Slow Horses

For the novel, see Slow Horses (novel).

Slow Horses
Genre	Drama Black comedy Spy thriller
Created by	Will Smith
Based on	Slough House by Mick Herron
Written by	Will Smith Morwenna Banks Mark Denton Jonny Stockwood Sean Gray
Directed by	James Hawes Jeremy Lovering Saul Metzstein Adam Randall
Starring	Gary Oldman Jack Lowden Kristin Scott Thomas Sophie Okonedo Jonathan Pryce Hugo Weaving Saskia Reeves Rosalind Eleazar Christopher Chung Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Theme music composer	Mick Jagger Daniel Pemberton
Composers	Daniel Pemberton Toydrum
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	5
No. of episodes	27
Production
Executive producers	Iain Canning Hakan Kousetta Jamie Laurenson Gail Mutrux Emile Sherman Will Smith Douglas Urbanski Graham Yost
Producer	Jane Robertson
Cinematography	Danny Cohen
Editors	Katie Weiland Luke Dunkley
Running time	40–53 minutes
Production companies	See-Saw Films Flying Studio Pictures Sony Pictures Television Studios (series 1)
Original release
Network	Apple TV+
Release	1 April 2022 (2022-04-01) – present

Slow Horses is a British spy thriller television series based on the Slough House series of novels by Mick Herron, created by Will Smith. It follows an MI5 unit where disgraced or failed agents are consigned, under the supervision of Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). It also stars Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sophie Okonedo, Jonathan Pryce, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung and Aimee-Ffion Edwards.

The series premiered on Apple TV+ on 1 April 2022 to highly positive reviews. The first four series have adapted the novels Slow Horses, Dead Lions, Real Tigers, Spook Street, respectively. The fifth series, based on the novel London Rules, premiered on 24 September 2025. ^[1] Slow Horses has been renewed for a sixth and seventh series, based on the novels Joe Country and Slough House (series 6) ^[2] and Bad Actors (series 7). ^[3]

Premise

Slough House is a banishment room for MI5 service rejects who have seriously failed a task but not badly enough to get sacked. Those consigned there are known as "slow horses", a play on the name of the place itself, Slough House, and an expression for people who are slow at thinking and action. Those assigned there are expected to endure dull, routine tasks, along with occasional verbal abuse from their miserable boss, Jackson Lamb, who anticipates that they will leave out of boredom or frustration. ^[4] Life in Slough House is defined by drudgery. Yet the Slow Horses somehow get involved in investigating cases that endanger Britain.

Cast and characters

Main

• Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the head of Slough House who is unkempt, flatulent, rude and has a sour wit; all disguising a tactical sharpness and firm loyalty to his agents (or "Joes").
• Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, an up-and-coming MI5 agent abruptly shunted to Slough House after a very public training-exercise blunder.
• Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner, the power-hungry Deputy Director General of MI5 and head of operations, designated "Second Desk".
• Sophie Okonedo as Ingrid Tearney (series 3; special guest series 1), the Director General of MI5, often referred to as "First Desk".
• Jonathan Pryce as David Cartwright (series 4; special guest series 1–3), River's grandfather, a retired senior MI5 officer who was once First Desk. He is often known/referred to as "The OB" or "The Old Bastard".
• Hugo Weaving as Frank Harkness (series 4), a former CIA operative turned ruthless mercenary. He is later revealed to be River's biological father.
• Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish (series 5–present; co-starring series 1–4), office administrator, recovering alcoholic, still enamoured with her long-deceased superior.
• Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy (series 5–present; co-starring series 1–4), assigned to Slough House after a tail operation went badly wrong.
• Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho (series 5–present; co-starring series 1–4), an arrogant and obnoxious computer nerd and former hacktivist on whose brilliant tech skills the Slow Horses are forced to rely.
• Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander (series 5–present; co-starring series 2–4), ^[5] who has anger and drug issues.

Special guests

• Katherine Waterston as Alison Dunn (series 3), an MI5 agent who uncovers a dark secret at the heart of the agency.
• Sope Dirisu as Sean Donovan (series 3), a former head of security at the British embassy in Istanbul.

Slough House

• Dustin Demri-Burns as Min Harper (series 1–2), assigned after absent-mindedly leaving a top-secret disk on the train.
• Olivia Cooke as Sidonie "Sid" Baker (series 1), a competent, likeable MI5 agent inexplicably assigned to Slough House.
• Steven Waddington as Jed Moody (series 1), an ex-member of the "Dogs", an MI5 internal affairs and tactical unit. His reason for being exiled is connected with "Bad" Sam Chapman's, allowing hundreds of thousands of MI5 money falling into the wrong hands.
• Paul Higgins as Struan Loy (series 1), assigned after sending an inappropriate work email.
• Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus Longridge (series 2–4), ^[5] who tends to gamble on the job.
• Joanna Scanlan as Moira Tregorian (series 4), one of the Queens of the Database, banished to Slough House by Claude Whelan. She becomes Catherine's temporary replacement.
• Tom Brooke as J.K. Coe (series 4–present), the newest 'Slow Horse' and former operative from Psych Eval. He is reclusive and suffers from PTSD.

Others

Notable other characters appearing in more than one series include:

• Chris Reilly as Nick Duffy (series 1–3), head of MI5's internal affairs and ruthless tactical unit nicknamed the "Dogs".
• Chris Coghill as Hobbs (series 1 & 3), a member of the Dogs.
• Samuel West as Peter Judd MP (series 1–3, 5), a right-wing Conservative politician with sharp elbows who is later promoted to Home Secretary.
• Freddie Fox as James "Spider" Webb (series 1–3), a smug MI5 agent based at Regent's Park headquarters.
• Naomi Wirthner as Molly Doran (series 2–present), a curmudgeonly MI5 records keeper at Regent's Park.
• Sean Gilder as "Bad" Sam Chapman (series 2–4), former Head Dog and David Cartwright's bodyguard turned private detective, whom Lamb continues to consult.
• Ruth Bradley as Emma Flyte (series 4–present), the straight-minded new head of the Dogs.
• James Callis as Claude Whelan (series 4–present), the bumbling, over-promoted new Director General of MI5 or 'First Desk'.

Notable other characters appearing in Series 1 include:

• Antonio Aakeel as Hassan Ahmed, Leeds University student kidnapped by the Sons of Albion.
• Paul Hilton as Robert Hobden, a disgraced and struggling journalist with ties to extremist far-right groups.
• Sam Hazeldine as Moe, the leader of the Sons of Albion, an extremist far-right group, with a secret to hide.
• Brian Vernel as Curly, a fanatical member of the Sons of Albion.
• Stephen Walters as Zeppo, a member of the Sons of Albion.
• David Walmsley as Larry, a member of the Sons of Albion.
• James Faulkner as Charles Partner (in flashbacks), a former Director General of MI5 during the Cold War, whom Standish worked for as his personal assistant.

