For a show ominously titled “Murderbot” and starring the usually self-serious Alexander Skarsgård, one wouldn’t expect a wacky sci-fi romp about a cyborg sentry that only wants to be left alone to watch his soap operas. Yet, that’s what we get with Paul and Chris Weisz’s adaptation of Martha Wells’ “Murderbot Diaries” series — this season taking on the first book in the series, “All Systems Red.” The series is a strange curio, an odd hodgepodge of wild tonal shifts and short runtimes. More amusing in short spurts than actually funny, across ten episodes, the show actively resists being placed in a particular generic box, blending violent action, sci-fi, and droll voiceover, all wrapped in the package of sitcom-length episodes. It’s one of the strangest things I’ve watched in quite some time — not so much for its content as for its execution.
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On its surface, it’s the story of a cyborg slowly becoming sentient and gaining humanity. A so-called “SecUnit” programmed to protect scientists on a research mission, Murderbot — as he calls himself — can hack his “governors unit” programming that demands he obey all orders from humans. Yet, instead of causing a coup or rebelling against the humans that enslaved him, he’s more than content to spend his time watching TV, specifically a space sci-fi called “The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.” Add in a mystery about the nefarious goings-on of a greedy capitalistic corporation, and several action set-pieces that rival other sci-fi shows on Apple TV+, and we have a fascinatingly goofy experiment that is more of an oddity than anything else.
The central mystery of the series revolves around Murderbot’s assignment to the Preservation survey team, led by Dr. Mensah (Noma Dumezweni), a group of scientists who don’t believe in a hierarchy and are more than a little uncomfortable having a cyborg around. This is especially true of Gurathin (David Dastmalchian), who is skeptical of the ‘SecUnit.’ After a native creature ends up killing one of the scientists, the crew finds themselves contending with antagonistic alien lifeforms, as well as a mystery related to what happened to a sister colony on the other side of the planet.
“Murderbot” essentially splits its focus, dealing with its title character’s inner life, insistent need to escape reality through trash TV, and the sci-fi mystery underpinning the episodes. The former is the most interesting, as Skarsgård plays Murderbot as overtly neurodivergent-coded. Here, we get a glimpse of a character coming to terms with the messiness of humanity while also being unable to fully process the events he’s participating in.
The latter, however, feels less gripping. The episodes become increasingly formulaic as the series progresses, with little happening before cliffhangers bookend each 20 to 30-minute episode. I don’t say this often, but this show works more as a bingeable experience than a drawn-out week-by-week excursion.
Nevertheless, it also marks an interesting return for Paul and Chris Weisz, after close to two decades working on solo features (their last full collaboration was 2002’s “About a Boy”). Here, the filmmakers lean into the absurdist streak of Wells’ writing, playing up the boredom that Murderbot feels after a lifetime in service of others, especially about killing. It’s an odd pivot for two writer/directors who haven’t exactly been known for their work in satire (“American Dreamz” notwithstanding). Instead, considering Chris Weisz’s recent pivot into sci-fi, with scripts for Gareth Edwards’s films “Rogue One” and “The Creator,” this series feels like a merging of their various genre interests. We have existential crises, spectacle, and dry comedy wrapped up into one messy package.
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While “Murderbot” is interesting to think about as a weird, somewhat wild swing for Apple TV+, it doesn’t exactly thread the needle of all these competing interests and genres. Instead, it feels purposely unclassifiable. That’s fine, in and of itself, but the show is never as funny or mysterious or heady as perhaps the filmmakers intended. Instead, it’s more competent in those categories, never exactly standing out. Despite this, though, Skarsgård still gives a truly strange performance, one feels in line with, say, his character in “Succession,” without repeating himself. While “Murderbot” may not be a total success, it’s interesting enough to recommend, especially considering the short runtime. Further, I’m still happy that Apple is taking chances on shows that don’t neatly fit into some algorithmic box. [C+]
