User Reviews

Absolutely TERRIBLE, very poor acting and plot, complete waste of time and film

It's extremely rare nowadays to find tvhows with such life-like balance of emotions, intelligence and depth. And subtle humour. Deserves an extremely rare 10. And hopes for more. I'm definitely buying the books

I still haven't watched the second season. The first one is so much fun, the acting is overwhelming, Apple production value - there's no competition. It's funny sometimes, something I usually hate in Sci-fi but it SERVES the plot. A rare unpretentious Sci-fi series, beautifully put together.

There’s something quietly unusual about Murderbot: it doesn’t try to impress through epic scope, big twists, or grand statements about the human condition. It goes somewhere else entirely. It moves lightly, almost unnoticed, and still manages to leave a mark. From the start, you can tell there’s a strong original foundation behind it, a story conceived before becoming “content,” and that alone already sets it apart.Tone is one of its biggest strengths. There’s humor, quite a bit of it, but it never feels forced or overstated. It works because it comes directly from the character’s perspective, from that awkward, weary view of humans, rather than from random punchlines. The series constantly plays with emotional distance, with being present but never fully involved, and it does so without overexplaining itself. It trusts the viewer, and that matters.Alexander Skarsgård is particularly effective here. His performance is restrained, dry, almost expressionless, and precisely because of that it works so well. Everything is conveyed through small gestures, silences, and minimal choices that gradually shape a far more complex character than expected. The supporting cast fits in smoothly, never trying to steal focus, which is essential for the overall balance.Apple TV+’s production values are clearly there: clean design, a confident pace, and episodes that never overstay their welcome. That tight runtime works in the show’s favor, knowing exactly when to arrive and when to leave, without unnecessary padding. Not everything is equally polished, and at times you sense the universe could expand further, but even then, the show holds your attention.What’s most appealing is that Murderbot doesn’t seem desperate to prove anything. It simply sets up its world, lets the characters move through it, and observes. Maybe that’s why it works so well: it doesn’t force conclusions or emotions. The season ends with the feeling that you’ve watched something with a clear identity, and a genuine desire to see where it goes next.

This show was absolutely incredible it had the perfect amount of comedy and action. There was never a dull moment and the idea for the plot was genius I 10/10 recommend to anyone that finds this interesting

It's certainly a show that exists. I'm not sure how I feel after watching it, it wasn't bad but it wasn't amazing either. It was just.. better than okay. I feel like this show had so much potential and it kinda just drifted along. It was alright.

Murderbot is a frustrating cliche that will please crowds who don't get sick of overused, undercooked concepts that don't make good on the potential of their concept. Robots who hate humans and want to kill them are funny. That's the joke. And no matter how many times it's done, there is a group of people who will eat it up with a spoon. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. There is PLENTY to mine about the existential horror of a human-made tool that has the potential to kill it's creator. And what is horrifying shares an office with what is funny. Murderbot COULD eb a great show. But unfortunately the show is failed by mushy writing that doesn't take the care and lacks the intelligence to comment on the concept of human/robot relationships. The cardinal sin of the show is that what makes a "robot" in this world is ill-defined. They look human, have blood, and apparently have vast interior lives with a full emotional spectrum and natural charisma. But apparently they aren't capable of vocalizing that... for some reason. The viewer is constnatly left guessing as to WHY the robot behaves in such a strange way. The robot is written like an anti-social teenager more than it is anything being driven by lines of code. Inability to buy into the concept of the robot makes for an inabiliy to buy into the series as a whole. The writing is flat and boring. It makes no sense why the robot would hate or fear humans, and it makes no sense why the humans would fear the robot. The veiwer is shown that they are all good natured. overly so. So while the characters SAY lines that suggest there is tension or suspense, we as the viewer feel none of it. Boring show.

It's an entertaining show with a lot of potential. I had a great time watching it, but I hope they remove the woke parts if they do a season 2.

I've read the series so had high hopes, and for the most part wasn't disappointed. The only let down is that the episodes are only 30 minutes long. Compared to the books, my sense is that Murderbot is a bit more snarky, and that the team he protects is more goofy than I imagined, that might have more to do with my expectations, ans the series is considered faithful to the books. Overall, funy, snarky, and fast.