Notable other characters appearing in Series 2 include:

• Rade Šerbedžija as Nikolai Katinsky, a former KGB agent living in exile in London after defecting at the end of the Cold War.
• Marek Vašut as Andre Chernitsky, a former KGB operative and assassin who operated during the Cold War.
• Alec Utgoff as Arkady Pashkin, a fixer for oligarch Ilya Nevsky.
• Catherine McCormack as Alex Tropper, a local resident in the small village of Upshott, the wife of Duncan and mother of Kelly.
• Adrian Rawlins as Duncan Tropper, a pub owner in Upshott, the husband of Alex and father of Kelly.
• Tamsin Topolski as Kelly Tropper, a pub barmaid in Upshott and the daughter of Alex and Duncan.
• Phil Davis as Richard Bough, aka Dickie Bow, a former MI5 officer, who was disgraced and is long since retired.

Notable other characters appearing in Series 3 include:

• Siôn Daniel Young as Douglas, an eccentric MI5 records keeper.
• Charlie Rowe as Ben, a member of Donovan's team.
• Eliot Salt as Sarah, a member of Donovan's team.
• Gavin Spokes as Sly Monteith, head of the private security firm Chieftain.
• Nick Blood as Sturges, a Chieftain operative.

Notable other characters appearing in Series 4 include:

• Kiran Sonia Sawar as Giti Rahman, an MI5 agent at Regent's Park
• Tom Wozniczka as Patrice, a mercenary working under Harkness
• Anna Wilson-Jones (voice) as Isobel Cartwright, River's mother and David's daughter.

Notable other characters appearing in Series 5 include:

• Nick Mohammed as Zafar Jaffrey, the Mayor of London who is seeking reelection ^[6]
• Hiba Bennani as Tara, Roddy's girlfriend ^[7]
• Christopher Villiers as Dennis Gimball, a firebrand right-wing MP running for Mayor
• Victoria Hamilton as Dodie Gimball, Dennis's wife and campaign manager who writes for a tabloid newspaper
• Cherrelle Skeete as Devon Welles, Flyte's deputy and fellow former Met officer turned Dog
• Monty Ben as Farouk, the leader of a Libyan terrorist cell staging attacks across London as part of a destabilisation campaign
• Fady Elsayed as Kamal, a member of Farouk's group
• Ahmed Elmusrati as Sami, a member of Farouk's group

Episodes

Series overview

Series	Episodes		Originally released		Adapted novel(s)	Director
			First released	Last released
1	6		1 April 2022 (2022-04-01)	29 April 2022 (2022-04-29)	Slow Horses	James Hawes
2	6		2 December 2022 (2022-12-02)	30 December 2022 (2022-12-30)	Dead Lions	Jeremy Lovering
3	6		29 November 2023 (2023-11-29)	27 December 2023 (2023-12-27)	Real Tigers	Saul Metzstein
4	6		4 September 2024 (2024-09-04)	9 October 2024 (2024-10-09)	Spook Street	Adam Randall
5	6		24 September 2025 (2025-09-24)	29 October 2025 (2025-10-29)	London Rules	Saul Metzstein

Series 1 (2022)

Slow Horses is based on the novel of the same name by Mick Herron, which is part of the author's Slough House series. It tells the story of a team of British intelligence agents who have all committed career-ending mistakes, and subsequently work in a dumping ground department of MI5 called Slough House.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Failure's Contagious"	James Hawes	Will Smith	1 April 2022 (2022-04-01)
After being scapegoated for a colleague's mistake during a training exercise at Stansted Airport, MI5 agent River Cartwright is demoted to Slough House, a unit for disgraced operatives run by the abrasive Jackson Lamb. Lamb assigns River to surveil journalist Robert Hobden, who is linked to far-right politicians Peter Judd and Roger Simmonds. River learns that colleague Sidonie "Sid" Baker is secretly copying Hobden's USB flash drive, which he is then tasked with delivering to MI5 headquarters at Regent's Park. Hobden calls fellow journalists claiming knowledge of an imminent attack. River's grandfather David reveals that Hobden was blacklisted after appearing on a leaked donor list for the far-right British Patriotic Party and blamed MI5 for his downfall, warning River that Slough House's involvement suggests risk and the need for deniability. Lamb's assistant Catherine Standish attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. The far-right Sons of Albion kidnap British-Pakistani student Hassan Ahmed, threatening to behead him on a livestream at sunrise. River defies orders to pursue the case further.
2	2	"Work Drinks"	James Hawes	Will Smith	1 April 2022 (2022-04-01)
Hassan's kidnappers — Moe, Larry, Curly, and Zeppo — hold him hostage in a London terrace basement, with Roger Simmonds revealed as the Sons of Albion's overseer. River, having copied Hobden's USB before delivering it to Regent's Park, realizes it contains nothing and tricks rival James "Spider" Webb into confirming this. Standish suffers flashbacks to the death of her and Lamb's former colleague, Charles Partner. Slough House tech expert Roddy Ho fails to hack Hobden's laptop as it is air gapped, raising further suspicion. MI5 Deputy-Director General Diana Taverner recruits Slough House member Jed Moody for "off book" work. Slough House agents Min Harper and Louisa Guy commiserate in a pub about their failed careers. River and Sid tail Hobden, but Sid admits she was planted on Lamb's team to watch River. They witness a masked intruder enter Hobden's home and chase him, finding Hobden destroying his hard drive with thermite. As River and Sid fight the intruder, Hobden escapes and the attacker flees after shooting Sid in the head.
3	3	"Bad Tradecraft"	James Hawes	Will Smith	8 April 2022 (2022-04-08)
Sid, critically injured, is taken to the hospital by MI5 security while River is detained; Lamb frees him, deducing Jed Moody was the gunman sent after Hobden. Moody later attacks Min and Louisa at Slough House but dies in a fall during the struggle. Lamb suspects Regent's Park will blame and disown Slough House if its operation fails. Taverner reveals to Lamb that Hassan is the nephew of the deputy head of Pakistani Military Intelligence, and that his abduction is an unsanctioned false-flag operation she engineered to boost cooperation with Pakistan and weaken the British far-right. She says that she put an agent undercover with the Sons of Albion to arrange both the kidnapping and a planned rescue. She notes that Hobden was nearby when she conceived the scheme and may have overheard or recorded her, which is why she tasked Slough House with investigating him. Standish's past ties to Charles Partner are revealed to have nearly led to a treason charge. Hobden attempts to persuade Peter Judd to expose the fake plot to kidnap Hassan, but is rebuffed. Curly makes secret calls on a burner phone. Hassan unsuccessfully attempts to escape. Taverner allows Lamb's team to signal to her mole that a raid will commence on the apartment where Hassan is being held, but when River, Min, and Louisa storm the site, they find it empty except for Moe's decapitated body.
4	4	"Visiting Hours"	James Hawes	Morwenna Banks	15 April 2022 (2022-04-15)
It is revealed that Moe (real name Alan Black) was Taverner's mole, but was exposed and killed by Curly, who flees with Zeppo, Larry, and Hassan. On the road, Zeppo and Larry admit they never intended to kill Hassan and consider releasing him, alarmed by Curly's instability. Lamb and his team escape the property before MI5's security personnel, aka "the Dogs", arrive, knowing Slough House will be blamed. River rescues Roddy from being taken into custody, while Min and Louisa fail to prevent their colleague Struan Loy's detainment. Taverner repeatedly calls Standish, claiming Lamb was tied to Charles Partner's death, but Standish stays loyal until Lamb extracts her. They are seized by Webb and the Dogs' leader Nick Duffy, but Standish frees them en route to Regent's Park by pulling out Moody's Glock 17, which Lamb had hidden in her bag. The Director-General of MI5, Ingrid Tearney, cancels a State Department meeting in the US and returns to London, pressuring Taverner to cover her tracks. To deflect blame, Taverner coerces Struan into falsely testifying that Lamb orchestrated the failed false-flag plot with Black.
5	5	"Fiasco"	James Hawes	Mark Denton & Jonny Stockwood	22 April 2022 (2022-04-22)
When the team regroups, River recalls photographing Taverner secretly meeting with Black during a surveillance training exercise. Lamb returns Duffy's car to Regent's Park and confronts Taverner, who offers him a quiet dismissal and threatens Standish, also claiming Sid has died. Lamb tells her there is a bomb in the car, forcing Duffy's security to investigate and giving River the chance to sneak inside the building. River confronts Webb and accuses him of helping Taverner sabotage him: during the Stansted training exercise, Webb deliberately fed River false intel at her instruction, ensuring he would fail and be demoted to Slough House, thereby preventing her scheme with Black from being uncovered. River retrieves the incriminating photo of Taverner with Black and, with Lamb, threatens to expose her operation to the Tearney and the press. Standish and Roddy trace the Sons of Albion's van to an identity once used by Black. Running out of petrol, Curly declares he will behead Hassan and attempt suicide by cop, but Zeppo briefly takes control of the car by threatening Curly with a hidden handgun he took from Black's corpse. Hassan tells the group his uncle can offer them money for his safe return. After refuelling, Curly is able to disarm and kill Zeppo, regaining control.
6	6	"Follies"	James Hawes	Will Smith	29 April 2022 (2022-04-29)
Taverner confronts Judd, telling him his calls to far-right allies after Hobden's visit resulted in Black's death and compromised the mission. Tearney returns from the US and orders all loose ends tied off; Taverner further lies to her about the operation. Curly drives Larry and Hassan to a forest to stage the beheading. Larry frees Hassan and attacks Curly with an axe but flees, enabling a wounded Curly to recapture Hassan. Larry reaches the port of Harwich but is shot dead by the Dogs on Tearney's orders; Duffy plants a weapon on Larry's corpse to frame him. Curly prepares to kill Hassan at what he thinks is a Norman castle, which Hassan identifies as a folly. Lamb, River, Min, and Louisa, guided by Roddy, track them there. After a shootout with River, Curly is knocked unconscious by Hassan with a rock. The Dogs arrive, but the team prevents them from executing Curly, openly defying First and Second Desk. In the aftermath, Roddy tells River Sid's records have been erased, suggesting she may still be alive. Duffy kills Hobden. It is revealed that Charles Partner was the former Director General of MI5, whose death was reported a suicide after foreign blackmail; Lamb tells Standish he gave Partner the gun he used to kill himself, but a flashback reveals that Lamb himself killed Partner on David Cartwright's orders.

