Sir Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ premiering September 24, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Landing on Apple TV+ on September 24th with the first episode (five more follow at the rate of one per week) is the fifth season of ‘Slow Horses’, which draws from Mick Herron’s source novel ‘London Rules’.
(L to R): Kristin Scott Thomas and James Callis in ‘Slow Horses’, premiering September 24, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Proving itself to be something of a slow-burn sensation, ‘Slow Horses’ has been gaining in pop cultural awareness and adulation across the last couple of years, with awards coming its way and more promotion.
There are, naturally, more eyes on Season 5 than ever before (even if the running joke is that Apple has excellent shows precious few people watch or know about beyond the megahit ‘Severance’), and thankfully, it is more than deserving of the attention.
Script and Direction
Nick Mohammed in ‘Slow Horses’, premiering September 24, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Smith and his writers continue to mine Mick Herron’s book series for comic brilliance and suitably twisty spy tales. This season’s story, set as a mayoral election grips London and shocking violence roils the capital, is loaded down with trademark quips and naturally great roles for its main cast.
There is, in fact, even more focus on the denizens of Slough House than ever this year, and it really works.
Returning director Saul Metzstein, has a clear eye for how the show works visually, and if it’s lighter on action compared to other shows, that’s not the real focus here.
Cast and Performances
Christopher Chung in ‘Slow Horses’, premiering September 24, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Oldman continues to prove he’s the perfect Jackson Lamb (there is a joke about penguins and Batman that is so perfectly delivered, it might make you pause the show from laughing), and as usual he anchors the ensemble.
But everyone is on their A-game here, with a welcome boost of screen time for Christopher Chung as arrogant, nerdy tech expert Roddy Ho. While he’s the sort of character you usually prefer in small doses, Chung makes him likeable enough that it works to have him enjoy more of a spotlight.
Final Thoughts
(L to R): Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Saskia Reeves, Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Jack Lowden in ‘Slow Horses’, premiering September 24, 2025 on Apple TV+.
‘Slow Horses’ remains one of the best shows on TV –– streaming or otherwise –– and Season Five is just more proof of why. Perfectly pitched in terms of tone and character, it’s a sweary, funny treat.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 5 receives 87 out of 100.
(L to R): Kristin Scott Thomas and Sir Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses,’ premiering September 24, 2025 on Apple TV+.
What’s the plot of ‘Slow Horses’ Season 5?
In Season Five, everyone is suspicious when resident tech nerd Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) has a glamorous new girlfriend, but when a series of increasingly bizarre events occur across the city, it falls to the Slow Horses to work out how everything is connected.
After all, Lamb (Gary Oldman) knows that in the world of espionage, the London Rules – cover your back – always apply.
Sir Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’, premiering September 24, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Who stars in ‘Slow Horses’ Season 5?
Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
Jack Lowden as River Cartwright
Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner
Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho
Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish
Nick Mohammed as Zafar Jaffrey
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Matthew Macfadyen may be our next screen George Smiley.
A new TV series will adapt several John le Carré spy novels.
Le Carré’s sons are behind the latest effort.
Spies, it would seem, never quite leave our screens. And would we even know if they’d snuck away anyway?
But between the ongoing wrangling over the future of the James Bond franchise, similar seismic shifts in the Bourne empire, Apple TV+’s ‘Slow Horses’ continuing to impress on small screens and Steven Soderbergh bringing icily cool espionage to movie theaters with the recent ‘Black Bag,’ they are still at the forefront of pop culture.
And that’s without mentioning the raft of straight-to-home entertainment titles that sneak on to streaming and elsewhere apparently every other month.
Yet the name John le Carré, much like Bond creator Ian Fleming, carries more weight and –– usually at least –– a more recognizable stamp of potential quality.
Which goes some way to explain why his work keeps being adapted. Now, if a new project comes together as its backers hope, we could see the latest incarnation of le Carré’s most famous creation, George Smiley, show up.
Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans on HBO’s ‘Succession.’ Photograph by Macall B. Polay/HBO.
It’s the latest development for The Ink Factory, the company founded by le Carré’s sons Stephen and Simon Cornwell, which has previously produced multiple adaptations of the author’s work.
‘Legacy of Spies,’ however promises to be a little different…
What’s the story of ‘Legacy of Spies’?
(Right) Gary Oldman as George Smiley in ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’. Photo: StudioCanal.
