TV Show Review: Murderbot Season 1

IMDb listing; available on Apple TV

Pros: Skarsgard is brilliant as Murderbot, really good special effects and sets, interesting characters, good soundtrack, social commentary, thought provoking, lots to discover on subsequent viewings

Cons: uncomfortable to watch at times the first time through, a few gauche sexual comments

The first time I watched the show I’d only read the first novella in the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells that this show is based on, All Systems Red. That was in 2018, so while I remembered the premise of the book, I couldn’t remember any details. I thought the story was interesting, the characters were fun, and the special effects and set designs impressively realistic. I also thought the show had a lot of cringey, uncomfortable moments.

The second time I watched the show I’d read all of the books and stories. This time I realized that the show is designed to be uncomfortable on one side and shocking on the other. The books are all told from Murderbot’s point of view. And Murderbot finds human interactions awkward and uncomfortable. By making the show uncomfortable to watch at times, the directors are putting US in Murderbot’s shoes. We feel uncomfortable because IT feels uncomfortable. My third time through I started noticing just how brilliant an actor Alexander Skarsgard is as Murderbot. While horror and discomfort come easily to its features there are very tiny, very subtle facial movements when it’s happy. On the flip side, several scenes are incredibly shocking and while Murderbot is nonchalant in the face of violence, the humans aren’t, so this time we’re put in THEIR shoes. Because of the shock you can’t appreciate the humour of Murderbot’s commentary in those scenes until you’ve watched them a couple of times and – like it – have become inured to the violence of their world.

The show also does an incredible job of showing not telling. There’s a scene in episode 7 where Murderbot is fighting an enemy SecUnit and the humans are ‘helping’ as a visual play on the sarcastic comments Murderbot scatters all over the books. It’s even funnier when they’re congratulating themselves for the good job they did in the next episode and we get flashbacks of what actually happened.

The musical score by Amanda Jones is great and reminds me of background music in the Portal games by Valve (composed by Kelly Bailey and Mike Morasky). The theme song for Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon is surprisingly addictive.

The show does deviate from the text in a lot of places. Several new plot twists were added to make up the run time for the season and most notably, except for Mensah the humans never really trust Murderbot.

I did find LeeBeeBee’s sexual comments genuinely uncomfortable, and not just in a Murderbot kind of way. Those scenes make it harder to wholeheartedly recommend the show to everyone I know who likes science fiction.

This is a show that, like the books, really benefits from contemplation and revisiting.



After finishing the show I came across a video called The Murderbot Ending is Different in the Best Way by Pete Peppers that covers Murderbot’s journey of emancipation. It’s really good and mentioned several things I’d missed. It contains full spoilers for the show, so only watch it if you’ve seen all the episodes.

Books Received in November 2025

Many thanks to Tor.com for letting me read advance copies of these books. Both of them are later additions to series, and they're both really good.

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire - This takes place a few months after the events of Mislaid in Parts Half-Known, and it's worth revisiting that book to remind yourself of what's been happening. There's another quest and more explanation of the Halls of the Dead, which have only been briefly explored in previous books. Out January 6, 2026.

A fan-favorite character returns in this action-packed installment of the Hugo Award-winning Wayward Children series.

After Nancy was cast out of the Halls of the Dead and forced to enroll at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children, she never believed she'd find her door again, and when she did, she didn't look back. She disappeared from the school to resume her place in the Halls, never intending to return.

Years have passed. A darkness has descended on the Halls, and the living statues who populate them are dying at the hands of the already dead. The Lord and Lady who rule the land are helpless to stop the slaughter, forcing Nancy to leave the Halls again, this time on purpose, as she attempts to seek much-needed help from her former schoolmates.

But who would volunteer to quest in a world where the dead roam freely?

And why are the dead so intent on adding to their number?

Platform Decay by Martha Wells - This is book 8 in the Murderbot Diaries series. It helps to have read the rest of the books as there's little character introduction in this one. It's an extraction story, so it's slower paced than some of the others. The book has the same dry wit and humour as the rest, enhanced by Murderbot's new 'emotion check' program. Out May 25, 2026.

Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment of Martha Wells' bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.

Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.

Having volunteered to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realises that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know.

Including human children. Ugh.

This may well call for... eye contact!

(Emotion check: Oh, for f—)

Book Review: System Collapse by Martha Wells

Book 7 of the Murderbot Diaries

Pros: character development, some interesting fight scenes

Cons: some of the quieter sections dragged a bit

System Collapse picks up a short time after Network Effect. Perihelion’s crew is trying to help the colonists on the colony planet reject the claim over them by the Barish-Estranza corporation. They learn of a group that split off and is living in a blackout zone, so Murderbot and a small group go to warn them of what’s going on.

