"Murderbot" Trailer: Alexander Skarsgård Stars as a Rogue Security Robot With a Disturbing Nickname in Apple’s New Darkly Comic Sci-Fi Series

In this Apple series, Skarsgård plays a security robot gone rogue, navigating the fine line between A.I. advancements and humanity's deepest fears in a future where robots might be the biggest threat.

Automation is a hot-button issue these days, with legitimate concerns that the future of the economy will undergo a dramatic shift if and when factory workers are replaced by self-sufficient robots performing cheaper labor. And while everyone is busy debating the legitimacy of automation and the value of human skillsets, perhaps we are overlooking a more troubling issue: what if robots take a dark turn and become homicidal? What then? If you think pulling the plug will do it, think again.

Welcome to the world of Murderbot!

It’s a new Apple original series that might have you pumping your fist in the air at all the cool futuristic designs of a dystopian future where high-tech A.I. robots have become an integral part of the workforce—but also might have you wincing in fear at the thought that these robots could murder you without breaking a sweat.

Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman, Succession) takes on the titular role of this darkly comic sci-fi dystopia based on the best-selling novel series The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

In the upcoming Apple series, Skarsgård plays a security humanoid robot tasked with protecting a crew of scientists and researchers as they venture to an uncharted, distant planet crawling with giant alien creatures. The robot’s main directive is to protect humans at all costs, eliminating any foreign monsters to safeguard the lives of his crew.

The thing is, it’s an extremely boring job. All he does is watch countless hours of reality TV shows and soap operas while on duty, and he’s begun to think that humans are stupid and maybe don’t deserve his protection. And there’s also one small, teensy problem… he’s gone rogue and now insists on being called Murderbot. Not creepy, at all.

The cast also includes David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), Noma Dumezweni (The Little Mermaid), Sabrina Wu (Joy Ride), Tattiawna Jones (Orphan Black: Echoes), Akshay Khanna (Polite Society), and Tamara Podemski (Reservation Dogs) as the crew members of the scientific research team who now realize their creepy-looking refurbished security bot might be a homicidal maniac with no regard for their well-being.

While exploring the fine line between the advancements of artificial intelligence and humans’ deepest fears of being replaced by said robots (or worse, being killed by one), this new series hails from Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, the same filmmaking brothers behind such classic comedies as American Pie and About a Boy.

Separately, Chris and Paul have worked on a number of big projects. Chris Weitz, for instance, wrote script drafts for the sci-fi films Rogue One and The Creator for director Gareth Edwards. He also wrote and directed the 2007 fantasy film The Golden Compass and directed the acclaimed drama A Better Life.

Meanwhile, Paul Weitz has largely stuck with heartfelt drama-comedies like 2004’s In Good Company, 2015’s Grandma, and 2022’s Moving On. He also co-developed and directed several episodes of the Amazon original series Mozart in the Jungle, which successfully ran for four seasons.

Murderbot marks the Weitz brothers’ first television project together. They also wrote and directed the pilot episode as a writing-directing team, which might be the first time since their last collaboration back in 2002 with the now beloved Hugh Grant classic About a Boy.

Now with today’s release of the first official trailer (watch it above), Murderbot might be the perfect show for those of us who grew up on ‘80s sci-fi, as it seems to lean into the dark humor and themes of something like Robocop.

And, of course, with a campy title like Murderbot, we can’t help but think of the awesomely cheesy sci-fi shows of the '80s like Automan, Small Wonder, Street Hawk, and Knight Rider.

Murderbot just might have that perfect blend of retro-futuristic thrills, quirky characters, and a dash of that classic ‘80s charm we loved so much. Fingers crossed, it could reach the level of becoming the Robocop for a new generation—though that would be quite the achievement to live up to! Still, if it channels that same mix of satirical humor, action-packed adventure, and social commentary, we could be looking at our next TV obsession.

Murderbot is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on May 16th.