The pitch comes with multiple scripts written by Ink Factory co-founder Stephen Cornwell and Clarissa Ingram.
‘Silo’ creator Graham Yost (who also helped launch ‘Slow Horses’) is executive producing the potential series, based on le Carré’s series of novels featuring the character Smiley, ‘The Spy Who Came in From the Cold,’ ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,’ ‘The Honorable Schoolboy’ and several others, as well as some unpublished materials.
Le Carré’s bestselling novels were inspired by the author’s own experience of working for British intelligence in the 1950s and 60s. Some other work by le Carré –– the pen name of David Cornwell, who died aged 89 in 2020 –– will also be used in the show.
We’ll have to see if it gets picked up, but Variety’s story mentions that it has already been pitched and has multiple offers on the table, so we’re thinking it’s more a case of when this one gets made.
Perhaps the most famous version was Gary Oldman’s in Tomas Alfredson’s 2011 movie adaptation of ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ which was nominated for three Oscars, including Oldman for Best Actor, its score, composed by Alberto Iglesias, and its adapted screenplay from Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor.
In the novels, le Carré describes the character as, “Short, fat, and of a quiet disposition, he appeared to spend a lot of money on really bad clothes, which hung about his squat frame like skin on a shrunken toad,” which means the lanky Macfadyen will be playing a slightly shifted version.
Smiley is also far from the author’s only creation. The Ink Factory’s series and film adaptations of le Carré novels besides ‘The Night Manager’ include U.K. television series ‘The Little Drummer Girl,’ directed by Park Chan-wook and the Anton Corbijn-directed ‘A Most Wanted Man’ starring Philip Seymour Hoffmann, in partnership with Amusement Park.
The company is also developing a new TV series based on le Carré’s ‘The Spy Who Came in From the Cold,’ and contemporary series adaptations of ‘The Constant Gardener’ (in English) and ‘A Most Wanted Man’ (in German).
Where else have we seen Matthew Macfadyen?
Matthew Macfadyen Talks ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’.
Macfadyen is probably best known at the moment for the aforementioned role on HBO hit ‘Succession’ as Tom Wambsgans, the ambitious, blustering husband to Sarah Snook’s Shiv Roy, who has his eye on more power in her father’s legacy media company.
He won two Emmys and two BAFTA awards for his scene-stealing performance on Jesse Armstrong’s show, which was on screens between 2018 and 2023.
And let’s not forget that the actor has fictional intelligence agency bona fides already: he played MI-5 agent Tom Quinn across several episodes of UK spy series ‘Spooks’ (retitled in the States as ‘MI-5’), so he knows his way around a dead drop.
When will the new George Smiley series be on our screens?
That’s the big question –– right now, without a confirmed buyer for the project, there are zero details on a release.
But with multiple offers coming in, we can expect to hear news before too long; perhaps we could see another collaboration between AMC and a UK channel, as with ‘The Night Manager’ series? Or even Prime Video, which has nabbed the rights to two further seasons of the Hiddleston-fronted show.
Gary Oldman as George Smiley in ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’. Photo: StudioCanal.
Bill Pullman in ‘Independence Day’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Monday, February 17th is President’s Day in the United States. Coinciding in the same month as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays, the holiday is now used to celebrate all U.S. Presidents, past and present.
Over the years, there have been many great movies to feature U.S. Presidents, both real and fictional. From Bill Pullman‘s President Thomas J. Whitmore fighting aliens in ‘Independence Day,’ to Daniel Day Lewis‘ Oscar winning performance as “Honest Abe” in ‘Lincoln,’ now is a perfect time to look back at the greatest movies about American Presidents of all-time.
(L to R) Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx in ‘White House Dead’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl (Joey King) with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation’s government falling into chaos and time running out, it’s up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.
The story of the love affair between FDR (Bill Murray) and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley (Laura Linney), centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King (Samuel West) and Queen (Olivia Colman) of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.
President Lincoln’s (Benjamin Walker) mother is killed by a supernatural creature, which fuels his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers.
A look at President Richard M. Nixon (Anthony Hopkins), a man carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders while battling the self-destructive demands from within—spanning his troubled boyhood in California to the shocking Watergate scandal that would end his Presidency.
(L to R) Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon in ‘Elvis & Nixon’. Photo: Amazon Studios / Bleecker Street.
