TBK1 is a serine/threonine kinase involved in various signaling pathways, particularly those regulating immune responses, which pinpoints it as an important player in innate immunity, particularly in the regulation of type I interferon responses. Understanding its key molecular fragments and their interactions with receptors can help in the development of inhibitors or modulators for therapeutic purposes. In the last two decades, there has been a steady increase in interest in TBK1 from the scientific community, especially evident after 2019. Despite this continued and sustained interest and TBK1's obvious involvement in a wide variety of diseases, targeting TBK1 effectively has been challenging. Notwithstanding the challenges, the pursuit of a TBK1 selective inhibitor is of interest to the scientific community and pharmaceutical entities.