# Slow Horses (2022)

> Disgraced MI5 agents exiled to a shabby Slough House office are led by the abrasive Jackson Lamb as they stumble into dangerous national security threats.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/80605

## Facts

- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 36
- Episode runtime: 52 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: crime, drama, thriller
- Network: Apple TV
- Cast: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hugo Weaving, Jonathan Pryce, Saskia Reeves, Christopher Chung, Rosalind Eleazar
- TMDB rating: 8.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5875444/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: sardonic, gritty, tense, darkly comic, paranoid

## What critics say

Viewers broadly acclaim the series as a sharp, grubby spy thriller carried by Gary Oldman's performance and its witty writing.

## Synopsis

Slow Horses (2022-present) is a British spy thriller series created for Apple TV, adapted from Mick Herron's novels. Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the profane, obnoxious boss of a band of failed MI5 agents exiled to the shabby Slough House office. Jack Lowden plays River Cartwright, a promising officer whose disgrace keeps him from the field he wants, while Kristin Scott Thomas plays the ruthless intelligence chief Diana Taverner. The engine of the series is the misfits' constant struggle to prove themselves while sidelined in bureaucratic drudgery, only to be pulled into dangerous plots against England that threaten the national security they were cast out of. Each season unfolds across a tight run of six episodes that builds a larger conspiracy, with the team's pettiness and rivalries sharpening the suspense. The show is set in present-day London and the surrounding English power corridors, rendered in a grubby, rain-soaked palette that rejects spy-movie glamour. Its tone blends sardonic wit and bleak humour with tense, paranoid thriller beats. Fans of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Spooks and Bodyguard will find resonance in its British intrigue, morally compromised characters and sharp dialogue. It is a gritty, character-driven serial with a strong ensemble and an acclaimed, steadily consistent run.

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