In 1970, a few days before Christmas, Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) showed up on the White House lawn seeking to be deputized into the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs by the President (Kevin Spacey) himself.
A look at the life of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) who served eight presidents as the White Houses head butler from 1952 to 1986 and had a unique front-row seat as political and racial history was made.
The story of the eventful life of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin), his struggles and triumphs how he found both his wife and his faith and the critical days leading up to his decision to invade Iraq.
After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Sam (Anthony Mackie) finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
For three years after being forced from office, Nixon (Frank Langella) remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting David Frost (Michael Sheen) as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost’s team harboured doubts about their boss’s ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.
John Travolta in ‘Primary Colors’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton’s 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton (Adrian Lester) is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta). Burton is pulled into the politician’s colorful world and looks on as Stanton — who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall — contends with his ambitious wife, Susan (Emma Thompson), and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton).
Two high school girls (Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams) wander off during a class trip to the White House and meet President Richard Nixon (Dan Hedaya). They become the official dog walkers for Nixon’s dog Checkers, and become his secret advisors during the Watergate scandal.
Told through the voice of Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight), a former KGB agent whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan’s when Reagan (Dennis Quaid) first caught the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood, this film offers a perspective as unique as it is captivating.
George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) picks Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), the CEO of Halliburton Co., to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election. No stranger to politics, Cheney’s impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and Defense Secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.
When the White House Secret Service Code “Olympus” is captured by a terrorist mastermind (Rick Yune) and the President (Aaron Eckhart) is kidnapped, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) finds himself trapped within the building. As the national security team scrambles to respond they are forced to rely on Banning’s inside knowledge to help retake the White House save the President and avert an even bigger disaster.
Jeff Bridges in ‘The Contender’. Photo: DreamWorks Pictures.
The vice president is dead and as the president (Jeff Bridges) makes his choice for a replacement as a secret contest of wills is being waged by a formidable rival. When Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen) is nominated as the first woman in history to hold the office hidden agendas explode into a battle for power.
The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.
On July 2, a giant alien mothership enters orbit around Earth and deploys several dozen saucer-shaped ‘destroyer’ spacecraft that quickly lay waste to major cities around the planet. On July 3, the United States conducts a coordinated counterattack that fails. On July 4, a plan is devised to gain access to the interior of the alien mothership in space, in order to plant a nuclear missile.
A young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan), eager to make his name as a hungry scion of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protégé—someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.
A sweet-natured Temp Agency operator and amateur Presidential lookalike (Kevin Kline) is recruited by the Secret Service to become a temporary stand-in for the President of the United States.
Harrison Ford in ‘Air Force One’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One the worlds most secure and extraordinary aircraft the President (Harrison Ford) is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country’s dignity but the lives of his wife (Wendy Crewson) and daughter (Liesel Matthews).
Widowed U.S. president Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), one of the world’s most powerful men, can have anything he wants — and what he covets most is Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), a Washington lobbyist. But Shepherd’s attempts at courting her spark wild rumors and decimate his approval ratings.
During the 1972 elections, two reporters’ (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman) investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘Lincoln.’ Photo: Walt Disney Studios.
The revealing story of the 16th US Presidents tumultuous final months in office In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) pursues a course of action designed to end the war unite the country and abolish slavery With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Returning for its fourth season with one episode on September 4th, ‘Slow Horses’ continues to prove itself as one of the best series on offer via the Apple TV+ service.
In fact, Apple has clearly been so happy with the viewership of the show, and so willing to future-proof the availability of its cast, that it has been shooting two seasons at once. A fifth is already in the works, and the start of the fourth indicates that it has lost none of the unpredictable, grungy and satisfyingly British style that fans have come to enjoy.
Does ‘Slow Horses’ Season 4 succeed in its mission?
Jack Lowden in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
While there’s little doubt that the key to ‘Slow Horses’ appeal is Gary Oldman having the time of his life as the grubby, greasy, but incredibly sharp agent Jackson Lamb (the actor has scored a welcome first Emmy nomination for the role following Season 3), the show still doesn’t lazily rely on the performance and the character, evolving each season to embrace new personalities and expanded storylines, while maintaining what works.
