Murderbot‘s first season came to an end in 2025, with plenty more story left to tell about the title robot’s (Alexander Skarsgård) journey of self-discovery in a second season.
The Apple TV dramedy’s next run is starting to take shape, so what’s next for the series? Here’s a look at everything we know about Murderbot Season 2 so far.
Has Murderbot been renewed for Season 2?
Yes, it was, on Thursday, July 10, one day before the finale began streaming. The streamer had good reason to give its newest original another go: strong critical praise. Yes, the series has garnered near-universal praise from television reviewers who relished the humor and heart of the space-centric series.
“We’re so grateful for the response that Murderbot has received, and delighted that we’re getting to go back to Martha Wells’s world to work with Alexander, Apple, CBS Studios and the rest of the team,” said creators and executive producers Chris and Paul Weitz, in a statement.
“Chris, Paul, Alexander and the entire Murderbot team have delivered a brilliantly original, addictive, witty and vibrant adaptation that has captured the imagination of audiences everywhere,” added Matt Cherniss, head of programming, Apple TV. “We can’t wait to unveil what’s next for Murderbot and, of course, ‘Sanctuary Moon’ in season two.”
Who will star in Murderbot Season 2?
The second sesaon of the series is shaping up to be a star-studded affair. Alexander Skarsgård will return to his role as the newly self-governing machine, and several Season 1 stars will return alongside him: Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones, Tamara Podemski, Clark Gregg, John Cho, DeWanda Wise, and Jack McBrayer. They’ll be joined by a gaggle of other stars, including Blair Underwood, Brendan Hunt, Bridget Everett, Britne Oldford, Damian Young, Divian Ladwa, Ella Jay Basco, Etienne Beydon, Griffin Newman, Jaedynn Latter, Jason George, Kali Reis, Katy O’Brian, Maddy Strauss, Marc Menchaca, Martha Plimpton, Meredith Salenger, Michael Sheen, Nia Otchere-Sarfo, Nicholas Braun, Patton Oswalt, Steve Buscemi, Topher Grace, Tramell Tillman, and Wanda Sykes.
The second novella in The Murderbot Diaries book series by Martha Wells introduces a new set of characters for the robot to interact with, leaving the members of the Preservation Alliance behind. However, the series might not directly follow that structure.
“We would talk with Martha Wells, we might end up shuffling the deck a little bit, using some stuff from, say, the third or fourth book with stuff from the second book, but we don’t know yet,” co-creator Paul Weitz told NPN in May of, at that point, a potential Season 2.
Apple TV
“I think the second book for people who are familiar with the series doesn’t really have the same team members, and I think it would be sad if we didn’t have some element of that. It’s not likely to be a book for book. It was just a really good thing to have the first book. The ending of the first book meant a lot to us, so that felt like the ending of our first series if we get a second series,” Chris Weitz added.
What will Murderbot Season 2 be about?
Season 1 was based on the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series, All Systems Red, ending exactly as the first book did. The second book in the series then sees Murderbot head off to RaviHyral mining facility, the place where it first hacked its governing module, where it also has memories of a massacre.
The description for the novella, Artificial Condition, reads, “It has a dark past — one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself ‘Murderbot.’ But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the ‘A’ stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue. What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…”
The third book, Rogue Protocol, draws it into the action as the case against GrayCris Corporation begins to founder, and book four, Exit Strategy, brings it back into Mensah’s orbit.
Murderbot, Season 2, TBA, Apple TV