Series 2 (2022)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
7	1	"Last Stop"	Jeremy Lovering	Will Smith	2 December 2022 (2022-12-02)
Former field agent Richard "Dickie" Bough recognises and follows a man who once tortured him during the Cold War, but dies on a rail replacement bus from an apparent heart attack. Lamb investigates, finding Bough's hidden phone with the message "cicada," and has Slough House look deeper. River consults his grandfather David, who explains that "cicada" referred to a supposed Russian sleeper programme dismissed as a hoax after no agents were uncovered and its alleged mastermind, Alexander Popov, was deemed fictitious. David recounts that Bough went AWOL in East Berlin and returned claiming Popov had kidnapped and force-fed him brandy, but was fired for unreliability. He warns River against chasing conspiracies, though River suspects otherwise. Min and Louisa are seconded to Webb for security at a secret meeting at the Glasshouse (a corporate high-rise) with Arkady Pashkin, representing oligarch-defector Ilya Nevsky. Roddy and newcomer Shirley Dander analyse CCTV footage, revealing Bough was discreetly poisoned by the man he followed, who then travelled by train to Stroud in the Cotswolds. River informs Lamb that he knows of the cicada conspiracy and heads to Stroud to investigate.
8	2	"From Upshott with Love"	Jeremy Lovering	Morwenna Banks	2 December 2022 (2022-12-02)
Lamb meets with Nikolai Katinsky, a former KGB agent and defector, who claims that while stationed in East Berlin he overheard Alexander Popov insisting the cicada programme remain funded after the fall of the Soviet Union. Katinsky describes Popov's associate, Andrei Chernitsky, whose appearance matches Bough's killer. In Stroud, River bribes a taxi driver who admits driving Chernitsky to an airfield and flying club in Upshott, though he was told to lie about it and call a number if questioned; Roddy later traces that number to Estonia. Lamb secures Taverner's approval for a fake identity and cover package for River, then directs him to investigate the airfield and its owner, Duncan Tropper. Taverner also faces pressure from Judd (now Home Secretary) over an upcoming anti-capitalist protest in London. Webb discloses his plan to meet Pashkin, which Taverner reluctantly authorises despite Britain's agreement with Moscow to keep agents away from Nevsky, a vocal Kremlin critic. Min and Louisa meet Pashkin's security men, Piotr and Kyril, who lie about their accommodations. Suspicious, Min secretly tails them to a commercial address on Edgware Road, but is caught when Piotr confronts him at gunpoint.
9	3	"Drinking Games"	Jeremy Lovering	Morwenna Banks	9 December 2022 (2022-12-09)
Piotr's gun threat to Min turns out to be a joke, and he invites him to drink vodka with him and Kyril, though the session ends abruptly when a friend arrives. Later, Min is killed in what appears to be a drunk cycling accident, but Lamb suspects foul play. Investigating the supposed driver, Rebecca, he learns she once lived in Vladivostok; when confronted, she admits she was paid to take the blame and had not hit Min. Judd insists that Taverner accompany him as security for his speech rather than Duffy. Newcomer Marcus Longridge replaces Min on the Pashkin assignment and confesses to Louisa that his gambling addiction is why he was exiled to Slough House. Roddy, Shirley, and Standish discover that Chernitsky never left the UK, having planted his phone in the luggage of an Estonia-bound folk band to create a false trail. Under his cover as a Times journalist, River befriends Kelly, daughter of suspected sleeper agent Duncan Tropper, and learns that her parents were former student radicals who relocated to the village. Invited to dinner, he meets their visiting friend Leo—who is in fact Chernitsky.
10	4	"Cicada"	Jeremy Lovering	Mark Denton & Jonny Stockwood	16 December 2022 (2022-12-16)
Rebecca reveals to Lamb that Min was attacked and run over by Piotr and Kyril, then finished off by Chernitsky before his death was staged as an accident. Lamb discovers that Katinsky has been acting as a triple agent, secretly aiding the Russians in exchange for protection from consequences over his decades-old defection. Standish meets Victor Krymov, the intermediary who arranged Webb's meeting with Pashkin, and Lamb concludes that Krymov misrepresented Pashkin as Nevsky's envoy when he is more likely a rival. Lamb and Shirley visit Nevsky's residence and discover him dead from an apparent suicide after being poisoned with a radioactive injection. Louisa attempts to confront Pashkin in his hotel room with a utility knife, intent on torturing him in revenge for Min's death, but Marcus intervenes. Lamb orders Louisa to stand down and continue the meeting, believing Pashkin could withstand interrogation. At the same time, Chernitsky departs the Tropper residence and is followed by River, who finds him and Katinsky at the airfield preparing an improvised explosive device. Duncan's wife Alex arrives, seemingly innocently, but then incapacitates River with a stun gun, exposing herself as the true sleeper agent.
11	5	"Boardroom Politics"	Jeremy Lovering	Mark Denton & Jonny Stockwood	23 December 2022 (2022-12-23)
After Alex departs, Katinsky tells River that the plan is to fly a plane into the Glasshouse in a suicide attack. Duncan and Kelly discover and free River, who convinces them of Alex's true identity. River calls in a "Code September", prompting Taverner to evacuate Judd from his speech at the Royal Exchange and clear the area around the Glasshouse. Lamb blackmails Duffy for access to the Regent's Park records, where he deduces that Katinsky is the true spymaster behind the cicada programme. By posing as a minor defector, Katinsky avoided suspicion and secretly served as handler for a traitor inside MI5. Standish outplays Krymov in a chess match, after which Krymov admits it was Katinsky—not Pashkin—who arranged the Webb meeting and that Katinsky specifically requested Slough House's involvement. At the Glasshouse, Webb's meeting with Pashkin goes ahead until an evacuation alarm sounds. Pashkin draws a gun, and Louisa warns Webb that he is likely FSB and responsible for Nevsky's murder. Pashkin shoots Webb, escapes with Piotr, and traps the others inside, but Marcus uses a concealed pistol to kill Kyril. At the same time, Roddy and Shirley track Chernitsky to a central London train station as mass evacuations unfold.
12	6	"Old Scores"	Jeremy Lovering	Will Smith	30 December 2022 (2022-12-30)
Louisa learns from a dying Kyril that Pashkin's team planned to drain Nevsky's accounts during the Glasshouse evacuation. At the airfield, River discovers the bomb was a decoy and calls Taverner to retract the Code September alert, while Alex diverts her flight after the heist is complete. Roddy traces Chernitsky to Tunbridge Wells, where River's grandfather lives; River has Kelly fly him there. Chernitsky ambushes Roddy on a train but escapes after Shirley intervenes. Lamb confronts Katinsky, revealed as the spymaster "Alexander Popov", with the late Charles Partner revealed to be his mole inside MI5. Years earlier, Lamb had a Stasi source but drunkenly let slip to Partner it was a woman; with three possible suspects, the Stasi executed all of them. David kept Partner in place to feed Moscow false intelligence until finally ordering Lamb to kill him. Katinsky declares David his next target, just as Chernitsky reaches the house. Already warned by Lamb, David ambushes and kills Chernitsky with a shotgun before River arrives. Katinsky accepts defeat; Lamb leaves him one bullet, which he uses to kill himself. Taverner and Judd cover up the failed Code September as a "security glitch" pinned on the prime minister, bolstering Judd politically, while Alex is allowed to return to her "presumed life". Denied a plaque for Min, Lamb and the Slow Horses secretly instal one at St Leonard's Church, where Lamb also leaves a note for Dickie.

