Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Murderbot season 1, episodes 1 & 2.Alexander Skarsgård's end of Murderbot episode 2, we saw a few glimpses of Sanctuary Moon, but not enough to fully explain the fictional series.

Luckily, the books Murderbot is based on have talked about Sanctuary Moon at length, and they have more insight into the show within the show. The Murderbot Diaries books all at least reference Sanctuary Moon in some way, and the series even plays a major role in some of the books' plots. Murderbot also adores the series, and it takes every chance it gets to watch and rewatch episodes. It's safe to say that The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon is important to Murderbot, but it's not as easy to say what the show actually is.

The Rise & Fall Of Sanctuary Moon Is A Soap Opera Sci-Fi Show In Murderbot's Universe

Sanctuary Moon Is Often Considered Trashy By Characters Other Than Murderbot

The easiest way to describe The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon is by comparing it to two real-life TV shows: How to Get Away with Murder and Star Trek. Martha Wells, the author of The Murderbot Diaries, told Newsweek that Sanctuary Moon has some very strong soap opera elements, like sexual drama and murder mysteries, akin to How to Get Away With Murder. It's also immediately reminiscent of Star Trek, with its space travel, sci-fi outfits, and more. Sanctuary Moon's catchphrase, "Boldness is all," even resembles the tagline of Star Trek: "To boldly go where no one has gone before."

The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon has always been something of a parody in the world of Murderbot as well. Many characters besides Murderbot believe it's somewhat trashy, low-quality entertainment, but Murderbot loves it dearly. The books also never get into the actual episodes of Sanctuary Moon, so the Murderbot show is the first time we've gotten more than references to absurd plot twists. It's hard to say exactly what Sanctuary Moon is actually about, though its hundreds of episodes have likely created enough soap opera drama to sustain it. Essentially, Sanctuary Moon is low-quality TV that Murderbot particularly enjoys.

Which Murderbot Actors Are Only In The Fictional The Rise & Fall Of Sanctuary Moon

John Cho, DeWanda Wise, Clark Gregg, & Jack McBrayer Are Only In Sanctuary Moon

As a fictional show, the cast of The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon is completely separate from the rest of the cast of Murderbot. All the actors involved in the Sanctuary Moon scenes play fictional famous actors playing characters, and they don't ever interact with Murderbot or PreservationAux. The stars of Sanctuary Moon include John Cho as the captain, Clark Gregg as a lieutenant, DeWanda Wise as NavigationUnit, Alex Cruz as Friess, Chantria Tram as a rescue worker, and Jack McBrayer, presumably as a first mate. Interestingly, John Cho already starred in the 2009 Star Trek movie, meaning he had prior experience for his Sanctuary Moon role.

Why Murderbot Is So Obsessed With The Rise & Fall Of Sanctuary Moon

Sanctuary Moon Is Murderbot's Comfort Show & It Likes It More Than Real People

The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon is clearly a parody, but despite its low quality, Murderbot adores it. The fictional show is referenced in every single book, and it appeared in both of the first two episodes of the Murderbot series. The simple reason Murderbot likes Sanctuary Moon so much is that it has watched hundreds of episodes of the series, and it finds it more comforting than interacting with real humans. Aside from the sex scenes, which Murderbot finds boring.

Murderbot is extremely anxious and awkward when it interacts with humans, but the characters in Sanctuary Moon never ask it questions or want it to speak. Sanctuary Moon also provides Murderbot with a "sanctuary" away from the boring security work it does and having to pay attention to the humans it dislikes. Plus, Murderbot has also mentioned that it has seen all several hundred episodes of Sanctuary Moon several times, so its predictability helps calm Murderbot down when it gets injured or anxious. It's a comfort show and a guilty pleasure for Murderbot, like rewatching your favorite sitcom after a bad day.

The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon is a comfort show and a guilty pleasure for Murderbot, like rewatching your favorite sitcom after a bad day.

Sanctuary Moon even helps Murderbot cope with humans in the real world on occassion, too. As Murderbot mentioned during Gurathin's (David Dastmalchian) interrogation, it used lines from Sanctuary Moon to comfort Arada (Tattiawna Jones) after the animal attack. Murderbot semi-frequently borrows dialogue and names from Sanctuary Moon in the books as well, usually when its anxiety prevents it from coming up with natural conversation. In short, The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon is an integral part of Murderbot.