The long wait for a new James Bond continues, but who needs 007 when Gary Oldman’s veteran spy Jackson Lamb is here to save the U.K. from yet another threat in Apple TV’s Slow Horses?
OK, maybe Lamb doesn’t have the same sharp sartorial flair, personal hygiene, or devilish charm as Ian Fleming’s dashing hero. Still, what he lacks in the grooming department he more than makes up for in sardonic retorts, espionage skills, and weaponized farts.
Not only is Lamb consistent in delivering results—despite a ragtag team and a lack of resources—but, unlike other Apple TV hits that make you wait at least three years for new episodes (hello, Severance and Ted Lasso), Slow Horses, which premieres its sixth season on Wednesday, Sept. 16, is the most consistently excellent show in the game.
Despite its seemingly unheard-of annual release schedule and unparalleled quality, Slow Horses hasn’t quite hit the obsessive heights of Severance, Ted Lasso, and now Widow’s Bay for Apple TV.
That is not to say that Slow Horses is a niche title flying well beneath the radar. It has chalked up 28 Emmy nominations over the last three years, including two wins (for directing and writing), and is in the running for more at the 2026 ceremony.
The sixth season had a flashy premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, and star Jack Lowden is on the shortlist to play the next James Bond. Even with those accolades and glittering attention, the spy venture has never been part of the rare monoculture fervor of the aforementioned Apple shows, or something like The Pitt, another streaming hit that does not make audiences wait too long for more.
Based on Mick Herron’s best-selling novel series, Slow Horses blends high-stakes thrills with a workplace comedy tone. Much like Succession, it is correctly categorized as a drama but never fails to make you laugh. Part of that is Oldman’s note-perfect delivery, highlighting Lamb’s blistering contempt for his team of MI5 rejects, assigned to the rundown Slough House in central London because they screwed up on the job—they are called “Slow Horses” as a derogatory nickname.
And the show’s dialogue isn’t the only source of humor; action scenes also shift between tense interactions and funny reactions to the farcical nature that bubbles up amid a national crisis.
Throughout its run, Lowden’s perpetually frustrated River Cartwright constantly finds himself oscillating between failure and saving the day. While it would be easy to see the Scottish actor as James Bond—he certainly has the physicality to play the iconic role—it is in River’s perpetual frustration that Lowden excels.
Whether in his ongoing battle to receive some sort of praise from Lamb (hell will freeze over first), lack of patience with most of his co-workers, or myriad calamities (like last season’s falling paint pot), River is a tightly wound coil who cannot quite believe his bad luck. This continues in the forthcoming sixth season, which sees River juggling family strife, a target on his back, and the return of a special someone.
River is a legacy—or nepo—intelligence agent whose grandfather, David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce), served in the upper echelons of MI5 before retiring. In recent seasons, David’s cognitive decline has weighed on River as he navigates his grandfather’s brief lucidity and sharp clandestine skills with the grief of losing the man who raised him. Pryce has received two Emmy nominations for this role, expertly depicting flashes of espionage prowess and his current condition. Layers of history give Slow Horses a deep well to pull from, including contentious past interactions between Lamb and the senior Cartwright.
It might sound like a daunting amount of TV to catch up on, but Slow Horses makes for a quick watch thanks to the six-episode seasons and episodes that clock in around the 45-minute mark. Unlike other streaming shows, there is zero drag and the pacing is as reliable as Lamb’s flatulence. What might be the biggest miracle is that fart jokes continue to evolve, and at no point has there been diminishing returns—expect another doozy this season.
Plenty of formidable foes have come against the Slow Horses, including employees from MI5 headquarters known as “The Park.” One of Lamb’s recurring sparring partners is the now-promoted Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), whose patience toward anyone working at Slough House is thin at the best of times, and these are always the most trying of times.
Diana should be in a better mood as she has been gunning for the First Desk (Director General of MI5) job since the series began, doing everything in her power to make it happen. Be careful what you wish for, as Diana is about to find out that being at the top means far more scrutiny.
Despite delivering year after year, Thomas has so far been overlooked by the Television Academy for her terrific turn as the exasperated MI5 bureaucrat. But with a new array of obstacles to surmount, the always impeccably dressed Lady Di (as Lamb calls her) once again gives Thomas plenty to sink her teeth into as new and old foes come into focus. Likewise, Saskia Reeves, as Lamb’s emotional punching bag, Catherine Standish, is long overdue for recognition for her deft portrayal of a woman who keeps doing her job in the most unpleasant and often dangerous circumstances.
Take Season 6: for reasons that aren’t immediately clear, two assassins have been sent to kill everyone who has worked out of Slough House, past and present. It isn’t the first time this group has faced deadly opponents, having faced off against right-wing terrorists, Russians, and their own people (to name a few). In addition to that threat, River’s estranged father, Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving), is an American mercenary and former CIA agent who returns to make trouble for his son and the Slow Horses team.
But Frank is not the only returning face, as Olivia Cooke’s Sid Baker makes her first appearance since she was shot in the head—and presumably killed—in the first season. Cooke switches House of the Dragon’s ongoing civil war for a more grounded conflict, which also leaves room for picking up flirty banter opposite Lowden’s River.
Slow Horses doesn’t leave much time for romance, but the team still builds bonds amid the latest crisis. The topsy-turvy dynamics and the trauma they have shared in the past are part of the charm, as the dysfunctional unit welcomes back the likes of Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar) to ensure that no more former employees die.
Everyone in this group has lost someone close to them, and this job is not for the faint of heart, no matter how blasé characters like IT whiz Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) are. Slow Horses is not afraid to kill off its cast, and as the body count grows, so does the anger of those like Shirley (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) left behind. Knowing this team isn’t bulletproof adds to the already high stakes and unpredictable twists and turns.
So while you cannot guarantee who will live to see another day, each finale gives viewers a teaser of what to expect next season, since the follow-up has already been filmed. There hasn’t been an official renewal announcement at the time of writing, but production is rumored to be underway for Season 8. Now that is what I call dedication to the job.
Not that this is a case of quantity over quality, as the sixth season is one of the best yet. The scrappy team keeps delivering when they are forced into a corner. They aren’t the most elegant of spies, but they will fight to the bitter end. Considering how little fanfare Lamb, River, and the rest of the team receive, it feels fitting if Slow Horses doesn’t hit the feverish heights of other Apple TV shows. After all, Jackson Lamb isn’t trying to step into James Bond’s perfectly polished shoes.
We wouldn’t want our chain-smoking, filthy raincoat-wearing spy any other way.
