Apple TV+ have confirmed that their Gary Oldman-starring darkly comic spy thriller, Slow Horses will return for season 7.
It’s a bold move for the streamer considering that Slow Horses season 5 is yet to air, and the renewal will see the series continue until at least 2027. Although, considering the last outing of one of the best Apple TV+ shows became Rotten Tomatoes’ number one series of 2024, it’s hardly surprising. Add to that the fact that Slow Horses has picked up numerous Golden Globe, Emmy and BAFTA nominations across its run so far, and you can see why one of the best streaming services think this horse is still very much in the race.
As mentioned, the next adventure for the Slough House gang doesn’t arrive until later in the year, but to get a taste of what’s to come, you can check out the trailer below.
Based on the series of books by Mick Herron, Slow Horses follows the “losers, misfits and boozers” of Slough House, a dumping ground for MI5 operatives who’ve messed up, but not enough to be worth the red tape of sacking. Thrust into Slough House’s mildew ridden administrative hell, the expectation is that the misery, drudgery and abuse from irascible boss Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) will soon send the unlucky few on their way.
However, despite making thoughtless mistakes, suffering unsociable addictions and being victims of career sabotage, those that make up the residents of Slough House, or the 'slow horses’, are in fact very good at what they do, and seem to find themselves routinely, and quite accidentally, tasked with saving the country from various threats.
There’s definite Killing Eve vibes to the damp, unglamorous depiction of a British spy game still secretly fighting the Cold War, however once the plot of each season kicks into gear, the show feels closer to the relentless pace and shocking plotting of 24, just with a heavy dose of sardonic British humour.
The cast too, are excellent, with Oldman’s slobbish Lamb as unpleasant to watch as he is a joy to behold. Jack Lowden is the closest the show has to a hero, playing River Cartwright, a young agent with family ties to the old game, while Christopher Chung plays antisocial tech expert Roddy. Other notable ‘horses’ include reliable and level-headed Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar) and Aimee-Ffion Edwards as pocket rocket Shirley.
What should we expect from Slow Horses season 7?
We won’t go in to too much detail about what to expect from season 7 of the show –after all, there’s still two seasons to come before that – but the fact that it’s set to be based on the eighth book, Bad Actors is intriguing, as thus far, it’s been a one to one book to season match. We do however have this tease from Apple TV+: “Lamb and his Slow Horses are on the hunt to find and neutralize a mole at the heart of British Government before they can bring down the state.”
Season 6 of the show looks to continue the usual tradition, being based on the equivalent book, Joe Country, however, the novel Slough House and two novellas take place between that and Bad Actors, so it’ll be interesting to see what fits where when the episodes hit screens.
At time of writing, there’s only one Slough House novel after Bad Actors, however, with a handful of same universe novels and novellas telling stories in and around MI5 yet to have much of a presence in the show, it’s possible we’ve got plenty more adventures with the ‘slow horses’ yet to come.
But we know for sure that we’ve definitely got at least three more seasons, the first of which – season 5, based on the novel London Rules – premieres on Apple TV+ on September 24.
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