Alexander Skarsgård plays a “SecUnit” (security unit) assigned to a group of space explorers. As is often expected with androids in TV shows, he starts to feel some emotions, even though he prefers his isolation (while watching a silly sci-fi drama starring John Cho and Jack McBrayer). Toss in the inevitable killer creatures and another unfriendly crew for conflict. Thru it all, Skarsgård’s character entertains us with amusing inner monologues. The actor’s outstanding performance beautifully embodies the numbness of a robot, while letting the other side peek thru. Brothers Chris and Paul Weitz have created a slightly quirky little series that sometimes amuses, while sticking to typical outerspace sci-fi tropes. (Ten 30-minute eps).

I haven't read the books and found this to be a fun sci-fi romp involving an overtaxed security robot that achieves independent sentience, then desires the simple things that many of us want, which is to be left alone with his escapist entertainment. Unfortunately, "Murderbot" is assigned to a group of touchy-feely space hippies who set out to explore a dangerous planet.

Has a somewhat awkward start but is legitimately quite good by the end of the series, the last two episodes in particular were great. Skarsgard, Dumezweni, and Dastmalchian all give great performances, and the rest of the cast was solid. I liked most of the humor.

I'm a big fan of the books and was nervous about the transition to TV. I think they've captured what was thematically important in the books while moving plot elements around to make for better TV. The polyamory mostly goes uncommented on in the books, as do questions of race and gender (except for Murderbot's own insistence on being referred to as "it"; it has no gender) -- but I understand why those elements might be highlighted for a TV show, especially given today's political climate. I like that they're bringing up things that are plot elements from later novellas past the first and weaving them into this story now, providing good plot hooks for later seasons. Provided there are later seasons, of course. The comedy dial is turned way up -- the Murderbot Diaries is funny, but I don't consider it a comedy; it's a slave narrative, after all. I think some character traits are also over-emphasized (anxiety, general "hippiness") both for comedy and as B plots for what might otherwise not make enough TV. A big part of the charm of the books is Muderbot's own sarcastic voice and the voiceover does a good job of preserving that. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it and my nerdrage is satisfied.

Fun, funny, attractive series that balances humor and action perfectly in snappy 30 minute episodes. It's not total turn your brain off entertainment, but it's good time modern single camera sitcom with an adolescent boy robot and the family who wants to help him grow,

A fresh, fun take on a beloved book series! This isn't a 1:1 adaptation of the books, and the changes make for engaging TV. Given how much of the books is internal narration, the changes were necessary for the new format. Casting and the performance of the actors has definitely been a standout feature so far, but the dialogue has also been written with care. There hasn't yet been a scene that hasn't hit the mark for me. Also, the peeks at Sanctuary Moon (and the guest stars that come with it) are very fun. Hoping for a season 2!

It’s all about neurodiversity — not about robots! The show cleverly explores the dual nature of autistic-spectrum personalities as both disabled and superhero-like. Through this lens, many elements make much more sense: how one can develop a deeply human and moral personality — and even meaningful relationships — by bypassing the lack of innate emotional empathy through rationality, learned experience, scripted responses, and more. Even the secondary characters — from the empathetic but neurotypical Dr. Mensah, to the socially overwhelming Ratthi, the rigidly logical Gurathin, or the wonderfully alien ART — serve as mirrors to Murderbot’s neurodivergence. They embody a range of cognitive styles, both challenging and complementary, much like the social landscapes that autistic people often navigate in real life — helping to define Murderbot not by contrast, but through evolving, complex relationships. It is a powerful metaphor for the richness and complexity of minds that work differently — and for the quiet heroism of building moral agency and emotional depth in a world not designed for you. Murderbot doesn’t ask for acceptance; it carves out space for difference — and in doing so, offers a very nice portrait of (beautiful) autistic personality, not easy to find in contemporary fiction.

Could have been good but awful characters, script and the acting is as amateur as it gets.

Not bad but too much ridiculous character and each other a good series new

I appreciated all episodes for someone never read this book is a 10 for me really new stuff never seeing in other series

Such a great opportunity wasted to push the agenda. Really sad, I watched 1.5 episodes and gave up. Edited: so it is based on ‘young adults’ novels author book, I read one of books of her and it was clearly targeting young women 16-24. For me it was bad experience, these women wrote more books then Steven King and looks like all are poor quality.

This doesn't focus on what the books do. The books read very quickly and the murderbot spent a lot of time internalizing what he was doing and how he mixed in with those around him and how he became humanized (and a hero). This show is trying but more time is spent on the other characters instead of the those characters through the murderbot. The newer shows are better, which indicates the producers are getting a feel for the focus of these shows. Our view is: "go ahead and give it a try as it gets better and more understandable as the season progresses."

