Slow Horses

Slow Horses

2022 - United Kingdom

Slow Horses is yet another underrated gem from AppleTV+, a streaming platform with a high rate of quality programming that they never seem to bother promoting properly. Thankfully, here we are, about to talk about possibly one of the best recent entries in the spy genre.

Review by AJ

The English series revolves around an MI5 division called the Slough House, created to house agents who have made fatal mistakes yet not enough to get them fired. It’s essentially the doghouse for MI5 operatives, headed by slobbery director with a sharp tongue, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). Agents who get sent to the Slough House are essentially in slow career deaths, hence the Slow Horse moniker. 

One such person is talented field agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), who ends up in Slough House after a botched training exercise. Lamb and Cartwright frequently butt head: with the former wanting the latter to resign by giving him the most humiliating tasks. Eventually, they are forced to set aside their grievances when the Slough House inadvertently gets pulled into action to defend the nation against a serious threat.

Slow Horses

 First of all, this series boasts an acting ensemble far more excellent than it had any right to be. Oscar winner Gary Oldman stars in his first ever leading role in a television show in his four-decade career, and it’s immediately apparent why. Lamb is just the kind of British anti-hero that allows the thespian to flex his acting muscles liberally. You can just tell how much Oldman enjoys playing the sarcastic, antisocial, and yet gruffly sentimental Lamb. 

Complementing his stellar performance is Lowden’s hot-headed agent River. Their love-hate dynamic forms the emotional backbone of the series. Over the course of four seasons, you learn more about their backstories and what has hardened them. Lowden is the perfect foil to Lamb, a younger agent with idealism and passion still intact – the complete opposite of his boss, a disgraced former star operative himself.

Slow Horses

Adding another office drama dimension to the show is the rest of the team, a.k.a. the Slow Horses. Consisting of a smorgasbord of characters you’d find in an office dynamic; they all share an ensemble chemistry that grows from begrudgingly liking each other to slowly leaning on each other. Lamb himself grows from trying to get his subordinates to quit to defending them in his own cantankerous way. In his own words: “They are losers, but they’re MY losers.”

There is something intrinsically English about the show’s dry wit that adds real gravitas to the whole proceedings. Coupled with the theatrical delivery that you can expect from classically trained thespians, you’ve got some Shakespearean flair to go with the ultramodern realism.

Slow Horses

But of course, Slow Horses is above all a spy thriller. On that front, the show – an adaptation of a book series by Mick Herron – crafts an intricate espionage plot that does not insult your intelligence. It’s brilliant both technically and dramatically, always knowing where to hold and release tensions across the story. The mechanics of espionage also feels very rooted in the real world. It’s no James Bond here, just pure modern day spycraft that involves a lot of unsexy grunt work. The detailed depiction and the contemporary issues presented like diversity divide, nationalism, and terrorism are presented in compelling ways. Bottom line is - superb writing!

Perfectly paced, smartly written, and stellarly acted, Slow Horses is just way too good to be this under the radar. A definite must watch!

Published on November 9th, 2024. Written by Jennifer Ariesta for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Ten Percent

In a London talent agency, a scramble is on to keep star clients happy and the business afloat after the sudden death of its founder. But does this British version of the acclaimed French series 'Dix Pour Cent' have what it takes to keep its viewers happy?

Also released in 2022

The Night Agent

American action thriller follows a low-ranking White House official who is drawn into the mystery of a disgraced tech executive who is being hunted by assassins

Also tagged Spy Thriller

Kleo tv series

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a former East German spy resolves to find out who betrayed her and why — and use her lethal skills to exact revenge in this action thriller series that will appeal to fans of 'Killing Eve'

Also tagged Spy Thriller

Mr and Mrs Smith

Two strangers agree to become secret agents and are paired together as husband and wife. As they face the reality of espionage, 'John' and 'Jane Smith' must deal with their inner turmoil and their growing romantic feelings

Also tagged Spy Thriller

The Outlaws

The gang is confronted with the consequences of keeping the stolen drugs money and make a promise to pay it back - or else, one of them will pay with their life...

Also released in 2022

The Wheel of Time

Moiraine, a member of a powerful organization of women who can channel the One Power, seeks a group of five young villagers, believing one of them is the reincarnation of the Dragon, an extremely powerful channeller who broke the world

Also starring Sophie Okonedo

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power

Set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power covers all the major events of Middle-Earth's Second Age - the forging of the Rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron and the last alliance between Elves and Men

Also released in 2022

Criminal: UK

Criminal: UK zeroes in on the intense world of suspect interrogations, each self-contained episode focusing entirely on the high stakes questioning process as the clock for questioning is running down

Also starring Sophie Okonedo

Cranford

Elizabeth Gaskell’s charming tale of a fictional Cheshire town and its eccentric characters has been adapted for TV three times by the BBC. In this review, we take a look at all three productions

Also starring Jonathan Pryce