Series 3 (2023)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
13	1	"Strange Games"	Saul Metzstein	Will Smith	29 November 2023 (2023-11-29)
In Istanbul, British intelligence officers Sean Donovan and Alison Dunn are lovers. Suspicious that she has stolen a classified embassy file, Donovan tails Dunn through the city but loses her. Dunn exchanges the file, labelled "Footprint", with an unknown man before being murdered; Donovan finds her body. A year later, Slough House continues its dull routine. After an AA meeting, Standish is approached by Donovan, using the alias "John" and pretending to be an AA member. They talk at a cafe until he mentions Lamb, alarming her. When she tries to slip away, Donovan's team abducts her. The next day, her absence raises concern at Slough House. Shirley and Marcus search her flat, confirming she never came home. Louisa retraces Standish's steps to the cafe, where she finds the security cameras disabled and Standish's hair grip in an underpass. At Slough House, River receives a photo of Standish held at gunpoint with the warning: "Barbican bridge, one minute or she dies".
14	2	"Hard Lessons"	Saul Metzstein	Will Smith	29 November 2023 (2023-11-29)
River rushes alone to Barbican Bridge after receiving the threat, where he meets Webb, who claims to have been coerced by kidnappers who have endangered his family. Webb tells River to steal the Prime Minister's MI5 vetting file within an hour or Standish will be killed. River doubts the threat until a sniper's laser appears on Webb. To gain entry to the Park, River claims to have found a missing diamond from the Glasshouse affair, then evades Duffy and his men while stealing a pass from another Dog, Hobbs to reach the records office. There, records overseer Molly Doran refuses to help him locate the file. Louisa's investigation of the cafe links an abandoned car to Donovan. Lamb notices Slough House is under surveillance; Shirley and Marcus pursue one of the watchers but lose him. Lamb meets ex-colleague Sam Chapman, who tells him Donovan now works for private security firm Chieftain. Lamb calls River claiming that Standish is safe, insisting the kidnappers are a "tiger team" testing MI5 security, and orders him to leave the Park. River sneaks out but is captured by Duffy's men.
15	3	"Negotiating with Tigers"	Saul Metzstein	Will Smith	6 December 2023 (2023-12-06)
Duffy brutally beats River to punish him for embarrassing the Dogs. Lamb discovers that Standish's kidnappers are from Chieftain, a private security firm hired by Home Secretary Peter Judd as a "tiger team" to expose MI5's vulnerabilities. Judd exploits the operation's success to pressure Tearney into privatising MI5 security, benefitting Chieftain (which is run by Judd's old school friend Sly Monteith). Donovan, however, goes rogue, kidnapping fellow Chieftain operative Sturges and moving him and Standish to a new location. Shirley and Marcus illegally search Donovan's flat, learning about "stage two" of his plan: accessing the Grey Books, MI5's record of conspiracy theories; they are soon caught by police. They call Lamb to verify their credentials and report their findings, only for Lamb to fire them for incompetence. Lamb secures River's release from MI5 custody and pairs him with Louisa to investigate Chieftain's headquarters, where they discover that Webb was working with the firm the whole time. Monteith sends Webb to pay off Donovan and retrieve Standish, but Donovan accidentally kills Webb during an altercation. Lamb interrupts Judd and Monteith's dinner at an upscale restaurant to negotiate for Standish, only for Donovan to dump Webb's corpse outside.
16	4	"Uninvited Guests"	Saul Metzstein	Mark Denton & Jonny Stockwood	13 December 2023 (2023-12-13)
Tearney reasserts control over MI5, planning to let Donovan access the Grey Books in exchange for Standish's release, then have Duffy arrest him. At the safehouse, Donovan reveals to Standish that he is working with Alison Dunn's siblings, Ben and Sarah, to expose those responsible for her death. Standish sympathises and tells them where to find the file they want. Sturges manages to escape. River comforts his grandfather, whose memory is failing. Roddy tracks the safehouse's location and sets out with Lamb to rescue Standish. River and Louisa accompany Donovan and Ben into an MI5 file-storage facility, where Ben reveals that the Grey Books are merely a decoy, and that they seek a different hidden file. Tearney, after consulting Molly, realises a Park insider must have concealed this file inside the facility for Donovan. She orders Duffy to lead a Chieftain strike team, with instructions to kill everyone inside to prevent the file's exposure.
17	5	"Cleaning Up"	Saul Metzstein	Mark Denton & Jonny Stockwood	20 December 2023 (2023-12-20)
Tearney confronts Taverner, revealed as Donovan's source, who planted the "Footprint" file in the facility. It details a failed MI5 trial of a wireless hacking device Tearney approved years earlier; the malfunction nearly killed several people, and the subsequent cover-up left Footprint as the only record. Alison discovered the truth and planned to leak it before Tearney had her killed and her death staged as a suicide. Chieftain operatives prepare an assault on the facility. River warns Lamb and calls Slough House for backup before lines are cut. Hoping to win back their jobs, Shirley and Marcus arm themselves and drive to help. Duffy leads Chieftain into the facility, capturing security guard Douglas, who is executed for knowing too much about the operation. At the Dunn house, Lamb retrieves Standish from Sarah, but Sturges and Hobbs arrive under orders to kill everyone. At the file facility, River, Louisa, Donovan, and Ben resist Chieftain's attack, locate the Footprint file, and fight to hold them off. During the battle Ben is killed, leaving Donovan and the others to defend themselves.
18	6	"Footprints"	Saul Metzstein	Will Smith	27 December 2023 (2023-12-27)
Hobbs and Sturges storm the Dunn house, but are outsmarted by Lamb, who rigged the house with booby traps. Sarah strangles Sturges to death during a struggle while Lamb kills Hobbs; Roddy crashes a bus through the house in an attempt to mount a heroic rescue, but arrives too late to help. At the file facility, Donovan sacrifices himself so River and Louisa can escape with the Footprint file. Shirley intervenes to save them from the Dogs' ambush, while Marcus defeats Duffy in a fistfight; Louisa finishes Duffy off with a rock to the head. Afterwards, Lamb reveals to Standish that her idol Charles Partner was a traitor who had been laying a trail to frame her as the one leaking secrets to the Russians, trusting her alcoholism would prevent her from noticing it. Shattered, she resigns from Slough House. River brings the Footprint file to his grandfather, who burns it to protect MI5's reputation, but River had already made a copy and leaks it. The exposure forces both Tearney and Judd to resign.