For Season 4, that more-of-the-same-with-a-twist approach shows no sign of faltering, and indeed, the initial episodes –– we’ll only really discuss the first here as that’s the one landing on premiere day –– are suitably excellent.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 4: Script and Direction
(L to R) Ruth Bradley and Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Led by Will Smith (a writer and former stand-up with experience on Armando Iannucci’s shows, not the movie star), the series’ writing team is always on point, using Mick Herron’s novels as a starting point for the basic structure of each season and then expanding from there, but always in organic fashion.
It may not always be as action-packed as other shows (though it certainly has its moments –– witness the traumatic bomb attack that opens this season), when you have dialogue that crackles like this, you don’t need every space to be filled with someone waving a gun. And in the mouths of Oldman and the rest of the game cast, it’s always guaranteed to make you laugh or gasp… sometimes at the same time.
On the visual side of things, the show benefits from having both a more limited number of episodes per season (usually six) and one director through the whole batch, meaning that the show –– also thanks to a hefty budget from Apple –– ends up looking like a movie cut into TV-sized chunks. The environs of Slough House, the low-rent office where Lamb and co. are based, are wonderfully scruffy and evocative, in stark contrast to the polished glass and cold concrete of MI5’s main Regent’s Park HQ.
And the show uses London’s variety of landscapes and neighborhoods, plus other areas in the UK, to great effect. In Season’s 4 case, the man in charge of the show’s look is Adam Randall, who fits in well with the overall style.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 4: Performances
Oldman might rightfully score the lion’s share of the plaudits, but there is a wider ensemble all putting in great performances.
Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Oldman has repeatedly said that he’s having the time of his life playing the grumpy, cynical and endlessly mucky head of Slough House, and that energy seeps out of every pore. The vanity-free performance (Lamb is frequently seen with lanky hair, grease stains and mismatched clothing), is a truly memorable one, the slovenly appearance the perfect camouflage for a truly inspired spy mind.
Jack Lowden in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
While he was the audience surrogate character at the start, the young agent banished to Slough House after a training mission goes wrong, River has grown into a great sidekick for Lamb, and an impressive character in his own right. And Lowden brings a superb blend of world-weariness and enthusiasm to the role.
Jonathan Pryce in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Though the elder Cartwright has mostly been a supporting character in earlier seasons, it’s easy to see why Smith chose an experienced thespian like Pryce to play him; because he knew that David would become much more important down the line. And Pryce brings a potent combo of wise elder former agent and humbled aging grandfather to the part, which expands here.
Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Few people can do withering putdowns like Thomas, and in Taverner, she’s found the ideal outlet. A canny, ice-cold professional, she’s forever frustrated by the hapless government types she’s forced to deal with. And her endlessly watchable interactions with Oldman are often a highlight of each season.
Other notable characters
(L to R) Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Christopher Chung, Tom Brooke, Kadiff Kirwan and Rosalind Eleazar in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
The rest of the Slough House ensemble all get their moments in the sun, and this fourth season includes a healthy influx of new characters (since in this show, a long life expectancy is never guaranteed). Highlights of the new episodes include Joanna Scanlan (like showrunner Smith, a veteran of Armando Iannucci’s shows) as the eager-to-please Moira and Tom Brooke as JK, a mysterious and honestly weird fresh addition to the office. And not forgetting James Callis as Claude Whelan, the nervous, officious new First Desk of MI5 and a great foil for Taverner.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 4: Final Thoughts
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
‘Slow Horses’ creative team have said they’ll happily keep making the show as long as Apple wants them to (and Mick Herron keeps writing books to adapt, with the author up to eight and counting), and that’s welcome news.
If only more series were as consistently entertaining, and this still full of steam when their fourth seasons rolled around, the TV landscape would be in much better shape.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 4 receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Slow Horses’ Season 4?
Adapted from Mick Herron’s ‘Slow Horses’ novel ‘Spook Street’, Season 4 opens as a bomb has exploded in a shopping center in London and MI5 is racing to figure out who is responsible. Second Desk (the second-in-command of the intelligence service) Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) must balance the demands of the investigation with effectively babysitting the nervy new First Desk (James Callis).
As for those at Slough House, River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) is faced with his grandfather David’s (Jonathan Pryce) increasingly fragile mental condition, compounded by a new mystery that could threaten both their lives. Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), meanwhile, is his same old, irascible self, happy to endlessly mock his team of exiled agents, but also fiercely loyal when it comes to protecting them.
And he’ll need to, as a face from the past has returned to cause trouble…
Who else is in the cast of ‘Slow Horses’ Season 4?
