Apple TV+'s 'Murderbot Diaries' Adaptation: Everything We Know

The series is in its early stages right now, but check back here for updates as they become available.

By Michael Hein

Apple TV+ has ordered an adaptation of The Murderbot Diaries, one of the hottest science fiction series in publication today. The series seems to be in its early stages, but there are some details to get fans excited for their adventure in the Corporation Rim. For everything else, we'll keep this post updated as new information becomes available.

The Murderbot Diaries is a series of novellas, novels and short stories by author Martha Wells that have taken over the genre since the first installment came out in 2017. There has been talk of a screen adaptation for several years now, but in December of 2023 Apple astounded fans by announcing a series order all at once. There is some A-list talent attached to the series – read on for more – but no release date or other pertinent details. Scroll down for everything we know about the series so far.

'Murderbot' Series Details

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(Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Wells' book series is called The Murderbot Diaries, but Apple's press release indicates that the TV adaptation will simply be called Murderbot. It will consist of 10 episodes and will be created, directed and written by Chris and Paul Weitz. The series comes from Paramount Television Studios and Wells is on board as a consulting producer.

Other executive producers include Andrew Miano,Keith Levine, David S. Goyer and Alexander Skarsgård. Goyer has a strong track record with Apple TV+ already, producing the streamer's adaptation of the iconic sci-fi series Foundation. As for Skarsgård, he is an EP and also the titular star.

Cast

Los Angeles Global Premiere For Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man And The Wasp"
(Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez)

Alexander Skarsgård will play Murderbot – better known to most other character as "SecUnit." In this sci-fi setting, "Security Units" are cyborgs made up from mostly robotic parts and artificial intelligence with a few manufactured organic parts to balance their cognition and appearance. They are supposed to be under the complete control of humans through their "governor modules," but our main character has already hacked its governor module without anyone catching on. Instead of going on a violent rampage, it simply continues phoning in its day job and secretly watching as much TV as it can get its hands on.

In February and March, Deadline reported several more cast members for the show, mostly consisting of the "clients" Murderbot is assigned to protect at the beginning of the story. David Dastmalchian plays the augmented human Gurathin, while Noma Dumezweni plays the mission leader, Dr. Mensah. The rest of the scientific survey team has been cast as well – Sabrina Wu will play Pin-Lee, Tattiawna Jones will play Dr. Arada, Akshay Khanna will play Dr. Ratthi and Tamara Podemski will play Dr. Bharadwaj.

That leaves only a few characters from the first novella to be cast, though if the pace of the show moves fast, the adaptation may go past that point pretty quickly. Dr. Volescu and Dr. Overse still need to be cast, along with a whole host of beloved characters coming later in the series.

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Setting and Story

The Murderbot Diaries takes place in a futuristic sci-fi dystopia where humanity is in the middle of colonizing other planets and moons, as well as distributing space stations across the galaxy. Humans have the ability to travel faster than lightspeed using "wormholes," and to produce all kinds of advance artificial intelligence. They sometimes encounter alien artifacts which are rare and valuable, but alien life is mostly confined to simple plants and animals.

The political and economic power of this world is centered around "The Corporation Rim" – a conglomerate of companies that control a vast area of space through ruthless means including indentured servitude and mass surveillance. There, Murderbot is considered property, other people are encouraged to think of it as less than human. However, the story begins with Murderbot encountering people from outside the rim who recognize its humanity and strive to create a more equitable way of life for all beings.

The story explores the nature of sentience – for better or worse – and leans hard into the question of how different a true artificial intelligence might look from the familiar patterns of a human mind. There are obvious political themes here as well, but more than anything this series is a character study.

When Will 'Murderbot' Premiere?

Right now, there's no release date for Murderbot – or even a ballpark estimate. The series was greenlit in December, but none of the reports so far have hinted at a production start date, so it's likely the show hasn't begun filming yet. In the meantime, fans can find Wells' Murderbot Diaries books in print, digital and audiobook formats.

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