A redacted traumatic event has reduced Murderbot’s operating capacity and lowered its self-confidence. Murderbot’s avoidance of emotion hampers its recovery, even as it makes the SecUnit less able to do its job. Murderbot feels the most human in this book. I thought their resolution to the separated group was brilliant. There are a few honest laughs and more snarky humour.

There are a few fight scenes, but not as many as the previous book.

I did find some of the exploration scenes tense, but they got a bit boring as they stretched on. Though I felt that more my second time reading it than the first.

On the whole it’s an interesting story with Murderbot having to face its trauma, despite its attempts not to.

=> The next book is Platform Decay, coming out in May 2026.

Book Review: Network Effect by Martha Wells

Book 5 of the Murderbot Diaries, but chronologically comes after book 6, Fugitive Telemetry

Pros: lots of character development, fight scenes, exciting twists

Cons:

Network Effect starts with the survey mission mentioned in Fugitive Telemetry. The survey team returns to Preservation space and is immediately attacked by a transport. Murderbot is horrified to learn it’s ART/Perihelion. It needs to learn what happened to its friend while keeping Mensah’s daughter alive.

The story is novel (rather than novella) length, and it needs the space. It’s a fast paced story with a lot of exciting twists. There are some nice flashback scenes on Preservation planet that help develop Murderbot more as a complex entity. This novel also brings up trauma more and how individuals (human, bot, and construct) deal with it. There are some great fight scenes and banter among the characters. Murderbot’s narrative is sarcastic at all the right times.

There’s so much going on and such fun conversations that this is probably my favourite book in the series.

=> The next book to read is System Collapse.

Book Review: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

Book 6 of the Murderbot Diaries, but chronologically comes between books 4 and 5

Pros: several plot twists,

Cons: not much action

Fugitive Telemetry takes place on Preservation Station where Murderbot is acting as Mensah’s security. A murder has just been uncovered, and Mensah suggests station security and Murderbot work together to solve it.

This is basically a murder mystery novella, so there isn’t as much action as the other books in the series have had. The characters are mostly new, though Gurathin and Ratthi show up for a bit. The mystery is good, with some interesting twists.

It’s entertaining, but not my favourite.

=> The next book Chronologically is Network Effect.

Book Review: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Book 4 of the Murderbot Diaries

Pros: lots of action, clever hacking and planning, character development

Cons:

After its mission on Milu, Murderbot learns that Dr. Mensah has been kidnapped by the GrayCris corporation and heads to TranRollinHyfa to rescue her.

It’s nice seeing some of the characters from All Systems Red again, and how they react to Murderbot’s evolution. There’s a lot of clever hacking and some great chase and fight sequences. Seeing Murderbot back with its favourite human was awesome. I had *feelings* when Murderbot let Mensah hug it. We also learn why it likes The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon so much. As the books progress there’s more subtext regarding trauma and how different entities are impacted by it. An event at the end of the book shows Murderbot some of the benefits of its human side, which is neat. As always, Murderbot's narrative is full of an enjoyable dry humour.

This is one of my favourite novellas in the series.

=> There’s a short story called “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” that fits in before the next book. It deals with Mensah on Preservation Station and how she’s coping in the aftermath of her kidnapping.

While Network Effect was published as book 5, Fugutive Telemetry chronologically comes next.

Book Review: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

This is the 3rd book in the Murderbot Diaries series.

Pros: complex fight scenes, character development

Cons:

This novella picks up where Artificial Condition leaves off, with Murderbot on a transport arriving at RaviHyral station. It sees an interview with Mensah talking about a terraforming platform recently abandoned by GrayCris, and decides to check it out to see if they’ve left any incriminating evidence behind. Sneaking aboard means befriending a bot and protecting a new group of humans.

Murderbot needs to lie its way through a bunch of human and bot encounters, trying to keep its story straight. There’s corporate intrigue and some great fight scenes. Since it doesn’t have access to a repair cubicle or medsystem anymore, Murderbot needs to be more careful about taking damage. So it’s getting clever about how it approaches conflict. It’s really cool seeing it learn and develop as the series goes on.

Murderbot’s dry sense of humour shines through. The fight scenes are great and again, while the novella is short, it’s impactful.

=> The next book in the series is Exit Strategy.