Series 4 (2024)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
19	1	"Identity Theft"	Adam Randall	Will Smith	4 September 2024 (2024-09-04)
A suicide bomb goes off at the Westacres shopping mall in London. A video goes online of the perpetrator, Robert Winters, confessing to the attack; police break into Winters's flat, but three of them are killed by a booby trap. River confesses to Louisa that he thinks his grandfather, David, is suffering from Alzheimer's and becoming paranoid. She encourages him to care for David, as David cared for River when he was growing up. Marcus is struggling to kick his gambling addiction, Roddy claims to have a girlfriend, Standish has been replaced by the seemingly-competent Moira Tregorian, and the PTSD-suffering JK Coe has joined Slough House. At David's house, a man arrives at night, claiming to be River. David shoots and kills him, and then apparently flees. Lamb is called to identify River's body by Emma Flyte, the new commander of the Dogs, and he does, although he realises it is not River. Lamb confronts Standish at her flat, where he learns that River has arranged for David to be sheltered there. River is shown to be in France, travelling in the back seat of a taxi.
20	2	"A Stranger Comes to Town"	Adam Randall	Will Smith	11 September 2024 (2024-09-11)
Having learned that the man David shot was an assassin called Bertrand, River hides David at Standish's flat, assumes Bertrand's identity and travels to the French town of Lavande to investigate. Lamb reveals to the team that River is alive, and unsuccessfully questions a mentally deteriorating David as to why he might have enemies in France. MI5 analyst Giti Rahman discovers that Robert Winters is a "cold body", a fake identity created by MI5. Taverner destroys the evidence and blackmails the new First Desk Claude Whelan into going along with the cover-up. River follows clues to a secluded estate, Les Arbres, and is nearly killed by a mysterious man. River is saved by another man, who knocks him out with the butt of his shotgun and takes him captive.
21	3	"Penny for Your Thoughts"	Adam Randall	Morwenna Banks	18 September 2024 (2024-09-18)
River is held captive by Bertrand's mother Natasha, whose brother rescued River from Les Arbres. Natasha reveals that the man who attacked River is Bertrand's father, Frank Harkness, who raised several other sons by different mothers at Les Arbres. River shows her a photo he retrieved from Les Arbres of Harkness with Bertrand, Robert Winters, and a third son; Natasha says Winters's real name is Yves. A mob arrives seeking to kill River, thinking he is Bertrand, but he manages to escape. Flyte interrogates Lamb, who gives up David's location. Standish successfully conceals David from Flyte, but a confused David then runs off. Whelan recruits Giti to investigate MI5's cold bodies behind Taverner's back. Lamb learns from Moira that David's bagman, Sam Chapman, had spent time in Lavande 30 years ago, just as Harkness sends Patrice, an assassin and one of his sons, to kill Chapman. Lamb manages to rescue Chapman, with help from Marcus and Shirley, but Patrice escapes.
22	4	"Returns"	Adam Randall	Mark Denton & Jonny Stockwood	25 September 2024 (2024-09-25)
Chapman tells Lamb how he was sent by David to Les Arbres 30 years earlier to give the mercenary group that operated there a cache of guns, money and "cold body" identities in exchange for a woman. Harkness's employers threaten to have him killed unless he helps them cover up their involvement in Westacres by taking out Chapman and David, revealing that Westacres was meant to be a quiet assassination and not a bombing. Lamb deduces that David has gone to the old MI5 HQ, now a luxury hotel, and manages to extricate him before the Dogs arrive. Attempting to flee the country, Chapman is caught by Patrice and killed after refusing to disclose David's whereabouts. Whelan discovers that River has travelled to France using Bertrand's cold body identity. As River returns to London, he is chased by the Dogs and escapes to David's house, where he compares a photo of a mural he saw at Les Arbres with hand-painted postcards his mother sent him as a child, finding them to be identical in style. The Dogs arrive moments later, and Flyte catches River.
23	5	"Grave Danger"	Adam Randall	Mark Denton & Jonny Stockwood & Will Smith	2 October 2024 (2024-10-02)
David reveals to Lamb and Standish that the woman he secretly had extracted from Les Arbres was his daughter—River's mother—whom he exchanged for the money, weapons and fake identities Harkness used to start a "deniable assassination squad" of killers trained from birth. Lamb leaves to investigate Chapman's disappearance, while having Standish take David to Slough House. Moira learns from Ho that Whelan had her sent to Slough House for unwittingly finding evidence that he visits prostitutes. Coe tells Ho that his "girlfriend" Kim is actually a bot. River convinces Flyte to send the photo he retrieved from Les Arbres of Harkness's group to the Park; Giti learns that Harkness is a former Special Forces and CIA operative who was discharged for crimes including embezzlement and torture. Whelan and Taverner link the cold-body identities of Harkness's sons to several previous assassinations worldwide, and plot a cover-up. Harkness breaks into Molly's apartment and forces her to give him her security credentials so he can track the convoy of Dogs taking River to the Park, and sends Patrice to intercept. Patrice kills four Dogs, knocks Flyte unconscious, and kidnaps River.
24	6	"Hello Goodbye"	Adam Randall	Will Smith	9 October 2024 (2024-10-09)
River is taken to meet Harkness, who confirms he is his biological father and offers to train him to be part of his organisation, which River refuses; River also deduces that Yves's bombing of Westacres was revenge against Harkness for years of abuse. The Dogs, Louisa, and Flyte converge on River's location; Harkness places a live grenade in River's sweatshirt, but Louisa throws it into the water where it explodes. Harkness escapes in the chaos but is pursued by River to a train station, where he allows himself to be arrested. Lamb finds Chapman's body at his flight fund stash, while Patrice, using Chapman's phone, hears Moira's message that David is safe at Slough House. Patrice invades Slough House, killing Marcus, before being subdued by Shirley and a returning Lamb. Coe persuades Shirley not to execute Patrice, then kills him himself. Harkness negotiates his release by threatening to reveal that MI5 and other security agencies employed his mercenary group for assassinations, having left letters at Molly's addressed to Whelan and other heads of service, timed to upload within 24 hours if he remained in custody. River has David committed to a care home against his wishes, before Lamb invites him for a drink.

