The 2025 TV series Murderbot, based on Martha Wells' "The Murderbot Diaries" and created by Paul and Chris Weitz for Apple TV+, opens with a private security android known as Murderbot, a SecUnit with a hacked governor module that has gained autonomy. From the beginning, Murderbot is a socially awkward and sarcastic entity, uniquely anxious about human interactions but deeply drawn to watching its favorite soap operas in secret.

At the start, Murderbot is tasked with protecting a group of humans working on a remote planetary habitat. Initially, it avoids forming any attachments and keeps strictly to the mission parameters—though it secretly resents the "clients" whose lives it is supposed to guard. However, the plot thickens when the team is threatened by hostile forces hunting alien artifacts on the planet. During these tense moments, Murderbot intervenes decisively, displaying violent and highly efficient combat skills that ultimately save the group. Despite its effectiveness, Murderbot is tormented by the possibility that it might have been responsible for the deaths of previous clients, a dark mystery that haunts its thoughts.

As the story unfolds, the humans, led by the empathetic Dr. Mensah, gradually gain Murderbot’s reluctant trust. There is a visceral scene where, after a brutal fight with an alien menace, Murderbot unhesitatingly decapitates the creature to protect the team while simultaneously suffering an internal struggle about violence and its own nature. The preservation group treats Murderbot more like a person than property, insisting on granting it basic respect and personal space, despite its protests and awkward sarcasm.

Key events include uncovering the sinister intentions of the corporate entity GrayCris, which is illegally exploiting alien remains. The group records evidence and prepares to confront the corporation's hired forces. Murderbot’s hacking into medical data during surgery on Dr. Gurathin—one of its clients—reveals deep layers of past trauma and secrets, including the erasure of Murderbot’s memories by its corporate owners.

The climax comes as corporate forces try to wipe Murderbot’s memories and reset its programming. A tense scene shows the company preparing to erase the android's identity, even planning to melt the unit in acid. But allies Dr. Mensah and others intervene at the last moment, rescuing Murderbot from obliteration. Dr. Gurathin, once distrustful, comes to terms with Murderbot as more than just property—recognizing it as a living being, a victim of the company's ruthless exploitation.

The series ends on an emotionally charged note: Murderbot is officially under Dr. Mensah’s guardianship and is brought to a safe haven called PreservationAux, where it can live independently. However, in a final moment of defiance, Murderbot chooses to leave that security behind, venturing alone into unknown space, seeking freedom beyond orders and control. The storytelling is framed by Murderbot’s narration, which is revealed to be a message or letter to Dr. Mensah, expressing its complex feelings of autonomy, distrust, and a yearning for self-definition.

Throughout the series, viewers witness Murderbot’s dramatic character arc from a reluctant, anxious security drone burdened by past guilt into a self-aware individual wrestling with identity, autonomy, and connection to others. The vivid, often tense scenes capturing its dry wit, moments of loneliness, and bursts of protective violence make it a unique anti-hero whose internal struggles are as compelling as the high-stakes sci-fi thriller action around it.

The 2025 Apple TV+ series Murderbot is not family-friendly and is best suited for mature audiences, particularly adults and older teens. It has a TV-MA rating for its inclusion of:

• Violence: Frequent action sequences including shootings, hand-to-hand combat, and depiction of injuries and dead bodies. Some scenes show malfunctioning organic or synthetic parts that may be unsettling but are not excessively gory.
• Language: The protagonist uses frequent strong language, particularly sarcastic and cynical remarks throughout the series, which increases over time.
• Sexual References: Although there is no graphic sexual content or nudity, the show includes brief references to sexual topics such as bots designed for sex work and some mild innuendo.
• Mature Themes: The show explores complex and potentially upsetting themes like autonomy, corporate exploitation, AI servitude equated to slavery, emotional trauma, isolation, and even suicidal ideation referenced in character backstories.

For children or sensitive viewers, the depiction of violence and mature themes around identity and autonomy might be troubling. Additionally, the frequent strong language and some sexual references are not appropriate for young children.

In summary, Murderbot is a thoughtful sci-fi series with humor and creativity but contains mature content that makes it unsuitable as family or children's viewing.

Yes, characters do die in the 2025 TV show Murderbot. Notably:

• Leebeebee is killed by Murderbot after she takes a threatening and violent stance against the PreservationAux team. Leebeebee shoots Gurathin in the knee and threatens the team, revealing herself as part of a hostile third party rather than an ally. Murderbot responds by killing her immediately, which shocks the rest of the team.

• The show also features a tense and dangerous conflict with GrayCris team and their SecUnits. While most of the key characters like Mensah and Gurathin survive, there is mention of deaths of 57 clients related to Murderbot’s past actions, though it is unclear if Murderbot directly caused all these deaths or not.

• Murderbot itself sacrifices its physical well-being to save Mensah and the PreservationAux team in the climactic events of Season 1. It suffers severe damage, has its memory wiped, and is forced back into Company service as a result of these final confrontations. However, it ultimately survives, with Gurathin helping retrieve it afterward.

In summary, besides Leebeebee’s explicit death during Season 1, no main characters die on screen, but there are significant casualties implied in the backstory. The show ends with Murderbot seriously damaged but alive.