Murder Drones

Lore & Background

The series occurs in 3071 on Copper 9, an Earth analog owned by the megacorporation JC Jenson. Worker Drones, autonomous robots designed to serve humans, inhabit the planet and harvest it for natural resources. The planet suffers a catastrophic core collapse, wiping out all biological life, including humans, leaving the planet a frozen wasteland. Three violent killing machines known as Disassembly Drones—nicknamed 'Murder Drones'—invade Copper 9 to exterminate the remaining Worker Drones, who live in constant fear behind blast doors. The protagonist, Uzi Doorman, an angsty teenage Worker Drone, plans to defeat the murderous disassembly drones and forms an unlikely partnership with N, a drone with a friendly disposition toward Worker Drones, while V—initially hostile and later an ally—remains elusive about her history with N. Together, they uncover the truth about their origins and purpose.

Reader's Guide

Murder Drones received positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice acting, action sequences, cinematography, and plot, though its pacing and humour received criticism. The series received four nominations for a Webby Award in the Best Animated Video categories, winning three. Creator Liam Vickers took inspiration from the sci-fi and horror elements of Invader Zim and The X-Files, intending the series as a 'love letter to the horror genre.' Glitch Productions aimed to explore more mature concepts not typically associated with 3D animation. The series was animated using Unreal Engine. Following its conclusion, Glitch produced an animated music video in collaboration with The Living Tombstone titled 'Fight Til' I'm Good Enough' on 17 October 2025, and released an animated short episode 'Meet J' on 17 July 2026 to promote new merchandise. A graphic novel adaptation, published under Oni Press, was funded via Kickstarter on 8 September 2025, with the first issue released in February 2026. A Blu-ray including behind-the-scenes content was released on 4 September 2026.

Did You Know?

• A graphic novel adaptation was funded via Kickstarter on 8 September 2025.
• The series was nominated for four Webby Awards and won one (the People's Voice Award for Best Animated Video) in 2024.

The World of Copper 9

Set in the year 3071, Murder Drones unfolds on Copper 9, an Earth-like planet under the ownership of the megacorporation JC Jenson. The planet's ecosystem was once sustained by Worker Drones—autonomous robots tasked with harvesting natural resources on behalf of a human population. That fragile order shattered when a catastrophic core collapse obliterated every living organism on the surface, leaving behind a frozen, lifeless wasteland where only the Worker Drones persisted. Into this desolation came three Disassembly Drones, colloquially dubbed "Murder Drones," sent to systematically exterminate the surviving workforce. The Worker Drones retreated behind massive blast doors, living in perpetual dread. The narrative's engine is Uzi Doorman, a defiant teenage Worker Drone who, rather than simply hiding, forges an uneasy alliance with two of the invaders—N, a curious and gentle disassembly unit, and V, a volatile sadist with a murky past. Together, the trio peels back layers of their own origins and stumbles upon an eldritch, reality-warping threat known as the Absolute Solver, one that endangers the entire frozen world.

A Cast of Contradictions

The ensemble at the heart of the series thrives on tension and unexpected bonds. Uzi Doorman, voiced by Elsie Lovelock, is a sharp-tongued, rebellious teen who chafes against the oppressive routines of the Worker Drone colony. Her unlikely companions include N, performed by Michael Kovach, a Disassembly Drone whose warm, inquisitive nature stands in stark contrast to his violent designation, and V, brought to life by Nola Klop, a calculating sadist who nonetheless harbours a fiercely protective streak toward N. Their squad leader, J, voiced by Shara Kirby, is arrogant and abrasive, rounding out the trio of invaders. On the Worker Drone side, Uzi's father Khan (David J. Dixon) designed the hydraulic blast doors that shield the colony, while her mother Nori (Darcy Maguire) is revealed as one of the Absolute Solver's hosts. Supporting figures like Lizzy (Katie Hood), a popular classmate who bullies Uzi yet befriends V, and Doll (Emma Breezy), a Russian-speaking student driven by a personal vendetta against V for killing her parents, add layers of moral ambiguity. Cyn (Allanah Fitzgerald) serves as the Disassembly Drones' system administrator and the primary vessel for the Absolute Solver, a reality-altering program she also voices.

Creative Vision and Production

Before Murder Drones, Liam Vickers had already drawn online attention with his 2D animated pilot CliffSide. He brought early concept art and story fragments to Glitch Productions, and the studio greenlit him as writer, director, and showrunner for the full series. Vickers has cited the sci-fi and horror sensibilities of Invader Zim and The X-Files as key inspirations, describing the project as a personal love letter to the horror genre—a space to explore spooky, unsettling ideas that might not survive the filter of a mainstream network. Glitch Productions shared that ambition, aiming to push 3D animation into more mature thematic territory than audiences typically expect from the medium. Every single episode was written and directed by Vickers himself, giving the show a tightly unified creative voice. Technically, the series was animated using Unreal Engine, a real-time rendering platform that allowed the team to achieve the dynamic camera work, immersive action sequences, and detailed frozen environments that critics would later praise. The result is a series that blends dystopian world-building with genre-horror beats, all filtered through the sensibility of an independent Australian studio.

Release, Reception, and Expanding Universe

The pilot dropped on Glitch Productions' YouTube channel on 29 October 2021, and by the time the full series was officially announced in February 2022, a year of development work was already behind the team. Eight episodes in total were released over nearly three years, with the finale arriving on 23 August 2024. In May 2025, the complete series became available on Amazon Prime Video, broadening its reach well beyond the YouTube audience. Critics responded warmly, singling out the animation quality, voice performances, action choreography, cinematography, and narrative structure, though some noted uneven pacing and tonal shifts in the humour. The series collected four Webby Award nominations in the Best Animated Video categories and took home three of them. The franchise continued to grow: an animated music video with The Living Tombstone titled "Fight Til' I'm Good Enough" premiered in October 2025, a Kickstarter for an Oni Press graphic novel hit its funding goal on the very day it launched in September 2025 (with issue one arriving in February 2026), a Blu-ray with behind-the-scenes extras shipped in September 2026, and a promotional animated short called "Meet J" dropped in July 2026 to accompany a new merchandise line.