Series 5 (2025)

No. overall	No. in series	Title  [8]	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
25	1	"Bad Dates"	Saul Metzstein	Will Smith	24 September 2025 (2025-09-24)
A man armed with a military assault rifle massacres civilians outside his flat in Abbotsfield before being shot dead by an unseen sniper. Among the dead is a campaigner for London mayor Zafar Jaffrey, who is running for reelection against Conservative MP Dennis Gimball. Flyte identifies the shooter as Rob Trew, a Gimball supporter radicalised on incel forums and recruited by his likely killer. Shirley saves Roddy from being run over, convinced it was an attempt on his life, though the rest of Slough House dismisses her fears as stemming from guilt and PTSD over Marcus's death. Louisa is given a send-off for a six-month mental health break, but privately tells River she intends to quit the Service. Still fearing for Roddy's safety, Shirley tails him and is surprised to see him meet a date, Tara; she follows the two to a nightclub. Standish, following Shirley, urges River to intervene. Shirley mistakenly attacks another patron, provoking a heated argument with River, but she resumes her pursuit after spotting Roddy and Tara leave the club in a cab. After Roddy is dropped at his flat, Tara secretly texts an unknown contact with his location.
26	2	"Incommunicado"	Saul Metzstein	Will Smith	1 October 2025 (2025-10-01)
Lamb warns Roddy at his flat that he is in danger and stations Shirley as lookout. An assassin breaks in, but Lamb blinds him with bleach and Roddy knocks him out a window; accomplices in a van shoot at them with a machine gun. Shirley pursues and stabs the fleeing assassin, but he escapes before his team kills him and burns his body, with their leader Farouk saying the aim was only to make MI5 believe Roddy a target. Lamb later takes Roddy to a rooftop restaurant and has him record what he knows about Tara. River and Coe visit her last address, unaware she is watching from across the street. Judd secretly visits Taverner at her home, admitting he advises an arms company that lost a crate of weapons, one of which was used in the Abbotsfield massacre. A paparazzo working for Dodie, Gimball's wife and a gossip columnist, presses and taunts Whelan about his history visiting prostitutes. Flyte reports that shell casings from Roddy's flat match those used by the sniper who killed Trew, linking the incidents. Coe infers the attacks are part of a destabilisation strategy modelled on UK invasion tactics. Taverner orders the Dogs to seize Roddy and lock down Slough House, while the terrorists hire eco-activists to sabotage a petrol refinery, causing car fires across London.
27	3	"Tall Tales"	Saul Metzstein	Sean Gray	8 October 2025 (2025-10-08)
Slough House is kept under lockdown by the Dogs, while chaos ensues due to the car fires. Whelan consults an MI5 lawyer about placing a D-Notice on news surrounding his personal affairs. The terrorists bribe a drug addict into unknowingly bombing the penguin enclosure at London Zoo, which makes national news and forces Flyte and some of the Dogs to leave Slough House. Coe recognises Roddy’s compromise, the Abbotsfield attack, transport disruption and media distraction as steps in a national destabilisation strategy, with the next step being the assassination of a populist leader, convincing Lamb that Gimball will be targeted. At his campaign event, Jaffrey is confronted by his disillusioned son Irfan, who is arrested after admitting to the refinery sabotage. Lamb shares an anecdote about an agent who never confessed while the Stasi brutally tortured him and his pregnant lover, despite the agent not knowing the relevant intelligence. The remaining Dogs are captivated by the anecdote, allowing River, Shirley and Coe to disarm and restrain them. Lamb sends his agents to protect Jaffrey and Gimball. Standish asks Lamb if he was the agent in the anecdote, but Lamb denies the story is real. Meanwhile, Taverner interrogates Roddy and learns that Tara briefly gained access to the MI5 database, sparking fears of a major IT breach.
28	4	"Missiles"	Saul Metzstein	TBA	15 October 2025 (2025-10-15)
29	5	"Circus"	Saul Metzstein	TBA	22 October 2025 (2025-10-22)
30	6	"Scars"	Saul Metzstein	TBA	29 October 2025 (2025-10-29)

Production

Development

The series was given a straight to series order by Apple TV+ in October 2019, with English writer and comedian Will Smith serving as showrunner. ^[9] Each of the first five series has adapted the corresponding novel in the Slough House set. In October 2024, the show was renewed for a sixth series, which will jointly adapt the sixth and seventh books, Joe Country and Slough House. ^[2] The fifth series premiered on 24 September 2025, followed by new episodes on a weekly basis until the season finale on 29 October 2025. ^[1] In July 2025, ahead of the fifth series premiere, Apple TV+ renewed for a seventh series which is to be based on Bad Actors. ^[3]

In July 2025, it was announced that Smith would depart as showrunner after the fifth series, with Gaby Chiappe taking over as head writer for the sixth series, and Ben Vanstone for the seventh. ^[10] Smith described his departure as a "practical decision" in the face of difficulties managing scriptwriting for two series at a time, per the show's established schedule of simultaneously shooting one series while writing and pre-producing the next. ^[11]

Casting

In October 2019, along with the series order, Gary Oldman was announced to star. ^[9] The cast was rounded out in December 2020 with the additions of Olivia Cooke, Jonathan Pryce, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden.