John Boyega in ‘Breaking.’ Courtesy of Bleecker Street.
Preview:
‘Star Wars’ actor John Boyega is starring in a ‘Book of Eli’ prequel series.
It’ll be set 30 years before the Denzel Washington movie.
The film’s creative team is involved.
It would seem that there are few movies left that haven’t been explored in some prequel fashion, often in another medium. Just this week, for example, we’ll see the ‘Sexy Beast’ TV series that chronicles the earlier days of the characters in Jonathan Glazer’s 2000 crime thriller.
So it’s not surprising that memorable Denzel Washington post apocalyptic dramatic thriller ‘The Book of Eli’ would get the same treatment. And now we know that John Boyega, no stranger to genre after ‘Attack the Block’ and the ‘Star Wars’ sequel trilogy, will star as a younger version of the title character played by Washington.
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What was the story of ‘The Book of Eli’?
Denzel Washington in ‘The Book of Eli.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
The neo-Western movie takes place thirty years after a nuclear catastrophe caused an ecocide. It revolves around Eli (Washington), a nomad who fights his way across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book that holds the secrets to humanity’s salvation.
What’s the angle of ‘The Book of Eli’s TV prequel?
Denzel Washington in ‘The Book of Eli.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
Plot details are scarce at this early stage, but Deadline has heard it’ll be set 30 years before the movie’s storyline, so roughly around the time of the atomic attack that leads to its wasteland locales.
Who is making the new show?
John Boyega in ‘Breaking.’ Courtesy of Bleecker Street.
In addition to Boyega, who will produce as well as star, the series has the movie’s writer, Gary Whitta, aboard as creator, writer and executive producer, and would effectively be one of the people running the show.
Albert and Allen Hughes, who directed the movie, are aboard as executive producers.
Alcon Entertainment, the company which produced the movie, is backing the new show. But while Warner Bros. was the distributor, and you might think Warner Bros. Discovery might snap this up for HBO or its allied Max streaming service, it’s actually being shopped around to different buyers.
So while Max could still nab it, it may end up at Apple, Netflix or somewhere else entirely. Alcon, for example, has another TV project based on one of its movies, with a ‘Blade Runner’ series on the way from Prime Video, so that could be a destination (though the company may not want another apocalyptic series on its books with ‘Fallout’ already set for this year).
(L to R) Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis in ‘The Book of Eli.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 2, premiering December 2, 2022 on Apple TV+.
Preview:
Apple TV+ has renewed ‘Slow Horses’ for a fifth season.
The show, starring Gary Oldman, adapts Mick Herron’s novels.
This new season will see bizarre events happening around London.
They might not be considered the best of the best when it comes to MI5’s roster, but the denizens of Slough House are certainly proving successful for Apple TV+, proving to be one of the breakout hits for the tech giant’s streaming service.
Which is to say that across three seasons (so far), ‘Slow Horses’ the Gary Oldman-starring series have scored plenty of critical praise and won lots of fans.
It’s hardly surprising then, that after rolling out renewals for the third and fourth seasons as a block (the third just launched its finale on December 27th), Apple TV+ has handed down a fifth season order almost as quickly.
What is ‘Slow Horses’?
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
‘Slow Horses’ is adapted from Mick Herron’s eponymous novel series, which is also known as ‘Slough House’, named for the low-rent MI5 office our heroes work from.
Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but misanthropic leader of the spies, who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes as they frequently find themselves blundering around the smoke and mirrors of the espionage world.
Yet for all their issues, the team frequently proves to be much more effective than any of their colleagues suspect, with Lamb a crafty genius who uses his off-putting, cantankerous exterior to thwart expectations. There are times when the Horses are the last line of defence between the UK and some serious threats.
Christopher Chung stars in the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
Season 5 adapts Herron’s fifth book, ‘London Rules’, and the story finds the team suspicious when resident tech nerd Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) has a glamorous new girlfriend, but when a series of increasingly bizarre events occur across the city, it falls to the Slow Horses to work out how everything is connected.
After all, Jackson Lamb knows that in the world of espionage, “London Rules” should always apply.
Who else is in ‘Slow Horses’?
Jack Lowden returns for the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
No information is available about any cast additions for Season 5.
When will ‘Slow Horses’ Season 5 be on our screens?
