“Murderbot” was picked up for a second season at Apple TV+, the streamer announced on Thursday. The news came just ahead of the sci-fi series’ Season 1 finale on Friday.
Alexander Skarsgård executive produces and stars as an artificially intelligent security bot who must hide its free will while on assignment. The series was created and showrun by Oscar nominees Chris and Paul Weitz and based on Martha Wells’ bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series. Season 1 covered Wells’ first novella.
“We’re so grateful for the response that ‘Murderbot’ has received, and delighted that we’re getting to go back to Martha Wells’ world to work with Alexander, Apple, CBS Studios and the rest of the team,” creators and EPs Chris and Paul Weitz said in a statement.
“Chris, Paul, Alexander and the entire ‘Murderbot’ team have delivered a brilliantly original, addictive, witty and vibrant adaptation that has captured the imagination of audiences everywhere,” Matt Cherniss, Apple TV+’s head of programming, added. “We can’t wait to unveil what’s next for ‘Murderbot’ and, of course, ‘Sanctuary Moon’ in Season 2.”
Filling out the Season 1 ensemble are Noma Dumezweni (“Presumed Innocent”), David Dastmalchian (“Oppenheimer”), Sabrina Wu (“Joy Ride”), Akshay Khanna (“Critical Incident”), Tattiawna Jones (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Tamara Podemski (“Outer Range”).
“Murderbot” hails from CBS Studios. The Weitz brothers write, direct and executive produce under their Depth of Field banner alongside Andrew Miano as EP. David S. Goyer also EPs alongside Keith Levine for Phantom Four, and Wells serves as consulting producer.
Per the series’ official logline: “’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 Skarsgård, 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.”
