Murderbot‘s first season proved that one of the best characters on TV can be an anti-social android and we’ve been waiting over a year for his return. Based on the award-winning Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, the show centers on Alexander Skarsgård’s titular Murderbot as he protects a group of colonists on a hostile planet. While also dealing with his own awkwardness, internal panic, and deep desire to be left alone with his shows. The formula worked so well that the streamer renewed the series before its first season finale even aired. The season ended by sending Murderbot off into the galaxy with something it had never had before: freedom. No contract, no owner. He was free to determine his own fate. The streamer has spent the past year assembling another trip into the Corporation Rim. Now, after months of waiting for word on its return, Apple TV has finally offered an update on when Murderbot is clocking back in.
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Apple TV has announced that Murderbot Season 2 is officially in production. The short clip gets straight to the point without much ceremony. Showing a now familiar SecUnit helmet, the camera zooms in. Stellan Skarsgård’s hands reach into frame and pick up the helmet as he heads off to work. That’s also exactly what the cast and crew are now doing on the show’s second season. The production announcement follows Apple’s reveal this week of a huge roster of new guest stars and recurring performers, including Steve Buscemi, Wanda Sykes, Michael Sheen, Tramell Tillman, Nicholas Braun, Patton Oswalt, Katy O’Brian, Topher Grace and Martha Plimpton. Apple still hasn’t announced a release date.
Murderbot Season 2 Has Even More Stupid Humans
Murderbot may not be able to ditch all of his old humans just yet. Even with the expanding cast in Season 2, several Season 1 stars are expected to return. Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski, Sabrina Wu, and Tattiawna Jones are all coming back in some capacity. More importantly, the in-universe soap opera Sanctuary Moon is also coming back to Murderbot’s entertainment feeds. John Cho, Clark Gregg, and Jack McBrayer will return for Murderbot’s beloved distraction whenever dealing with actual humans becomes too exhausting.
Murderbot continues the proud tradition of machines with very little patience for the humans around them, from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic‘s HK-47 to K-2SO in Rogue One. What makes Murderbot so appealing is his internal monologue and how specifically his discomfort has connected with autistic and neurodivergent fans. Viewers have recognized themselves in its dislike of eye contact, difficulty navigating social expectations, tendency to mask (in this case, literally), and instinct to retreat into familiar media when interaction becomes overwhelming. Those traits are funny, but they also give the SecUnit a specificity most sarcastic sci-fi androids never get. HK-47 called everyone meatbags, but Murderbot would prefer they just stop talking altogether.
With production officially underway, Murderbot is finally moving toward its next chapter. The new all-star cast, returning Sanctuary Moon players, and wider world point toward a much bigger second season for SecUnit. If the new season follows the second book in the series, we should see Murderbot investigating its own past and teaming up with the AI of a giant ship. We may not know the release date for Season 2 yet, but like the titular character, we just want to dive back into our favorite show.
