Summary
Move over, Marvin the Paranoid Android, there’s a new awkward android in town! Enter Alexander Skarsgård’s self-hacking “Sec Unit” security agent - that casually refers to itself as the somewhat ominousMurderbot-as introduced in the long-awaited first trailer for Chris and Paul Weitz’s upcoming Apple TV+ sci-fi comedy series.
Based on Martha Wells’ bestselling sci-fi book series,Murderbot Diaries,the ten-episode showwill follow the exploits ofthe newly unlocked androidas it’s hired to protect a band of scientists - known as the PreservationAux survey team - as they explore a strange new world and seek out new life. That’s until a giant new life form finds them first - and it’s not all too pleased about the new visitors…
Apple TV+ Releases The First Trailer ForMurderbotAnd Its Upcoming Release Date
“I was built to protect and obey humans, and humans… are idiots,” Murderbot chimes at the beginning of the trailer. If you’ve ever wondered what androids would do if they were granted free will, well, the upcoming sci-fi comedy certainly has you covered, as Murderbot appears to answer that question with a surprisingly relatable twist. Turns out, all the Sec Unit wants to do is be left alone to binge his favorite soap operas, particularlyThe Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon,which starsStar Trek’s John ChoandTheAvengers' Clark Gregg. In fact, it’s (proudly) racked up a grand total of 7532 hours so far.
However, it’s not long until the game is up as augmented human Gurathin (played byOppenheimerstar David Dastmalchian) discovers that the android is not quite as it appears - in fact, it’s a supposed “killing machine.” Can the crew trust the Sec Unit to keep them safe? It certainly doesn’t look like they have much of a choice, what with an intruder android seemingly attacking the scientists' base, raising whether other robots have potentially gone rogue.
The trailer does a fantastic job of capturing the humor, tone and sarcastic inner monologue as the first-person narrative device of the book series, and it’s great to see Alexander Skarsgård flex his comedic chops, something that he hasn’t had a chance to do in his previous roles, aside from his amusing cameo inFX’sWhat We Do in the Shadows.
“Ironically, I found Murderbot more relatable than most characters I’ve played,”Alexander Skarsgård said in an interview withEmpire.“There’s a social awkwardness, or just trying to figure out how to fit into a group.” The trailer also amusingly confirms that Murderbot isn’t the biggest fan of eye contact, a characteristic it surprisingly shares with the human species that it certainly doesn’t care for. Or does it?
“It’s kind of appalled by them, and it’s been treated horribly by all its clients up until this moment. But then it ends up on this weird planet with this weird group of humans that are outside the corporate system, and they don’t believe in indentured servitude, they want to talk to Murderbot and invite Murderbot in,instead of storing it in the tool shed, like other clients have done, and that freaks Murderbot out.”
The upcoming sci-fi series also stars David Dastmalchian as Gurathin, Noma Dumezweni as Mensah, Sabrina Wu as Pin-Lee, Akshay Khanna as Ratthi, Tattiawna Jones as Arada, and Tamara Podemski as Bharadwaj.
Murderbotwill make its debut on streaming serviceApple TV+onFriday, Jun 29, 2025, with the first two episodes. Following the two-episode season premiere, new episodes will be released weekly every Friday through to the season finale on July 11.
