We don't know much about how closely the TV series will hew to Wells' books, but the author said she was"really excited" about the show when she first read the script back in 2021.
The few details revealed in the trailer suggest that the first season, at least, will draw heavily from All Systems Redand will have a lighter tone.
Per the official premise, "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 [Alexander] Skarsgrd, 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."In addition to Skarsgrd, the cast includes David Dastmalchian as Gurathin, Noma Dumezweni as Mensah, Sabrina Wu as Pin-Lee, Tattiawna Jones as Arada, Akshaye Khanna as Ratthi, and Tamara Podemski as Bharadwaj.
And it looks like John Cho will be making a cameo as a character in Murderbot's favorite in-universe soap opera, The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.The first two episodes of Murderbot premiere on Apple TV+ on May 16, 2025.
New episodes will air weekly after that through July 11.