Given that Season 4 has yet to launch (it has no official premiere date yet, but showrunner Will Smith has promised it’ll be sometime in 2024), there is zero information on the fifth as of yet. Add to that the fact that it still has to film, and we’ll be waiting for a while.
Academy Award winner Gary Oldman returns for the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
(L to R) Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden star in Apple TV+’s ‘Slow Horses’ season 3.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden about their work on the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ having the opportunity to explore their characters over three seasons, and drawing inspiration from the novels the series is based on.
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, Gary, can you talk about the advantages of creating a character for a series verses a movie, and now that you are in your third season, do you feel like you really know who Jackson Lamb truly is?
Gary Oldman: I think we know who they are, and I think the writers now know who we are. With a feature film, you’ve got an hour and a half, two hours, to tell a story. I think the thing I’ve always actually liked about long form is that you get to really focus on character. We are on the journey with a particular character as it goes along and unfolds. So, I find it very satisfying and very liberating that we can work on a character and tell a story over basically, over six hours, rather than a tight timeframe or two.
Jack Lowden in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
MF: Jack, similar question for you. Now after three seasons of ‘Slow Horses’ do you feel like you really know who River Cartwright is or is there still more to explore in future seasons?
Jack Lowden: I’m still figuring him out for sure. I really do feel that I’m experiencing it along with River because you really don’t know what’s around the corner. He really doesn’t know, and I don’t know what’s around the corner until the scripts land in our inbox and I’ve purposely not read the books past the point that we’re at. But by the end of this whole journey with ‘Slow Horses,’ that could have been a massive mistake. I don’t know. But I’m quite enjoying not knowing and just finding out as I go along. But his character development is quite interesting in going from somebody who thinks quite highly of himself to where I think it’s beginning to unravel ever so slightly, which is probably what someone needs when they’re so insanely arrogant is that he needs to be brought down and I think he’s sort of realizing that. So, it’s a real joy to play him because I don’t really know where he’s going to go.
Academy Award winner Gary Oldman returns for the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
MF: Finally, Gary, when first started playing Jackson Lamb, did you draw inspiration from Mick Herron’s novels, or people that you’ve known in your own life, or did you just create the character based on how he was written in the scripts?
GO: As an actor, I think I like to refer to it as the script is like your map of the world, and if the material is good, then all one must do is just follow all the signposts. I think that often if you’ve got poor material, then you’re just working too hard. If you break a sweat, you’re working too hard. With Mick, he’s created this world and these characters so magnificently. I have just followed Mick’s directions. The character is in the material and in the books. The character is there for you. I have brought, like you do with anything, you bring your own inherent humanity to a part, but it’s out of the imagination of Mick. I just really had to follow the map.
Jack Lowden returns for the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
What’s the Plot of ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3?
In Season 3 of ‘Slow Horses’, a romantic liaison in Istanbul threatens to expose a buried MI5 secret in London.
When Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and his team of misfits are dragged into the fight, they find themselves caught in a conspiracy that threatens the future not just of Slough House –– but of MI5 itself.
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Launching on Apple TV+ on November 29th (with two episodes), ‘Slow Horses’ makes a triumphant return to screens with another winning blend of character work, memorable dialogue and compelling action.
While Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb continues to be the standout, but there isn’t a weak link in this cast, and some new recruits (including one who is only in the first episode) only add to that feeling.
Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Apple TV+ is clearly happy with the success of this adaptation of Mick Herron’s popular spy thriller novels, as the streaming service commissions seasons in batches of two –– which is why we got a taster of the second as the credits rolled on the first.
That will continue with Season 4, which has already been shot, and on the evidence of the quality of Season 3, that’s a very good thing.
Even in this era of peak television and shorter streaming seasons, there are shows that have run out of steam only a couple of seasons in. Fortunately, ‘Slow Horses’ is most definitely not one of them. Showrunner Will Smith (not that one) and his team have kept the entertainment value consistent through all the seasons so far, and the third is no exception.
If you’ve never seen the show, this is a very different world to the usual heroics of, says James Bond or Jason Bourne. It’s much more street level, scruffier and set in the world of MI5’s rejects, who have somehow fouled up on duty and are shunted off to a satellite office of the security service.
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Slough House (from where the team gets its nickname) is the butt-end of the intelligence world, a place careers go to die when they can’t hack it at the sparkling glass and solid concrete world of the service HQ in Regent’s Park.
