Slow Horses

Slow Horses is a British spy thriller television series based on the Slough House series of novels by Mick Herron, created by Will Smith. It follows an MI5 unit where disgraced or failed agents are consigned, under the supervision of Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). It also stars Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sophie Okenedo, Jonathan Pryce, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, and Christopher Chung.

The series premiered on Apple TV+ on 1 April 2022 to generally positive reviews. The first four series have been based on the novels Slow Horses, Dead Lions, Real Tigers, and Spook Street respectively. It has been renewed for fifth and sixth series based on the novels London Rules, Joe Country, and Slough House.

Slough House is an administrative purgatory for MI5 service rejects who have seriously failed a task but not badly enough to get sacked. Those consigned there are known as "slow horses", a play on the name of the place itself, Slough House, and an expression for people who are slow at thinking and action. Those assigned there are expected to endure dull, routine tasks, along with occasional verbal abuse from their miserable boss, Jackson Lamb, who anticipates that they will leave out of boredom or frustration. Life in Slough House is defined by drudgery. Yet the slow horses somehow get involved in investigating cases that endanger Britain.

Notable other characters appearing in more than one series include:

Notable other characters appearing in Series 1 include:

Notable other characters appearing in Series 2 include:

Notable other characters appearing in Series 3 include:

Notable other characters appearing in Series 4 include:

Slow Horses is based on the novel of the same name by Mick Herron, which is part of the author's Slough House series. It tells the story of a team of British intelligence agents who have all committed career-ending mistakes, and subsequently work in a dumping ground department of MI5 called Slough House.

The series was given a straight to series order by Apple TV+ in October 2019. Each of the first five series is based on an individual book in the Slough House set. In June 2022, ahead of the second series premiere, the show was renewed for a third and fourth series, which are based on the next novels Real Tigers and Spook Street. In January 2024, the programme was renewed for a fifth series, which will be based on the fifth book, London Rules. In October 2024, the show was renewed for a sixth series, which will be based on the sixth and seventh books, Joe Country and Slough House.

In October 2019, along with the series order, Gary Oldman was announced to star. The cast was rounded out in December 2020 with the additions of Olivia Cooke, Jonathan Pryce, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden.

Filming of the first series began on 30 November 2020 in England, and continued into February 2021. In July 2021, filming continued in Stroud, Gloucestershire. It was originally intended to film earlier in 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By March 2023, filming for the third series had been completed and filming for the fourth series was about to begin. The fourth series was directed by Adam Randall.

The title track "Strange Game" was performed by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who wrote the song for the show with the show's composer Daniel Pemberton.

The first series received highly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 95% approval rating with an average rating of 7.7/10, based on 60 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Slow Horses refreshes the espionage genre by letting its band of snoops be bumbling, with Gary Oldman giving a masterclass in frumpy authority." On Metacritic, the first series has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 22 critics.

Rotten Tomatoes reports a 100% approval rating for the second series, with an average rating of 8.5/10, based on 26 critics’ reviews. The website's critical consensus says, "Slow Horses says nay to the sophomore jinx with a second series that might be even better than its supremely addictive predecessor." On Metacritic, series two has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on 10 critics. Oldman was nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for his portrayal of Lamb.

The third series received a 98% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes, with an average of 8.5/10, based on 44 critics’ reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Slow Horses' shabby charms reach a full gallop in this superb third season, yielding what might just be Slough House's most compelling operation yet." On Metacritic, series three has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 21 critics. The third series received nine Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gary Oldman, Supporting Actor in a Drama series for Jack Lowden and Best Drama Series.

The fourth series received a 100% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes, with an average of 8.6/10, based on reviews from 40 critics. The website's critical consensus says, "The stakes get more personal than ever before in Slow Horses' superb fourth season, proving that this spy series is saddled up for the long haul with no signs of fatigue." On Metacritic, series four has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 19 critics. Oldman was nominated for his second Golden Globe, second BAFTA Award, and first Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance.