Alexander Skarsgård will lead the new sci-fi series.

By James Hibbs

Published: Monday, 11 March 2024 at 19:30 PM


Martha Wells’s series of novels The Murderbot Diaries are about to be adapted into a series, with a 10-episode season being produced for Apple TV+.

The show will star The Northman’s Alexander Skarsgård in the title role, while we now know that Noma Dumezweni and David Dastmalchian will play major supporting characters.

Wells first mentioned that a TV adaptation was in early development back in 2021, but the show was officially confirmed in December 2023.

But when is the series set to be released, what is it about, and who else will be starring in the show? Read on for everything you need to know about Murderbot on Apple TV+.

When will Murderbot be released on Apple TV+?

We don’t yet know when Murderbot will be released on Apple TV+.

The series was first announced in 2023, while further casting details were announced in March 2024. It therefore seems likely that the show is either in, or gearing up for, production.

From this, it seems possible that a 2025 release date could be on the cards. We will make sure to keep this page updated once any more information becomes available.

What is Murderbot about?

Martha Wells wearing a blue lanyard and looking at the camera
Martha Wells.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Fandom

Murderbot is a new 10-episode series based on the bestselling and Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novels in The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

There are so far seven books in the series – All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect, Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse.

The books are being adapted by Oscar-nominated creators and directors Chris and Paul Weitz (About a Boy), who will also be executive producing alongside star Alexander Skarsgård (Succession).

The official synopsis for the series says: “Murderbot is an action-packed sci-fi series, based on the award-winning books by [Martha] Wells, about a self-hacking security android who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable ‘clients’.

“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 cast – Who will star in the series?

David Dastmalchian weraing a purple suit and black shirt, looking at the camera
David Dastmalchian.
Joe Maher/WireImage

Alexander Skarsgård will play the lead in the series, while Noma Dumezwani (The Little Mermaid) and David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer) will take on major supporting roles.

The former will play Mensah, a scientist considered to be Murderbot’s favourite human, while the latter will play Gurathin, an augmented human who takes a while to come around to Murderbot. Both are part of the PreservationAux survey team.

Meanwhile, Sabrina Wu (Joy Ride) will play Pin-Lee, Tattiawna Jones (Orphan Black: Echoes) will play Arada, Akshay Khanna (Polite Society) will play Ratthi and Tamara Podemski (Outer Range) will play Bharadwaj.

All four characters are part of the PreservationAux survey team who Murderbot is hired to defend.

Is there a trailer for Murderbot?

There isn’t a trailer available for Murderbot yet, but we’ll update this page once any footage is released.