And yet… As led by the drunken, flatulent Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), they somehow always manage to make it work. When big crises threaten the UK, the team is often drafted in, usually without really wanting to take part.
Oldman is very clearly having the time of his life playing Lamb, all stained shirts and stringy hair whose outward appearance and brusque manner (a choice line of his from this season is, “you’re about as welcome as a turd in a hot tub”) hides a keen intelligence and a strong feeling of loyalty to those who earn it. While he insults his team constantly, he’d lay down his life to help any one of them in truly dire straits.
(L to R) Saskia Reeves and Jack Lowden in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
He’s primarily supported by Saskia Reeves’ Catherine Standish, an alcoholic but longstanding officer who runs Slough House and gives Lamb the counterbalance he needs.
Elsewhere, River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), who started to show as the audience’s point of view when he’s banished to Lamb’s team after a bad call on a training exercise, has really become part of the gang –– realizing that he might have actually found the perfect place to work. Even if he complains about it from time to time.
The rest of the team are all interesting characters, including the arrogant (without much cause besides his hacking skills) tech bro agent Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung), the world-weary Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar), who is still recovering from the death of her partner/lover in Season 2 and newer recruits Shirley Dander (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) and Marcus Longridge (Kadiff Kirwan) get some much-needed depth, even if it does mean they’re both thrust into danger.
This is a perfectly gathered ensemble that play well off of each other, and the supporting cast is just as good –– Kristin Scott Thomas brings icy cool to the role of Diana Taverner, essentially second-in-command at the Regent’s Park HQ and endlessly bristling at being passed up for the top job.
That position went to Sophie Okonedo’s Ingrid Tearney, and she takes plenty of pleasure in reminding Diana of the place. Okonedo is so good as the bookish bureaucrat whose owlish nature sheathes a spine of steel.
When it’s time for the action to kick in, ‘Slow Horses’ doesn’t stint –– we won’t go into spoilers for this season’s big confrontation, but if you’ve seen the previous seasons, you’ll know it truly leans into the idea of conflict with stakes.
What doesn’t work in ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3?
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
There is very little that’s wrong with the new season of ‘Slow Horses’ –– while some could quibble that each new storyline brings some variation of espionage genre tropes: a threat to the nation; a conspiracy to keep secrets long buried; one of the team being kidnapped for leverage.
Each time, however, the writers undercut them with the humor and style of the show.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 3: Final Thoughts
Jack Lowden in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
In a world where spies are usually slick operators who save the day with complicated gadgets or by seducing the right woman, it’s reassuring to know that ‘Slow Horses’ offers the alternative, a downplayed, grungy but very, very human look at intelligence work. Long may these horses ride (even if it is slowly).
‘Slow Horses’ Season 3 receives 9 out of 10 stars.
Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘Slow Horses’ season 3 premiering November 29, 2023 on Apple TV+.
What’s the story of ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3?
In Season 3 of ‘Slow Horses’, a romantic liaison in Istanbul threatens to expose a buried MI5 secret in London.
When Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and his team of misfits are dragged into the fight, they find themselves caught in a conspiracy that threatens the future not just of Slough House –– but of MI5 itself.
Who else is in ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3?
The cast includes Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Freddie Fox, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Kadiff Kirwan, Jonathan Pryce and Sophie Okonedo.
(L to R) Cillian Murphy (as J. Robert Oppenheimer) and writer, director, and producer Christopher Nolan on the set of ‘Oppenheimer.’
Christopher Nolan’s historical biopic was not only a box-office powerhouse but also delivered compelling performances and stunning visuals.
The film chronics J. Robert Oppenheimer‘s career from the beginning of his studies to his role in the Manhattan Project to the 1954 security hearing. The film used color to differentiate between Oppenheimer’s point of view and Lewis Strauss’ point of view – with color representing Oppenheimer and black and white for Strauss. The difference in color also depicts their personality, where Oppenheimer sees the world in bright colors, while Strauss sees it in black and white.
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The official synopsis for ‘Oppenheimer’ is below:
“During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.”
Who Is In The Cast of ‘Oppenheimer’?
Robert Downey Jr is Lewis Strauss in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
The film did not use any CGI or VFX to recreate the Trinity Test blast. As we saw with Nolan’s 2020 film ‘Tenet’, the director has always had a knack for creating realistic and explosive moments on film with practical effects. To recreate the atomic bomb detonation, Nolan worked with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema to capture the explosion on film.
