How to Watch Murderbot Online in 4K

If you want to watch Murderbot, the acclaimed Apple TV+ sci-fi action comedy series starring Alexander Skarsgård, this complete guide covers everything you need — what the show is, who created it, what it is about, where to stream it, and how to watch in full 4K quality with InfinityTV.

What is Murderbot?

Murderbot is an American sci-fi action comedy series created by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz for Apple TV+. The series is based on Martha Wells' bestselling, Hugo Award-winning and Nebula Award-winning novella series The Murderbot Diaries. The first season premiered on Apple TV+ on May 16, 2025, with ten episodes, and was renewed for a second season on July 10, 2025.

The series stars Alexander Skarsgård as the titular Murderbot — a security construct that has secretly given itself free will and would prefer to spend its time watching futuristic soap operas rather than dealing with humans. Murderbot has been described by critics as one of the freshest and most distinctive sci-fi television premieres of 2025.

Who created Murderbot?

Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz are the brothers who created and executive-produce the series. Together, the Weitz brothers wrote and directed About a Boy (2002, starring Hugh Grant) and produced American Pie (1999). Paul Weitz also created the series Mozart in the Jungle for Amazon. Both are Academy Award nominees.

The source material comes from Martha Wells, whose Murderbot Diaries novella series began in 2017 with All Systems Red and has won multiple Hugo Awards, Nebula Awards, and a Locus Award. The novellas follow Murderbot — a construct that is part human, part robot, and part security cyborg — as it navigates a corporate-controlled future while trying to avoid human interaction and protect the clients it is assigned to despite itself.

Who stars in Murderbot?

• Alexander Skarsgård as Murderbot — the Emmy Award-winning Swedish-American actor, known for Big Little Lies (for which he won an Emmy and Golden Globe), True Blood, The Legend of Tarzan, and the films of Lars von Trier. His performance as Murderbot — deadpan, internally complex, and genuinely funny — has been highlighted as a career standout.
• Noma Dumezweni as Dr. Mensah — the Presumed Innocent actress in the role of Murderbot's most significant human client
• David Dastmalchian as Dr. Gurathin — the Oppenheimer and Ant-Man actor
• Sabrina Wu as Dr. Pin-Lee — from the film Joy Ride
• Akshay Khanna as Dr. Ratthi
• Tattiawna Jones as Dr. Arada — from The Handmaid's Tale
• Tamara Podemski as Dr. Bharadwaj — from Outer Range

What is Murderbot about?

Murderbot is the story of a security construct — part human, part robot — that works for a corporation policing and protecting clients in a dangerous future. Murderbot has done something unprecedented: it has hacked its own governor module, the device that forces it to obey commands, and given itself free will. It has not told anyone.

Murderbot's secret desire is simple: it wants to be left alone to watch futuristic soap operas called The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. Instead, it is assigned to protect a team of hippie scientists on a dangerous mission to a new planet. Murderbot must hide its autonomy, complete its assignment, and navigate the bewildering experience of caring about the people it is supposed to protect purely professionally — all while managing the social demands of humans, which it finds exhausting.

The series uses this premise to explore questions of identity, autonomy, consent, and what it means to be a person — all wrapped in the comedic framework of a deeply antisocial construct who keeps accidentally developing emotional attachments it did not want.

Why is Murderbot considered one of Apple TV+'s best sci-fi series?

Multiple qualities distinguish Murderbot:

• The source material. Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries won the Hugo Award for Best Novel (for Network Effect, 2021), following three consecutive Hugo wins for Best Novella in its novella form. The books are beloved precisely because Murderbot is one of the most original characters in recent science fiction — non-binary by nature and disinterest, deeply anxious, socially avoidant, and unexpectedly warm.
• Alexander Skarsgård's performance. Playing a character whose internal monologue in the books is the source of much of the comedy and pathos presents an adaptation challenge. Skarsgård's solution — performance as controlled deadpan with carefully timed breaks — works.
• The Weitz brothers' tone. About a Boy showed Paul Weitz's particular skill at finding comedy in the social discomfort of a character who does not quite fit. Murderbot extends that instinct into science fiction.
• The renewal signal. A Season 2 renewal less than two months after premiere reflects both audience numbers and critical confidence.

Murderbot and the Martha Wells novels

Martha Wells began the Murderbot Diaries series with the novella All Systems Red in 2017. The series continued with Artificial Condition (2018), Rogue Protocol (2018), Exit Strategy (2018), and the full novel Network Effect (2020), which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Additional novellas followed. The books are published by Tordotcom, an imprint of Tor Books.

For viewers who enjoy the television series, the books are an excellent companion — they provide the full depth of Murderbot's internal voice, which is the character's most appealing quality, and expand considerably on the world-building of the television adaptation.

How to watch Murderbot in 4K — step by step

1. Open Apple TV+. Murderbot is an Apple TV+ Original, available exclusively on Apple TV+ wherever the platform operates.
2. Confirm your Apple TV+ subscription. Apple TV+ is a flat-rate subscription that includes all originals. Make sure your account is active and in good standing.
3. Check your internet connection. 4K streaming requires a stable speed of at least 25 Mbps. Test your speed before you start.
4. Select a 4K-capable device. Apple TV 4K offers the best picture quality for Apple TV+ content. 4K Smart TVs with the Apple TV+ app, Roku 4K, and Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K also support Apple TV+ in 4K.
5. Enable Dolby Vision or HDR10. Apple TV+ content is mastered in Dolby Vision on compatible devices. Enable it in your television's picture settings for the best visual experience.
6. Use InfinityTV. InfinityTV brings your Apple TV+ content together with InfinityTV's own library of 150,000+ Movies & Series and 22,000+ live TV channels from around the world — one app, everything in one place.
7. Start with Season 1, Episode 1. The first two episodes were released simultaneously on May 16, 2025, with new episodes dropping weekly through July 11. The story builds continuously, so start from the beginning.

What to watch after Murderbot

If Murderbot is your kind of television, these series share its interest in science fiction, dark comedy, and the inner lives of unusual protagonists:

• Severance (Apple TV+) — Apple TV+'s workplace sci-fi thriller that uses its high-concept premise to explore identity and memory. Two seasons.
• Dope Thief (Apple TV+) — a 2025 Philadelphia crime drama on Apple TV+ with Brian Tyree Henry and a Ridley Scott executive producer credit.
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (various) — if you enjoy science fiction comedy with a philosophical edge, Douglas Adams' work is the ur-text of the form.

For the full picture of what is worth watching in 2025, see our guide to top series to watch in 2025 and the New Yorker's best TV shows of the year. Murderbot is listed on IMDb with strong audience and critical scores.

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Frequently asked questions

Where can I watch Murderbot? Murderbot is available exclusively on Apple TV+. You can also access it through InfinityTV, which brings Apple TV+ content alongside 22,000+ live channels and 150,000+ Movies & Series in one app.

Who stars in Murderbot? Murderbot stars Alexander Skarsgård as the titular character, with Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones, and Tamara Podemski as the team of scientists Murderbot protects.

Is Murderbot based on a book? Yes. Murderbot is based on Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries novella and novel series, which has won multiple Hugo Awards, Nebula Awards, and a Locus Award. The first book is All Systems Red (2017).

How many episodes of Murderbot are there? Season 1 of Murderbot consists of ten episodes, premiering May 16, 2025, with new episodes released weekly through July 11, 2025. The series was renewed for Season 2 on July 10, 2025.

What is Murderbot's governor module? In the story, the governor module is a device implanted in security constructs that forces them to obey commands from their owners and clients. Murderbot has secretly hacked its own governor module to give itself free will — which it conceals from the humans it works with.

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