoons the sci-fi genre through the in-universe series The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, which Murderbot is obsessed with; similar to the way that Invitation to Love offered meta commentary on Twin Peaks, Murderbot reveals what it thinks of the human characters it meets by the way that they correspond to the protagonists of its favorite television show. The fantasy of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon is that the characters are all very clear about their emotions, whereas in real life, Murderbot struggles to determine what humans are thinking.

Murderbot develops a fun ensemble because the human characters that Murderbot teams up with all fulfill different functions, allowing for interesting commentary. After being assigned as bodyguard to a team of researchers, Murderbot quickly bec Gutharin (David Dastmalchian), Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu), Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski), Arada (Tattiawna Jones), and Ayda (Noma Dumezweni). Murderbot does not consider itself to be an emotional being, but is surprised that the humans seem to show empathy because of its face, which is meant to reflect that of a human male. Murderbot’s pondering about why emotion is even necessary in a hyper-capitalized society is great satire about how oppressive working conditions are, but it also gives the series an emotional throughline. It’s by discovering that there is more fulfillment to be found outside of one’s official programming that Murderbot ends up developing more respect for humans, and even begins to start admiring them.

‘Murderbot’ Has the Potential for Many More Seasons

There are no slow periods in Season 1 of Murderbot, as the show hits the ground running with creative worldbuilding and stylized action from its first episode. It creatively explores how its universe functions because of the way that Murderbot is called upon to log data; that Murderbot has a seemingly endless knowledge of the way that the researching teams work as part of humanity’s infrastructure, but shows no personal interest in it, both handles the necessary exposition and offers more opportunities for biting humor. Skarsgård is an actor who continues to get better and better, and Murderbot is another role that shows how good a comedic performer he is. While a stereotypical robot character could be muted and didactic, Skarsgård’s Murderbot tries to appear more lifelike in order to make the humans feel comfortable, even if it only occasionally ends up succeeding.

It can be disappointing when sci-fi shows start strong and then lose their momentum, but Murderbot has a lot of potential moving forward because Wells’ novels provide an outline for what future seasons might look like. Showrunner Chris Weitz is also a veteran of genre projects like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and has already proven in the past that he can craft smart adaptations that understand how much new material is required. Murderbot isn’t just one of the most inventive sci-fi shows in years, but one of the few that actually feels optimistic — and definitely worth the binge to pass the time before its return.