The good news is that Murderbot is premiering in May.
The less good news is that Alexander Skarsgård still seems like a weird choice for the role.
But! Murderbot is coming in May. Apple TV+ announced the news today along with two images of Skarsgård in the title role: One with helmet on, one with helmet off. Neither gives much of a sense of the character or of why Skarsgård was cast in the role—though he is also an executive producer on the series, and perhaps his relatively big name helped it get made. And made fairly quickly, at that: The series was announced only a year and change ago.
Murderbot is based on the Murderbot Diaries books by Martha Wells, which began in 2017 with All Systems Red. Here’s Apple’s synopsis:
Based on Martha Wells’ bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series of the same name, 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.
Murderbot, the series, is created by Chris and Paul Weitz (About a Boy), who collectively wrote, directed, and produced the first season. The rest of the cast includes Noma Dumezweni (Made for Love), David Dastmalchian (Late Night With the Devil), Sabrina Wu (Abbott Elementary), Akshay Khanna (Polite Society), Tattiawna Jones (Orphan Black: Echoes), and Tamara Podemski (Reservation Dogs).
The series premieres on May 16th with two episodes; new episodes follow weekly on Apple TV+.
