Murderbot has entered the back half of Season 1 for viewers tuning in weekly with an Apple TV+ subscription, with leading man Alexander Skarsgård continuing to prove that sometimes not emoting at all can be much funnier in a quirky comedy than any slapstick antics. As SecUnit – or the self-titled Murderbot – Skarsgård has to keep an almost entirely straight face, with his character's snark (and obsession with the soap opera The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon) mostly coming across via narration. According to the actor, however, there was one particular scene that was a real challenge when it came to staying expressionless.
And considering the ordeal for the actor when it came to putting on his Murderbot costume, it says something that this interaction is what had him "struggling" while filming for the 2025 TV schedule! When I spoke with Skarsgård during Apple TV+'s press junket for Murderbot, I had to know: did he have an approach to keeping that incredibly straight face? He explained:
I was struggling. I can't lie, I was struggling because they are so funny, the other actors. Especially, I remember one scene with Anna Konkle, who plays Leebeebee. When she thinks that there's sexual chemistry between herself and Murderbot, and there's zero of that from Murderbot's point of view, but she reads the room completely wrong and thinks it's the right moment that she's leaning in for a kiss. And I'm supposed to be completely blank, just like standing there as she tries to lean in for what she thinks is a passionate moment.
The cast of Murderbot is comprised of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child's Noma Dumezweni as Mensah, David Dastmalchian fresh off of the cast of The Life of Chuck as Gurathin, Sabrina Wu as Pin-Lee, Akshay Khanna as Ratthi, Tamara Podemski as Bharadwaj, and Tattiawna Jones as fellow series regulars alongside Alexander Skarsgård, but he gave special shout out to Anna Konkle. While she didn't debut on the show as a recurring actor until Episode 5, she certainly made an impression!
The leading man went on to praise Konkle's comedic performance while also admitting that Leebeebee's attempt to kiss Murderbot had him cracking up time and time again. He said:
I was really struggling that day, because Anna is so incredibly funny, and she would do like little things differently in each take, and I was constantly corpsing. I couldn't keep a straight face. I felt really bad because she delivered such great, great comedic takes, and I was just laughing my ass off. I think we finally got it, but that was one of quite a few days where it was hard to be just an emotionless robot.
I think anybody who has been watching Murderbot can agree that the cast and production team did indeed finally get the shot, so at least Alexander Skarsgård's struggles were worth the effort! While my favorite comedic bit of Murderbot so far has to be the recurring joke of Murderbot's obsession with Sanctuary Moon (with cuts to the space soap opera featuring stars like Clark Gregg, John Cho, Jack McBrayer, and DeWanda Wise), I think Leebeebee attempting to kiss Murderbot will go down as one of the most memorable moments of the first season.
Of course, it remains to be seen if this is truly Murderbot's first of multiple seasons or the show will be finished after just the one. Apple TV+'s production is based on The Murderbot Diaries book series penned by Martha Wells, so there is likely plenty of source material to continue SecUnit's story. The streamer is also home to several excellent ongoing shows, ranging from complicated dramas like Severance to other comedies like Shrinking. Then again, as a fan of Brie Larson's Lessons in Chemistry, I can't deny that Apple TV+ has also been the home of some standout one-and-done series over the years.
For now, keep signing into Apple TV+ on Fridays for the latest episodes of Murderbot. It remains to be seen if any other characters will make an ill-advised move on Murderbot like Leebeebee, but I know I'm hooked on the comedy.
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