Murderbot (AppleTV+ 2025)

[lizbee]

The trailer for the Murderbot TV series is out, and I'll be honest: it gives me the ick. Like, I've blocklisted the word "Murderbot" on my social media, blocked Martha Wells so I don't see her promotional posts in my timelines, and I'm thinking of giving my books away.

Which is absolutely an overreaction, so I'm sitting on my hands for now, but it has powerful "we have completely captured everything you imagined, except it's white, cis, male and incredibly cheap looking".

AppleTV+ generally produces quite decent-to-good sci-fi, so I assume this will be watchable, but so far it looks generic and boring.

Semi-related, but I did wind up creating a little newsletter where I talk about the TV I've been watching, with an option for other media as the mood strikes me. I have 16 subscribers! You could be the 17th!

Comments

[sabotabby]

AppleTV+ has done some of my favourite stuff (Severance, Slow Horses), but if everyone else wasn't hyped about this, it'd be of no interest to me.

[lizbee]

I went and had a shower and attempted to be more reasonable and less contrarian, and I've decided to pretend this is the in-universe unauthorised drama inspired by Murderbot's story, and the real Murderbot hates every minute of it while being grateful the actor (human, of course) playing it doesn't look anything like it whatsoever.

[kerravonsen]

Sometimes the only way to cope with an adaptation is to treat it as if it has no connection whatsoever to the original, and see if it stands on its own merits.

[laurenthemself]

I haven't read the books so don't have the same attachment as you do, and I still thought 'oh no this is not how Murderbot looks'.

[lizbee]

It's wild that Murderbot never describes itself physically, and yet so many people have had this reaction.

(I will say that I was one of the people who interpreted it as leaning more femme, and I've finally figured out why: Murderbot reminds me of myself. It's the ultimate bias.)

[laurenthemself]

I feel that many people see themselves in Murderbot, and many people who are reading the books are likely to be Not Cis Men of some flavour. That's just the vibe I've gotten.

[lizbee]

I think that's it.

One friend described the difference between the books and the trailer is that it feels like the books are laughing with them (as a neuroatypical person), and the trailer is laughing at them. We are hoping that's just the effect of the trailer editing style.

[falena]

*subscribes to the newsletter *