Sci-Fi Series ‘Murderbot’ Officially Begins Filming at Apple TV+

The upcoming Apple TV+ sci-fi series, “Murderbot” has officially begun filming this Monday in Toronto, Canada. Starring Alexander Skarsgård in the leading role, the series is based on the award-winning books by Martha Wells.

The 10-episode Murderbot is expected to take more than three months to complete the production. As per the current schedule, the sci-fi series will officially wrap filming on June 27, 2024. The series comes from Chris and Paul Weitz, who are writing, directing, and producing it, while also acting as showrunners.

"Murderbot" is described as an action-packed sci-fi series based on Wells' award-winning novels about a self-hacking security android who is appalled by human emotion but lured to its weak "clients." Murderbot must suppress its free will and perform a perilous mission when all it truly wants is to be left alone to watch future soap operas and find out its place in space.

Apart from Skarsgård who is leading the series as a self-hacking security android, the cast also includes, Noma Dumezweni as Mensah, David Dastmalchian as Gurathin, Sabrina Wu as Pin-Lee, Tattiawna Jones as Arada, Akshay Khanna as Ratthi, and Tamara Podemski as Bharadwaj.

Skarsgård will star and executive produce with the Weitz brothers. The project originates from Paramount Television Studios. The Weitz brothers will write, direct, and produce under the Depth of Field label. In addition, Andrew Miano serves as executive producer for Depth of Field. For Phantom Four, David S. Goyer and Keith Levine serve as executive producers. Wells will work as a consultant producer.

The project represents Apple TV+'s second collaboration with storyteller David S. Goyer, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer on the global hit Apple Original epic "Foundation," which completed its second season last year and currently filming its third season. Apple TV+ also features a growing collection of critically acclaimed, popular sci-fi titles such as "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," "Silo," "Dark Matter," "For All Mankind," "Invasion," among others.

The Murderbot Diaries is set in an advanced space-faring culture where travel between star systems is normal, employing "wormhole technology" that was initially unstable but has improved to the point that "lost" colonies are being discovered. People live on planets, some of which have been terraformed, or in space habitats that provide complete life support and artificial gravity. Most individuals who can afford it have equipment that allows them to access omnipresent data streams containing a variety of information, including entertainment. This technology can be worn or implanted into the body. Artificial intelligence, both sentient and semi-sentient, performs duties such as starship operations, mining, habitat control, security, and corporate warfare. The last two are conducted by "SecUnits" and "CombatUnits", both of which are part machine, part organic.

In the first novel of the series, All Systems Red, A research trip to an alien planet goes wrong when one of its members is assaulted by a massive local beast. She is rescued by the expedition's SecUnit, a cyborg security unit. The SecUnit has surreptitiously hacked the governor module, allowing it to be controlled by humans, and dubbed itself "Murderbot" since it is heavily armed and intended for warfare, but prefers to watch soap operas and dislikes dealing with people.