Throughout its first four seasons, Slow Horses has become one of the most acclaimed shows on Apple TV+. The series, which is adapted from a series of novels by Mick Herron, follows a group of mediocre spies working at MI-5 who have done something to deserve a demotion at some point in their careers. Despite each spy’s faults, they almost always find themselves at the center of some season-long conspiracy that requires them to save the nation.
The show has earned rave reviews since its first season, and it’s starting to pick up steam at the Emmys. Thankfully, it shows no signs of slowing down, and as we prepare for the show’s fifth season, here’s everything we know about Slow Horses:
Has Slow Horses been renewed for another season?
Slow Horses has already been renewed for seasons 5 and 6. Production on season 5 has been completed, while filming is underway for season 6. We don’t know if we’ll get any more beyond that, but six seasons is more than most shows receive in the modern streaming era.
When will Slow Horses season 5 be released?
While we don’t have an exact release date for the fifth season yet, Apple TV+ has teased that it should be coming in the summer of 2025. The fourth season debuted in September of 2024, so this season would be coming less than a year later. It’s possible that the show could even come in early September, which would put the seasons exactly a year apart.
What will the plot of this season of Slow Horses be?
This season is set to be adapted from London Rules, the fifth book in Herron’s Slough House series. Here’s the official synopsis from Apple TV+: “In season 5 of Slow Horses, everyone is suspicious when resident tech nerd Roddy Ho has a glamorous new girlfriend, but when a series of increasingly bizarre events occurs across the city, it falls to the Slow Horses to work out how everything is connected. After all, Jackson Lamb knows that in the world of espionage, ‘London Rules’ should always apply.”
Christopher Chung has also said that this season will put a bigger emphasis on his character, Roddy. “There is a bigger focus on Roddy than there is in the book. There’s a lot more of me, and I may even throw in a dance move or two [laughs]. Everyone gets a moment in the spotlight, which is great, but I had read the six or seven books that were out when I was cast, and because London Rules has such a heavy focus on Roddy, I was hoping we would get to season 5,” Chung explained to GamesRadar+.
Of course, the main fallout from the show’s fourth season will be the revelation of River’s real father. We already know that Hugo Weaving, who played mercenary Frank Harkness in the show’s fourth season and was revealed to be River’s father, will be returning for the show’s sixth season but will be skipping this upcoming installment.
Who is in the cast for Slow Horses season 5?
Most of the principal cast members from previous seasons are expected to return for this new installment.
- Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
- Jack Lowden as River Cartwright
- Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner
- Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
- Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho
- Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish
- Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander
- Ruth Bradley as Emma Flyte
- James Callis as Claude Whelan
- Tom Brooke as J.K. Coe
Is there a trailer for the fifth season yet?
The first teaser for season 5 came at the end of the show’s fourth season and shows Roddy and Jackson being fired upon outside of Roddy’s apartment. We also get brief glimpses of the rest of the cast and the season’s overarching plot, which seems to involve a terrorist threat. River and Louisa also appear to share a kiss in the teaser, although it seems like Louisa might not be into it.
Here’s a rundown of our reviews for each season
As we mentioned up top, Slow Horses has been well-reviewed throughout its run on Apple TV+, but that doesn’t mean that every season is created equal.
In our review of the show’s first season, we were amazed by how strongly the show started and by how carefully it balances its comedic and dramatic elements: “Not quite a comedy, not quite a full-on espionage thriller, Slow Horses is a compelling series that keeps you guessing about where the story will take its hard-luck agents. By veering off the beaten path with its spy saga, the show offers up something unique that busts open the conventions of its genre and delivers more than you hoped for — and that’s no small feat with a cast of misfit spies who can’t help disappointing everyone around them.”
The show’s second season is not quite as strong as the first but still delivers plenty of thrills and adds an emotional wallop that is far more devastating than anything in season 1. By shifting the focus away from River, at least to some extent, the show also gave the rest of its great cast more room to breathe and showcase their skill.
The third season might be the show’s most impressive because it has exactly the right mix of genuine stakes and comedy, often intermixed in a single season. This season also closely mirrors something like a Mission: Impossible movie, with the Slough House team going rogue for an extended period and being actively hunted by the rest of MI-5.
Season 4, meanwhile, helped to cement the show as one of the best ongoing dramas on TV. “If the title of ‘The Best Show on TV’ still even exists or matters anymore, then Slow Horses is making a consistent and increasingly compelling case for it to hold that particular crown,” we wrote in our review. “It may be about the shabbiest of British spies, but there’s an effortlessness behind all of its latest season’s funniest and most thrilling moments that is exhilarating to experience.”