Filming

Since its premiere, production of Slow Horses has followed a schedule of shooting two series back to back, with the next series already having completed filming by the time the current one has released. Commentators have noted how the speed and consistency of Slow Horses' release schedule stands in contrast to the increasingly long, multi-year gaps between seasons of prestige TV shows, such as Severance and Stranger Things. ^{[12] [13]}

Filming of the first series began on 30 November 2020 in England, and continued into February 2021. ^[14] In July 2021, filming continued in Stroud, Gloucestershire. ^[15] It was originally intended to film earlier in 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^{[16] [14]} By March 2023, filming for the third series had been completed and filming for the fourth series was about to begin. ^[17] In June 2025, Oldman announced that filming for the sixth series had already been completed prior to the release of the fifth, and that filming for the seventh series was expected to begin by October of that year. ^[18]

Each series thus far has consisted of six episodes helmed by a single director: James Hawes directed the first series, Jeremy Lovering directed the second, Saul Metzstein directed the third and fifth, and Adam Randall directed the fourth as well as the upcoming sixth series. ^[19]

Reception

Critical response of Slow Horses

Series	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
1	95% (61 reviews) [20]	78 (22 reviews) [21]
2	100% (26 reviews) [22]	84 (10 reviews) [23]
3	98% (44 reviews) [24]	85 (21 reviews) [25]
4	100% (45 reviews) [26]	85 (19 reviews) [27]
5	90% (31 reviews) [28]	79 (16 reviews) [29]

All five series of Slow Horses have received critical acclaim.

For the first series, Rotten Tomatoes lists a 95% approval rating based on 61 critics' reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Slow Horses refreshes the espionage genre by letting its band of snoops be bumbling, with Gary Oldman giving a masterclass in frumpy authority." ^[20] On Metacritic, the first series has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 22 critics. ^[21]

The second series received a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 critics' reviews. The website's critical consensus says, "Slow Horses says nay to the sophomore jinx with a second series that might be even better than its supremely addictive predecessor." ^[22] On Metacritic, series two has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on 10 critics. ^[23] Oldman was nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for his portrayal of Jackson Lamb.

The third series received a 98% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 44 critics' reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Slow Horses' shabby charms reach a full gallop in this superb third season, yielding what might just be Slough House's most compelling operation yet." ^[24] On Metacritic, series three has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 21 critics. ^[25] The third series received nine Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gary Oldman, Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Jack Lowden and Outstanding Drama Series.

The fourth series received a 100% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 45 critics. The website's critical consensus says, "The stakes get more personal than ever before in Slow Horses' superb fourth season, proving that this spy series is saddled up for the long haul with no signs of fatigue." ^[26] On Metacritic, series four has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 19 critics. ^[27] Oldman was nominated for his second Golden Globe, second Emmy Award, second BAFTA Award, and first Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance.

