Murderbot: Season 1

In a handful of ways, Murderbot comes across as one of the most unusual and least typical Apple TV+ productions I've seen in a long while. It has become perhaps too common for the streamer to debut more serious dramas or thrillers, or even more grounded comedies even if they can be very satirical. Severance, Your Friends & Neighbors, Slow Horses, Silo, The Studio, Bad Sisters... All of these shows somewhat take themselves quite seriously and it's because of this that Murderbot feels a tad out of place.

But being out of place doesn't mean it's bad. On the contrary, Murderbot is actually quite refreshing (and hilariously metaphorical), as it's a shorter and sillier comedy series that revolves around a sentient security android that while attempting to protect a group of scientists has to battle the human condition and emotions, typically finding comfort along the way in terrible cosmic soap operas. It's a satirical series where sometimes the most human part of the wider story can be the synthetic robot played by Alexander Skarsgård, who has all the human experience, understanding, and communication skills of a toddler.

If you've ever seen Bridgit Jones - yes, that may seem like an unorthodox comparison but it really isn't - Murderbot follows a similar setup where the story, dialogue, and narrative unravel as you would expect, but along the way as things happen, Skarsgård's Murderbot character will routinely chip in and deliver fourth wall sarcastic comments and observations that basically eliminate any need for exposition whatsoever. When Murderbot is meant to feel uncomfortable as one of the scientists asks it to make eye contact, he'll speak up and tell you that, when something unexpected and strange is happening, he'll explain that you're meant to feel that way, and when someone is doing something he doesn't like, he'll mention that person is an idiot or similar. It's effectively a running commentary like you see at times in Bridgit Jones, except instead of a charismatic woman trapped in a love triangle, in this series, the focus is placed on an emotionless and often conflicted robot.

But how did it get to this point? The general premise of this show is that it's all set in a satirical world that The Outer Worlds fans would be familiar with. A corporation runs a massive chunk of space and basically mistreats everyone within its borders, including the security robots (SecBots) that are used to protect people on distant planets. One of these bots, Murderbot as it calls itself, decides to hack and overcome the inhibitor software that makes it obey human command and now it has free will. The catch is that if the company discovers this they will melt it down and destroy it , so it plays dumb, continues acting like an obedient drone, until one day something causes it to act out of the ordinary leading his current group of scientist "clients" to learn its truth. From here, the group stumble onto all manner of other frightening discoveries on a distant planet, where conspiracies, murder plots, interpersonal relation dynamics, and much more are challenged.

The plot and premise is actually wonderful and very intriguing to follow. Each episode is typically quite short at around 23 minutes in duration and this means the pacing needs to be fast but balanced to get from point A to point B effectively. This is achieved, and what Murderbot offers is a batch of episodes where you are constantly surprised with new reveals and twists and turns, even if they aren't masterfully crafted and designed to completely catch you off guard. There's a minor degree of suspense in each episode and the overarching narrative thread too, where you are constantly left asking questions and wondering about how events have spiralled out in the ways that they have. It's not as effective and unsettling as something like Silo or even Slow Horses can be, but it's present and it works.

The cast is fine and the characters aren't actually that memorable. Beyond Skarsgård's titular role, David Dastmalchian's Gurathin, and Noma Dumezweni's Dr. Mensah, the rest of the crew leave a middling impression on the viewer, with more of an impact made by the satirical sitcom characters led by John Cho. But this is fine overall because of the fact that like every other Apple TV+ production, Murderbot has excellent production values, set design, cinematography, and even special effects usage.

Murderbot may not have the refined narrative edge of Severance, the unrivalled humour of The Studio, or the thrill of Slow Horses, but it does handle each element of its wider whole well, making for an entertaining and digestible watch. Considering it's quite short form television by Apple TV+'s standards and a little bit unorthodox for what we usually see from the streaming service, it's absolutely worth checking out, especially as you will only be dedicating 20 minutes or so to the show each week. You'll most definitely be quite pleasantly surprised by what creators Chris and Paul Weitz have served up.