INTERVIEW: ‘Murderbot’ EP Andrew Miano Talks Bringing The Beloved Sci-Fi Series To Life

Apple TV+'s charming sci-fi adaptation Murderbot is now more than halfway through its first season, and it's already won over viewers with its blend of action, wit, and heart. At the center of the series is a socially awkward yet irresistibly endearing protagonist robot who is tasked with protecting a group of humans who specialize in making terrible decisions.

As the season finale approaches, I sat down with executive producer Andrew Miano to discuss how the show came to life, the casting journey, and what the future might hold for Murderbot.

Demet: What drew you to adapt Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries for the screen and how did you approach translating its unique tone and introspective narrative into a visual medium?

Andrew: It's a big question. First and foremost, my partner Paul Weitz read the book for pleasure, not with any eye towards adaptation, and came in with it and said, "this would make an amazing TV show." We all read it and really sparked to it and thought it was unique and special and funny, which is not something that you always get in a lot of sci-fi. [It is] also very meaningful and emotional. It was the whole package so it was very exciting and we went about it. We met Martha... One of the biggest things to focus on is how do you honor the book? How do you translate that to the screen? It's not easy, but I'm very fortunate to have Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz — two smart, talented partners — creating and running the show with their guidance and Martha's support and involvement to sort of capture and stay true to the books.

Demet: So what were the biggest challenges in adapting this book from page to screen?

Andrew: Well... The first book is a novella, so it's not super long. So how do you fit that? How do you draw 10 episodes out of that is one challenge. Have you seen all the episodes? Have you seen them all?

Demet: Yes, I did.

Andrew: OK, so as you know there's a lot of inner dialogue that Murderbot has, and to capture that was a real sort of discussion. Like how do you get that across? Voiceover is a crutch. It is something people always are wary of, but in this, it's not voiceover — it's commentary on everything that's going around it. I'd say that was one of the biggest challenges, and then just in general, it's such a big world... You have so many aspects from production design to visual effects, to putting together a great cast. I mean normal challenges that everybody has, but we started with the tone of it, the comedy, the emotion, the stakes, the drama, the seriousness... It's got all those things, so you want to make sure you hit that in the right way.

© Apple TV+

Demet: What was the casting process like and how did Skarsgård's interpretation shape the character's evolution?

Andrew: Casting process is the most fun. Being able to be part of that process and find the right people to bring voice to the characters is always one of the most exciting things. We sort of spanned the world for it. We found Akshay [Khanna] in England, we found Noma [Dumezweni] in the states, but is English and had lived in England for a long time. It was an awesome experience trying to figure out how to put the pieces together. I mean Alex is a very smart guy. I don't know if you interviewed him as well, but he's very thoughtful and that's what he brought to it. He brought like a real caring and thoughtfulness to it and wanting to always go back to the book, capture what the book had... He was amazing, super collaborative, and I think that he brought a real emotion to it.

Demet: Since Murderbot is genderless, were there any discussions about having a female actor? Or did you start just a male actor in mind?

Andrew: No, I think we were open to the best actor, the best opportunity, the best way to tell the story. It's interesting because I've talked to, or I've read a lot and we've talked to a lot of different people, imagining who it could be in their own mind as readers, so there isn't any one right way. What was important was to keep the character genderless in the show, referring to Murderbot as it, which when a male actor is playing, sometimes you run the risk... But it's something that everyone took very seriously and was supportive of, and it was never a big deal. It was a matter of fact: this is who the character is.

Demet: You have a very talented ensemble cast, including the cast of Sanctuary Moon. How did you foster the chemistry among all these actors?

Andrew: Sanctuary Moon was a lot of fun. We're friends with all those actors. We've worked with all of them, so we basically picked up the phone and called John [Cho], called Clark [Gregg], and Paul called DeWanda [Wise]. Then Alex is very close to Jack McBrayer so we had a conversation about where he could fit in as well. They knew what they were doing, but it was sort of a bit of a farcical soap opera, so to speak, but took it very seriously. We took them all to dinner their first night in town, and some of them had met each other, they had a great time so they had a lot of fun making that.

Demet: The series seems to be a success because people are loving it. I am loving it. Are there any plans to explore more of Murderbot in season two?

Andrew: Yeah, hopefully. It is somewhat out of out of my hands and and out of a lot of our hands, but it does seem like the response has been very favorable, right? And the reviews have been terrific. The buzz has sounded and seemed very positive. So look, at the end of the day it's up to Apple, but they seem very positive, very supportive. So yeah, we would like to go on. I mean there are a lot of novellas and books, and Martha continues to write, so we can go on as long as people want, but yes, hopefully we will be able to continue the series.

Demet: OK, one last question. What can you say about your other upcoming projects? You're gonna be working with Sabrina [Wu] again, for example.

Andrew: We'd love to work with Sabrina again. We had worked with them on a television show previously and are always talking about different things to do either as an actor or as a creator, and we'd worked with David [Dastmalchian] before as well, and I can't wait to come up with a reason to work with Noma and with everybody. The cast is is pretty great. Upcoming projects, nothing announced, but Paul has a movie that we're hopefully gonna be making sooner than later... We're working on a book called The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty, which is known. We've been working on it for a long time, but there's gonna be some news on that coming up. So those are hopefully the next things on the horizon and hopefully season two of Murderbot.

Demet: Yes, hopefully, because I would love to have another robot show. I lost Westworld, so I am looking forward to this one.

Andrew: We will do it for you! We're gonna do a second season for you!

Demet: I'd love that! Apple seems to be really good at providing sci-fi projects for the audience because they don't usually last, but Apple has this passion for sci-fi projects.

Andrew: For sure! I think they're known as the home of a lot of great and different kinds, hard sci-fi, funny sci-fi. For All Mankind is sort of a rethinking of history. We're excited to be unique in that space.

Demet: Thank you so much for taking your time to talk with me today and thank you so much for making Murderbot! It's amazing.

Andrew: Thank you very much! It was an incredible experience and great team certainly. Credits to the creators and the actors. The actors really make the magic, so glad that you're loving it.

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This interview has been edited for clarity.