Murderbot

For the story of a (possibly) murderous robot learning the value of love, it has surprisingly little soul. But it is, still, a romp. Skarsgård’s ability to pair his chiselled, leading man good looks with a very goofy sense of humour (recently utilised to good effect in Succession) makes Murderbot an enjoyable, lightweight watch.

As a comedy it’s not especially funny, but an intriguing premise, weirdo mood and enjoyable performance from Skarsgård carry it over the line.

While “Murderbot” is interesting to think about as a weird, somewhat wild swing for Apple TV+, it doesn’t exactly thread the needle of all these competing interests and genres. Instead, it feels purposely unclassifiable. That’s fine, in and of itself, but the show is never as funny or mysterious or heady as perhaps the filmmakers intended.

Skarsgård, for his part, is excellent here, offering up a performance that nails the character’s tightrope-walk between playing along as an unfeeling droid and warming up to its meek, weak charges. I do wish that was enough, though, and despite the elegant production design and admirable effects, “Murderbot” feels like a sci-fi comedy still searching for identity.

Though the series has promising aspects – namely because of Skarsgård’s performance, a flimsy plot and uneven pacing may fail to keep viewers tuned in.

Buoyed by some blissfully short episode runtimes, Murderbot eventually finds tension and intrigue in its home stretch, though you need to wade through some graceless filmmaking to get there.