Working closely with special effects supervisor Scott Fisher and visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, they first ran tests by dropping silver particles in an aquarium.
“We built aquariums with powers in it. We dropped silver particles in it. We had molded metallic balloons which were lit up from the inside. We had things slamming and smashing into one another, such as ping-pong balls, or just had objects spinning,” said Van Hoytema.
The explosion was captured in in close-up at variable frame rates, combined with Van Joytema’s IMAX cinematography which filled the screen with an image that is both beautiful and deadly. When this moment is played in the theaters, the film goes silent as the detonation flashes before the deafening blast shakes and resonates in everyone’s core.
(L to R) Tom Conti is Albert Einstein and Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
‘Oppenheimer’ held its world premiere on July 11, 2023, at Le Grand Rex in Paris. The film was released domestically on July 21 in formats such as IMAX 70mm, stand 70mm, and 35mm. The film was released simultaneously as Warner Bros.’s ‘Barbie’, creating the internet phenomenon known as “Barbieheimer.”
‘Oppenheimer’ earned over $82.4 million on its opening weekend and has since grossed over $322.4 million domestically and $933.8 million worldwide, making it the 2nd highest-grossing R-rated movie. ‘Oppenheimer’ has a total runtime of 3 hours.
Watch the official trailers for ‘Oppenheimer’ below:
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While some theaters are still playing the movie, options are limited as the film has passed its 45-day theatrical window. Currently, there is no word on when the historical biopic will be released on digital or streaming. ‘Barbie’, which was released at the same time as ‘Oppenheimer’, is already available on digital. However, it is possible the film remains in theater longer as Nolan requested a longer theatrical window.
If the film were to follow the release schedule of Universal’s ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’, arriving on its streaming service Peacock 120 days after its theatrical release. That could mean ‘Oppenheimer’ would be available on streaming by mid-November.
(L to R) Emily Blunt is Kitty Oppenheimer and Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Academy Award winner Gary Oldman returns for the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
Apple TV+ has certainly reaped rewards with spy series ‘Slow Horses’, which won Best English-Language Drama Series at the 2022 C21 International Drama Awards and has been drawing a big following.
In fact, so successful was the show out of the gate that Apple kept to its policy of crafting two seasons at a time, which meant that a teaser for the second run was attached to the end of the first, and new episodes appeared mere months after that.
We’ve had to wait a little longer for the third season, but now we know the show will be back in November and the first images are online, showing star Gary Oldman and the rest of the gang.
What’s the story of ‘Slow Horses’?
Jack Lowden returns for the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
‘Slow Horses’ is adapted from Mick Herron’s eponymous novel series, which is also known as ‘Slough House’, named for the low-rent MI5 office our heroes work from.
Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but misanthropic leader of the spies, who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes as they frequently find themselves blundering around the smoke and mirrors of the espionage world.
In season three, a romantic liaison in Istanbul threatens to expose a buried MI5 secret in London. When Lamb and his team of misfits are dragged into the fight, they find themselves caught in a conspiracy that threatens the future not just of Slough House… But of MI5 itself.
Who stars in ‘Slow Horses’?
(L to R) Saskia Reeves and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù star in the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù joins the season three cast as Sean Donovan, the former head of security at the British embassy in Istanbul, along with Katherine Waterston who plays Alison Dunn, an MI5 agent who uncovers a dark secret at the heart of the agency.
(L to R) Jack Lowden and Rosalind Eleazar star in the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
In keeping with the filming plan, a fourth season, adapting Herron’s book ‘Spook Street’, was shooting in London this past April, which hopefully means it’ll be arriving next year.
Gary Oldman talks ‘Slow Horses’?
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 2, premiering December 2, 2022 on Apple TV+.
Here’s what Oldman told The Wrap about his role as Lamb:
“It is oddly very liberating to play a character who is openly hostile and publicly humiliates people. But at the core, he has a very strong moral sense. I think that’s why, ultimately, you can like Lamb even though he’s not P.C.”
When will ‘Slow Horses’ return for Season 3?
Christopher Chung stars in the third season of ‘Slow Horses,’ coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, December 1, 2023.
With the first two seasons already streaming on Apple TV+, the third will launch globally on Wednesday, November 29th with two episodes, while one new episode will land weekly on Wednesdays through December 27th.
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 2, premiering December 2, 2022 on Apple TV+.
