Alexander Skarsgård's Stellar 10-Episode Sci-Fi Takes Less Than 6 Hours To Binge

Alexander Skarsgard in Murderbot Episode 5

Published Nov 1, 2026, 3:41 PM EST

Julio is a Senior Author for Collider. He studied History and International Relations at university, but found his calling in cultural journalism. When he isn't writing, Julio also teaches English at a nearby school. He has lived in São Paulo most of his life, where he covers CCXP and other big events. Having loved movies, music, and TV from an early age, he prides himself in knowing every minute detail about the things he loves. When he is older, he dreams of owning a movie theater in a small countryside town.

Nowadays, finding something to binge can prove difficult; when you finally find a new series, there's always the chance that it has multiple seasons to get through. If you like science fiction, it's a little simpler, as Apple TV has proven time and again to be the home for the best series in the genre, but even there, most are actually quite long and require more time to finish. Just last year, however, the streamer released Murderbot, a unique sci-fi series that will take you less than a weekend to binge. With 10 episodes consisting of around 28 minutes each, it's more than a good show — it's premium-quality content.

‘Murderbot’ Follows a Self-Aware Cyborg Who Is Addicted to Television

Alexander Skarsgård plays Murderbot's title character, a cyborg who hacks its own control systems and becomes self-aware. It isn't that murderous, really, but if the company that rents it out as a Security Unit finds out, it will surely be decommissioned, so instead of action, Murderbot really prefers to be left alone to binge its favorite shows to pass the time and quell the depression of a lonely existence.

Unfortunately, Murderbot ends up rented by a team of hippie scientists on a research mission to a faraway world. It should be simple enough, but, as the titular character likes to say, "humans are idiots," which makes everything both unnecessarily dangerous and annoying. Murderbot believes humans in general are far too emotional and illogical, so it couldn't have been picked by a worse group of clients. It gets worse when one member of the team, an augmented human named Gurathin (David Dastmalchian), starts noticing that Murderbot isn't behaving like a normal SecUnit.

Much of what makes Murderbot so irresistible is Skarsgård's performance. He plays the character with a subtle and restricted panic at its situation while maintaining a hilarious blasé inner monologue, perfectly setting up Murderbot's arc in Season 1. Is this SecUnit really only a piece of bored, television-addicted machinery, or is there something more beneath?

‘Murderbot’ Puts a Refreshingly Funny Twist on Classic Sci-Fi

Alexander Skarsgard as Murderbot in the SecUnit suit looking to the left in the Apple TV+ series Murderbot

Skarsgård's portrayal of Murderbot fits perfectly with Martha Wells' original novels The Murderbot Diaries, which are told through the character's perspective. Apple TV's series nails its adaptation, leaning heavily on the dark, absurdist humor that makes Murderbot such a likable character and the books such a great read.

Even though it isn't a proper satire, Murderbot is also incredibly self-aware, taking jabs at the sci-fi genre itself — particularly through the lead character's favorite show, The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. It also pokes fun at some unfortunately typical tropes, like the use of overly complicated terms and abbreviations (SecUnit, PresAux, GrayCris, etc.), which unironically works incredibly well within the story's ultra-capitalistic setting. Weird names are another source of jokes here — looking at you now, Leebeebee (Anna Konkle).

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Collider Survival Assessment Which Sci-Fi World
Would You Survive? 8 questions · 5 worlds · one honest verdict

Five of the great screen futures, and not one of them is built for comfort. Answer eight questions about instinct, loyalty and the line you would cross, and the scan will tell you which one you would still be standing in. Worlds in range

▦︎The Matrix

◈︎Mad Max

◑︎Blade Runner

▲︎Dune

✦︎Star Wars

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Question 01 of 08INSTINCT

The world as you know it ends overnight. What is your first move? No wrong answer. There is a wrong hesitation.

AFind out what is really going on behind all of it BGrab a vehicle and as much fuel as you can carry CKeep your head down and show up to work anyway DLearn the rules of whoever is in charge now EFind other people and start organizing