The fifth series has received a 90% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 31 critics. The website's critical consensus says, Slow Horses loosens the reins in a more lighthearted season that doesn't quite measure up to the series' high bar, but it still excels as one of the most compulsively watchable offerings on television." ^[28] On Metacritic, series five has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 16 critics. ^[29]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2022	Hollywood Critics Association Awards	Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama	Gary Oldman	Nominated	[30]
	Music+Sound Awards	Best Original Composition in Film + Television Programme	Mick Jagger and Daniel Pemberton	Nominated	[31]
	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Main Title Theme in a TV Show/Limited Series	Mick Jagger and Daniel Pemberton	Nominated	[32]
		Best Original Song in a TV Show/Limited Series	Mick Jagger and Daniel Pemberton (for "Strange Game")	Nominated
	Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards	Music – Original Title	Mick Jagger, Daniel Pemberton	Nominated	[33]
2023	Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards	Best Long Form TV Drama	Will Smith (for "Failure's Contagious")	Nominated	[34]
	British Society of Cinematographers Awards	Best Cinematography in a Television Drama	Danny Cohen (for "Bad Tradecraft")	Nominated	[35]
	The Operators Awards	Television Drama	Vince McGahon (for "Bad Tradecraft")	Won	[36]
	Casting Directors' Guild Awards	Best Casting in a Television Drama	Nina Gold and Kate Bone	Nominated	[37]
	USC Scripter Awards	Episodic Series	Will Smith (for "Failure's Contagious")	Won	[38]
	BPG Awards	Best Drama Series	Slow Horses	Nominated	[39]
		Best Actor	Gary Oldman	Nominated
	Royal Television Society Programme Awards	Writer – Drama	Will Smith	Nominated	[40]
	Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards	Sound – Scripted	Joe Beal, Andrew Sissons, and Martin Jensen	Nominated	[41]
	British Academy Television Awards	Best Actor	Gary Oldman	Nominated	[42]
		Best Supporting Actor	Jack Lowden	Nominated
	British Academy Television Craft Awards	Best Editing: Fiction	Katie Weiland (for "Failure's Contagious")	Nominated	[43]
		Best Original Music	Mick Jagger and Daniel Pemberton	Nominated
		Best Sound: Fiction	Martin Jensen, Joe Beal, Duncan Price, Craig Butters, Sarah Elias, and Andrew Sissons	Nominated
2024	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama	Gary Oldman	Nominated	[44]
	The Operators Awards	Television Drama	Vince McGahon and James Harrison (for "Cleaning Up")	Nominated	[36]
	BFE Cut Above Awards	Best Edited Series – Drama	Sam Williams and Zsófia Tálas	Nominated	[45]
	Casting Directors' Guild Awards	Best Casting in a TV Drama Series	Nina Gold and Melissa Gethin Clarke	Nominated	[46]
				Nominated
	USC Scripter Awards	Episodic Series	Will Smith (for "Negotiating with Tigers")	Won	[38]
	ACE Eddie Awards	Best Edited Drama Series	Sam Williams (for "Strange Games")	Nominated	[47]
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Series, Drama or Genre	Gary Oldman	Won	[48]
	BPG Awards	Best Drama Series	Slow Horses	Nominated	[49]
		Best Actor	Gary Oldman	Won	[50]
		Best Writer	Will Smith	Nominated	[49]
	Royal Television Society Programme Awards	Leading Actor – Male	Gary Oldman	Nominated	[51]
	British Academy Television Awards	Best Drama Series	Slow Horses	Nominated	[52]
		Best Supporting Actor	Jack Lowden	Nominated
	British Academy Television Craft Awards	Best Editing: Fiction	Sam Williams (for "Last Stop")	Won	[53]
			Zsófia Tálas (for "Old Scores")	Nominated
		Best Make-Up & Hair Design	Lucy Sibbick	Nominated
		Best Sound: Fiction	Slow Horses Sound Team	Won
	Location Managers Guild International Awards	Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Television Series	Ian Pollington and Nick Renner	Nominated	[54]
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Slow Horses [a]	Nominated	[55]
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Gary Oldman (for "Footprints")	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Jack Lowden (for "Hard Lessons")	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Saul Metzstein (for "Strange Games")	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Will Smith (for "Negotiating with Tigers")	Won	[56]
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Jonathan Pryce (for "Footprints")	Nominated	[55]
		Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series	Nina Gold	Nominated
		Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)	Daniel Pemberton and Toydrum (for "Strange Games")	Nominated
		Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series	Zsófia Tálas (for "Footprints")	Nominated
	Venice TV Awards	Best TV Series	Slow Horses	Nominated	[57]
	British Academy Cymru Awards	Best Actor	Siôn Daniel Young	Nominated	[58]
	British Academy Scotland Awards	Best Director: Fiction	Saul Metzstein	Won	[59]
		Favourite Scot on Screen	Jack Lowden	Nominated
	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score in a TV Show/Limited Series	Daniel Pemberton and Toydrum	Nominated	[60]
	Rose d'Or	Performance of the Year	Gary Oldman	Won	[61]
	Astra Awards	Best Actor in a Streaming Drama Series	Gary Oldman	Nominated	[62]
2025	Golden Globe Awards	Best Television Series – Drama	Slow Horses	Nominated	[63]
		Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama	Gary Oldman	Nominated
		Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on Television	Jack Lowden	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Drama Series	Slow Horses	Won	[64]
		Best Actor in a Series, Drama or Genre	Gary Oldman	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, Limited Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television	Saskia Reeves	Nominated
	The Operators Awards	Television Drama	Vince McGahon and James Harrison (for "Hello Goodbye")	Nominated	[36]
	AACTA International Awards	Best Drama Series	Slow Horses	Nominated	[65]
		Best Actor in a Series	Gary Oldman	Nominated
	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Drama Series	Slow Horses	Nominated	[66]
	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama	Slow Horses	Nominated	[67]
	AARP Movies for Grownups Awards	Best TV Series or Limited Series	Slow Horses	Nominated	[68]
		Best Actor – TV/Streaming	Gary Oldman	Nominated
	Artios Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Television Series – Drama	Nina Gold and Melissa Gethin Clarke	Won	[69]
	BFE Cut Above Awards	Best Edited Series – Drama	Robert Frost, Harrison Wall	Nominated	[70]
	Casting Directors' Guild Awards	Best Casting in a TV Drama Series	Nina Gold and Melissa Gethin Clarke	Nominated	[71]
	ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards	Excellence in Production Design for a One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Series	Choi Ho Man, Oskars Vilnitis-Pantelejevs, Kamlan Man, and Joanna Pratt (for "Returns")	Nominated	[72]
	Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Series – One Hour	Andrew Sissons, Martin Jensen, Ben Darier, and Anna Wright (for "Hello Goodbye")	Nominated	[73]
	USC Scripter Awards	Episodic Series	Will Smith (for "Hello Goodbye")	Nominated	[74]
	AMPS Awards	Excellence in Sound for a Television Drama	Andrew Sissons, Duncan Price, Ashley Reynolds, Joe Beal, and Martin Jensen (for "Hello Goodbye")	Won	[75]
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	Gary Oldman	Nominated	[76]
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Ruth Bradley, Tom Brooke, James Callis, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Rosalind Eleazar, Sean Gilder, Kadiff Kirwan, Jack Lowden, Gary Oldman, Jonathan Pryce, Saskia Reeves, Joanna Scanlan, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hugo Weaving, Naomi Wirthner, and Tom Wozniczka	Nominated
	Golden Reel Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing – Broadcast Long Form	Ben Smithers (for "Returns")	Nominated	[77]
		Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Broadcast Long Form Dialogue and ADR	Joe Beal, Sophie Mapplebeck, Duncan Price, and Abbie Shaw (for "Hello Goodbye")	Nominated
	ACE Eddie Awards	Best Edited Drama Series	Robert Frost (for "Identity Theft")	Nominated	[78]
	Royal Television Society Programme Awards	Writer – Drama	Will Smith	Nominated	[79]
	British Academy Television Awards	Best Actor	Gary Oldman	Nominated	[80]
		Best Supporting Actor	Christopher Chung	Nominated
			Jonathan Pryce	Nominated
	British Academy Television Craft Awards	Best Editing: Fiction	Robert Frost (for "Identity Theft")	Won	[81]
		Best Original Music	Daniel Pemberton and Toydrum	Nominated
		Best Sound: Fiction	Andrew Sissons, Martin Jensen, Joe Beal, Alex Ellerington, Duncan Price, and Abbie Shaw	Won
	Astra Awards	Best Drama Series	Slow Horses	Nominated	[82]
		Best Actor in a Drama Series	Gary Oldman	Nominated
		Best Writing in a Drama Series	Will Smith (for "Hello Goodbye")	Nominated
	National Film Awards	Best Actor	Gary Oldman	Nominated	[83]
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Slow Horses [a]	Nominated	[84]
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Gary Oldman (for "Identity Theft")	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Adam Randall (for "Hello Goodbye")	Won
		Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Will Smith (for "Hello Goodbye")	Nominated
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series	Nina Gold and Melissa Gethin Clarke	Nominated

Notes

1. Nominees: Graham Yost, Will Smith, Douglas Urbanski, Gail Mutrux, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Jane Robertson, Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Julian Stevens, and Simon Gillis

References

1. Hailu, Selome (3 June 2025). "'Slow Horses' Season 5 Gets September Release Date and First Look Photos". Variety. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
2. Goldbart, Max (15 October 2024). "'Slow Horses' Renewed For Season 6 By Apple TV+". Deadline. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
3. Goldbart, Max (8 July 2025). "'Slow Horses' Renewed For Season 7 At Apple TV+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
4. Dover, Robert (5 September 2024). "Slow Horses: high drama and comedy abound in this gripping spy thriller about reject spooks". The Conversation. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
5. Yossman, K.J. (29 April 2022). "'Slow Horses' Adds 'Peaky Blinders' Star Aimee-Ffion Edwards, 'This Is Going to Hurt's' Kadiff Kirwan to Season 2 (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
6. "'Slow Horses' team previews 'very funny' season 5 big on Roddy Ho, chaos, and 'weaponized flatulence'". EW.com. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
7. "'Slow Horses' team previews 'very funny' season 5 big on Roddy Ho, chaos, and 'weaponized flatulence'". EW.com. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
8. Welch, Alex (24 September 2025). "'Slow Horses' Season 5 Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out?". TheWrap. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
9. White, Peter (15 November 2019). "Gary Oldman To Star In Spy Drama 'Slow Horses' For Apple With 'Justified's Graham Yost Exec Producing". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
10. Shanfeld, Ethan (29 July 2025). "'Slow Horses' Creator Will Smith Leaving Show After Season 5". Variety. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
11. Pearson, Ben (24 September 2025). "Slow Horses Showrunner On Season 5's Tonal Shift And Making The Most Of Its Most Annoying Character [Exclusive Interview]". SlashFilm. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
12. Rivera, Kaleena (17 June 2025). "What's the Secret Behind the 'Slow Horses' Release Schedule?". Pajiba. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
13. Tassi, Paul. "A Wild Update About 'Slow Horses' Season 5, 6 And 7 On Apple TV+". Forbes. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
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External links

• Official website
• Slow Horses at IMDb