Wow!. What a shocker. One and only saving grace: Guess Who? The dialogue, the predictable reveals, the too-dumb characters, the grade school lust (watch fight club again instead) and yep all of it apparently intended. Crafted to within an inch of its stillborn life. The books are no way this horrific or stupid. And yes! get Skars a show with a brain please! No LOL Comedy, NO Drama, lotsa Rubbish.

Fast paced and funny if you like snarky. Rewatching episodes already. Hoping for another season.

The show (as of latest released episode; ep 5) is a fun adaptation of book series, so far it has remained true to the spirt of the book which is a plus for me.

In der deutschen Übersetzung wird mit *innen gegendert. Das geht absolut gar nicht. Sowas unterstütze ich nicht.

After 3 episodes, I'm really into this! Murderbot's leery reaction and discomfort with all the woke touch-y / feel-y stuff is a lot of fun. A real break from the endless grim dystopian stuff. Probably does better as a binge-watch though.

Es une serie interesante que por hablar como pendejes te aburre y no quieres seguir viendole. Le treme llama le atención pero cuande comienzan a hablar así no te deja concentrarte ni mucho menes que te le tomes en serie. Le pueste en escene, CGI y actuaciones están bien.

My biggest problem with this series is the murderbot and for many, that's actually the only plus of the show, aside from the annoying characters and the idiotic plot. But a bot that's this dumb? It doesn’t even have the IQ of today’s ChatGPT. It takes forever to respond, even though we hear its thoughts, and apparently it "thinks" extremely slowly. This isn’t a bot from the future; it might barely qualify as a bot from 2022. The occasional cuts to another space soap opera, somehow even duller than the main plot, don’t help either. And the whole woke casting approach didn’t save it, because they clearly focused on diversity and forgot to create interesting characters. And from something called a "murderbot," I expected it to live up to its name. Instead, we get a boringbot that spends 90% of the time doing absolutely nothing; just staring into space and trying to form a sentence. If this was meant to be a comedy, it completely lacks humor. I don’t know what this series is supposed to be, but it’s definitely not entertaining.

A few of the reasons I don't like this: Voiceover is lame, DEI casting is tiresome and considered a relic from the St George cult, Humor falls flat!

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

I give props for Apple trying new things, but this is junk. The humor just doesn't hit. I mean that's it. This show is literally a comedy show if you are watching it when the bot is talking to us, but the bot ain't funny boss. The humor seems like it was something written in an open-office environment and a bunch of people we're nodding and light laughing. Come on guys.

I'm really enjoying it. I have the books on my list, so there's not reader snootyness to fight through. I was afraid of the woke at first, but turns out they're making fun of it. Can't wait to see more.

I gave this two episodes and couldn't take any more pain. This show is typical of new series that have bland acting and poor writing. it just seems they're slapped together and sold to either apple or amazon just to make a quick buck.

A bit of a mess. I only survived 1.5 episodes. Humor lands some of the time. Characters lack depth and aren't really believable. Shallow and pointless. Feels like a SNL skit gone too long.

Despite what critics tell you, this show is not for hardcore scifi fans that value a coherent story with believable characters. The premise is interesting, the production value is excellent, but the screen writing and/or acting is highly disappointing. The humor is primitive and falls flat. Also the DEI value of this show is very high, which might be a positive to some.

I've read the books and as with many adaptations at the moment I prefer the books. I think as the show evolves it may continue to get better. Right now it felt like a little bit of a slow start. I would have liked a little more set up on the governor because it seemed a pretty simplistic let's try a password oh hey I'm free now. It seemed a little too easy. Also has a lot of facial expressions that seem a little out of place for a robot that is supposed to be a security bot that is a little more impassive. My point being nobody knows he has freed himself so he shouldn't be looking so expressive? Perhaps only I'm thinking this way. That said there's a good interaction between the characters and I can see more humor and interesting times coming. I am very curious how they work through the book material. I do recommend watching it.

Murderbot is hilarious in the perfect dark comedic sort of way, and Alex fit into the role with the execution and finesse of an established and talented actor who undoubtedly knows what he is doing. It seems to run in the family, of course, but the futuristic elements paired with scifi aspects make it fun, unique, and immersive.

The show so far has been bang on it keeps the main elements of the books but really has changed just enough to keep fun and for a person that has read the series that is great, this is a real breath of fresh air from dull mcu and starwars trash we need more original content like this. Dont listen to the critics that thing white lotus or stranger things these are shows that have zero content and are just there for the mannequins to make a performance and that is all, this content really engages you and questions what our own relation ship is with one another and with tech and the planet.