Entertainment
Apple TV’s 6-Part Spy Thriller Is a Rare Streaming Gem With Zero Bad Episodes
There’s nothing worse than diving into a good show, only to discover that there’s an episode or two that’s just meh. When filler episodes leave your attention wandering, it can feel like the binge wasn’t truly worthy of your time. Even some fantastic spy thrillers, like The Day of the Jackal, Killing Eve, and Homeland, have been guilty of sometimes unnecessary plotlines or episodes that draw us away from the action. However, if you’re looking for a spy thriller masterpiece that genuinely has zero bad episodes, one Apple TV series fits the bill.
What Is ‘Slow Horses’ About?
Slow Horses premiered in 2022, and despite rave reviews and Emmy nominations, the series is not as well-known as it should be. Each season offers six episodes of fast-paced, intriguing storylines, and with Season 6 set to drop next month, there’s plenty of time to binge-watch the whole series before then. Slow Horses follows a team of spies who have been rejected from the UK’s MI5 intelligence agency. They work out of a location called Slough House, which has resulted in the crew’s nickname, the Slow Horses. Each spy is trying to fight to improve their standing within the service, but they’re constantly faced with obstacles that prevent them from succeeding.
Slough House is led by the irascible, slovenly Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who was a fantastic spy back in his heyday, but is now more often found sleeping off a hangover on his office couch. The protagonist of Slow Horses is River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), an agent who gets relegated to Slough House after a particularly disastrous training exercise. The young spy’s goal is to get back into MI5’s good graces, but he still somehow forms a dysfunctional family with the other Slough House members. Every season offers a new exciting investigation that the Slow Horses take part in, and despite low expectations, they’re constantly saving England from a variety of threats.
‘Slow Horses’ Is an Addictive, Action-Packed Thrill Ride
Slow Horses is one of the best spy thrillers ever made. Based on a series of novels by Mick Herron, the series includes plenty of twists and turns. Danger lurks around every corner, and the show is certainly not afraid to kill off a main character or two. This creates a high-stakes suspense that makes it easy to zoom through each episode. Because the seasons are so short, there’s no room for meandering plotlines that don’t feel essential to the narrative, resulting in episodes that capture your attention. The element that pushes this series above others is that Slow Horses also takes time to dive into its characters. Whether you’re following along with the icy MI5 boss, Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), or watching the bonds forming between the Slow Horses, the series develops characters that are instantly authentic and incredibly easy to root for.
Slow Horses is a genius thriller for more than its writing. Without a talented cast, the series could have languished as an unbelievable drama. Instead, its impressive roster of actors makes you feel like you’ve stepped into MI5 duty. Oldman has the role of a lifetime with Jackson, but his choices never make the grumpy spy feel like a caricature. Lowden also proves himself by nailing every beat of River’s character; whether he’s perfectly capturing River’s frustration or including a sly humor in his delivery, Lowden demonstrates he’s one of the best young actors working today. Many other supporting actors help make Slow Horses compelling, including Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, and Christopher Chung. It’s no wonder that Jonathan Pryce, along with Oldman and Lowden, have been nominated for Emmys for their impressive performances.
Apple TV knows it’s got a gem on its hands with this series, which boasts an unrivaled 97% Rotten Tomatoes score even if it hasn’t earned the same fans as some more famous shows. Season 7 has already been greenlit ahead of Season 6’s drop, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be binging this insanely good spy thriller already.
Seasons 1-5 of Slow Horses are available to stream on Apple TV in the U.S. Season 6 is set to premiere on September 16.
Slow Horses
- Release Date
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April 1, 2022
- Network
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Apple TV+
- Showrunner
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Douglas Urbanski
- Directors
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Adam Randall, James Hawes, Jeremy Lovering, Saul Metzstein
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