Few shows on Apple TV have captured the attention quite like Slow Horses. The adaptation of Mick Herron’s novels has earned rave reviews and awards recognition for writer Will Smith and the cast. Marquee names from Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas to Hugo Weaving, Jonathan Pryce and Katherine Waterston have come along for the ride. Will Smith bowed out with season five, making this the first season without the showrunner. Previous series have remained fairly faithful to the novels and that continues with a season based on books six and seven, Joe Country and Slough House.
The Slough House team have seemingly been cut from MI5’s database, no longer on the payroll or system. Is it a glitch in the mainframe or something more sinister? Of course, this being the world of Mick Herron there is hijinks afoot. This comes as former members of Slough House meet a series of sticky ends – are these accidents or is a bad actor out for revenge?
The first episode largely sees the Slow Horses trying to piece together what’s happened to their pay and why they’ve been airbrushed from existence. Lamb also plays detective trying to piece together what’s happened to his ex Joes, as always one step ahead of the supposedly smarter members of MI5, the ‘dogs’ from Regent’s Park.
More storylines overlap than in previous seasons, with Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) being pushed towards the media in her new role as First Desk following the ousting of Claude Whelan. River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) is still determined to leave Slough House and prove he has what it takes to make it back to The Park, while his grandfather’s health continues to decline.
There are more than a few changes to the source material, which is only natural given the transition from page to screen. With two books being trimmed, the plots have been adjusted almost entirely and now sit alongside disparate storylines. Often it works but there is a sense that the pace is even quicker, making it hard at times to keep up with the amount being thrown at you as you watch.
The thrills come thick and fast, for the most part landing with aplomb as all corners of Slough House are forced to fight their way out of a series of jams, left largely on their own, cut off from The Park.
Even though things move at a pace, many of the qualities that have made Slow Horses such a smash remain in place. Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb is a character for the ages, while Jack Lowden, tipped by some to be the next James Bond, is given plenty to do here. It once again finds the sweet spot between heavy drama, plot momentum and cutting, irreverent humour. The stakes are more personal given the threat facing all the horses, while there are still plenty of moments of utter delight. New additions bolster the already terrific ensemble, including Andor’s Kyle Soller as an assassin and Lenny Rush, who plays Reece Nesmith,
Although there have been more changes to Herron’s original work than previous in seasons, the DNA of both the Slough House novels and the show remains largely intact. The shift away from Will Smith’s era as showrunner has certainly not made the wheels fall off. With seventh and eighth season already in development, the Slow Horses will be on screens for a good while yet.
Slow Horses Season Six airs weekly on Wednesday’s on Apple TV from 16 September. See our full guide to the Slough House novels here.
