Murderbot Is Ready for Its Close-Up (But Not Eye Contact)

Murderbot is a killing machine in the far future that would rather spend its time binging an intergalactic soap opera -- and shooting bad guys with lasers is much less stressful than making eye contact or small talk with humans. Murderbot is also the main character of Martha Wells’ best-selling series of books, The Murderbot Diaries. The books have been adapted into a new show on Apple TV+ starring Alexander Skarsgård. I talk with Martha Wells, and the showrunners Chris and Paul Weitz, about the challenges of adapting the books to television, from casting choices to finding the right balance of comedy, action, and sci-fi.

This week’s episode is sponsored by ShipStation. Go to shipstation.com and use the code IMAGINARY to sign up for a free trial.

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