Slow Horses

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Slow Horses:

Slow Horses author brings new thriller to Apple TV+

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Down Cemetary Road on Apple TV+
Emma Thompson, left, and Ruth Wilson will star in Down Cemetery Road.
Photo: Apple TV+

Fans of darkly comedic spy thriller series Slow Horses rejoice! Another of Mick Herron’s acerbic novels, Down Cemetery Road, is coming to Apple TV+. The show will star Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, the streaming service said Tuesday.

“‘Down Cemetery Road’ has all the hallmarks of Mick Herron’s funny and acerbic writing, and I’m delighted we will be bringing it to life for Apple TV+ with such a stellar cast,” said Jay Hunt, creative director, Europe, Apple TV+. “Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson will make it an unmissable companion piece for ‘Slow Horses’ on our service.”

Apple TV+ greenlights season 5 of popular spy thriller Slow Horses

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"Slow Horses" on Apple TV+ will air a fifth season.
Photo: Apple

The darkly comedic spy thriller series Slow Horses has three seasons ready to binge-watch on Apple TV+ — season 3’s finale aired last week — plus season 4 on the way and now a fifth season planned for production, the streaming service said Tuesday.

The critically acclaimed hit show starring Gary Oldman might as well keep rolling, as there are more novels in Mick Herron’s Slough House book series to base new six-episode seasons on.

These 4 Apple TV+ series prove more popular than almost any other streaming shows

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Apple TV+ hits
These four Apple TV+ series all draw big audiences.
Photo: Apple TV+/Cult of Mac

Four of the top 10 most popular streaming series are all on Apple TV+, according to a market analysis. That’s a new milestone for Apple’s streaming service.

The list includes British spy thriller Slow Horses and Godzilla series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, as well as other shows that both audiences and critics like.

Slow Horses gallops onto list of most popular streaming shows

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The gang of third-string MI5 agents from Slough House are back for season 2.
The gang of third-string MI5 agents from Slough House has plenty of fans.
Photo: Apple TV+

The Apple TV+ espionage-thriller series Slow Horses pulls in big audiences. It gets more viewers than almost anything else on streaming, according to a pair of market analyses.

Apple TV+ actually has two very popular series streaming now. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is also near the top of the rating charts.

3 Reasons to Watch: Slow Horses, the acerbic Apple TV+ spy thriller

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Jackson Lamb is no James Bond, but Slow Horses is an excellent spy thriller nonetheless.
Image: Apple TV+

Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ spy thriller based on the Slough House novels by British novelist Mick Herron, spices up its twisty-turny plots with witty dialogue and convincing performances.

Lead character Jackson Lamb, a rumpled British spook played by Gary Oldman, runs the misfit spy shop known as Slough House. Everyone on his team (known as the “Slow Horses”) screwed up in a major way professionally, earning them their one-way ticket to Lamb’s dusty, low-rent M15 leper colony. Lamb torments them at nearly every turn with a mordant mix of skepticism and ridicule.

Here are three reasons you should watch Slow Horses the Apple TV+, which fires up its third season today.

Commandos kidnap one of Gary Oldman’s Slow Horses in season 3 trailer

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Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses
Gary Oldman's Jackson Lamb has seen better days. And better spies.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is cranking up the action in espionage-thriller series Slow Horses, if the season 3 trailer it dropped Tuesday is any indication.

Dissipated Cold War-era spy Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) sees his Slough House crew of remedial MI5 agents come under major attack, and one of them is kidnapped by an elite military unit. Is it an inside job? Per previous seasons, the Slow Horses tend to get in trouble with their more-accomplished MI5 colleagues.

The 15 best shows on Apple TV+

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Best shows on Apple TV+
Looking for something to stream? Check out the best shows on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s programming slate seems like a crazily oscillating slate of highs and lows. But the highs thus far prove dizzying indeed.

Directors like M. Night Shyamalan, Rupert Wyatt and Kim Jee-Woon, writers like Min Jin Lee, Paul Theroux, Emily Dickinson and Isaac Asimov, high-concept premises and legendary ensembles all meet on Apple’s streaming service.

The result is a collection of art worth signing up for. On the fourth anniversary of the service’s launch, here’s a look at the best shows on Apple TV+.

Conspiracy looms in first look at spy thriller Slow Horses season 3

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As Jackson Lamb, Gary Oldman is never looking his best.
As rumpled spy Jackson Lamb, Gary Oldman never looks his best.
Photo: Apple

Jackson Lamb and his team of misfit MI5 agents return soon for season three of espionage thriller Slow Horses. Apple TV+ offered a first look Wednesday with some photos and plot tidbits about the trouble they will get into.

The award-winning show debuts December 1 with the first two episodes of the new season. As a big fan of the show and the books it’s based on, I can’t wait.

Here are the most popular Apple TV+ shows that aren’t Ted Lasso

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Apple TV+
These 10 Apple TV+ shows reached the peak of popularity on the streaming video service.
Photo: Apple TV+

Although Ted Lasso is amazing and wildly popular, it’s not the only hit show on Apple TV+. A search engine focused on movies and TV released a top 10 list of everything on Apple’s streaming service, revealing which other series also draw plenty of viewers.

Subscribers to the streaming service might use it to find additional shows worth watching.

What to expect from Apple in 2023, plus our best of 2022 picks [The CultCast]

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This year was good for Apple, but 2023 looks even better!
This year was good for Apple, but 2023 looks even better!
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We’re talking about all the Apple gear we’re certain will arrive in 2023 — and some we just hope will materialize.

Also on The CultCast:

  • An Apple Watch Ultra clone for less than $50?!?
  • More on Apple’s penny-penching strategy of skimping on cloud storage by serving up lower-resolution files.
  • Our picks for best of 2022 — part two!

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Our sponsor: Rocket Money

Rocket Money shows you all your subscriptions all in one place, and then cancels whatever you don’t want with a single click!  Cancel your unnecessary subscriptions right now at rocketmoney.com/cultcast.

Slow Horses settles old scores in thrilling season 2 finale [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Slow Horses season two finale recap Apple TV+: Everyone's got their secrets, including Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman).★★★★
Everyone's got their secrets, including Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman).
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewSlow Horses‘ magnificent second season comes to its excellent, exciting conclusion this week on Apple TV+.

Louisa’s revenge is at hand. Jackson discovers why the Russians have it in for him. River, Roddy, Shirley and Kelly are headed for a showdown with Chernitsky. And Standish is close to the truth. A season of intrigue explodes into armed combat and tough talk as the spy thriller wraps up season two and prepares for its next outing — which can’t come soon enough.

Russian plot threatens London in Slow Horses [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Slow Horses recap Apple TV+: Everything's falling into place as Slow Horses takes the tension up a few more notches.★★★★
Everything's falling into place as Slow Horses takes the tension up a few more notches.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThe second season of Apple TV+ spy drama Slow Horses is through warming up and starting to boil over. This week’s excellent installment has Lamb revisiting the past, Catherine playing a very important game of chess, River up a creek, Louisa and Marcus in the dark, and Roddy and Shirley on the run. Plus, the Tropper family is in trouble.

The whole episode, entitled “Boardroom Politics,” is about mounting tension and slow (but not too slow) reveals, as everyone races to either create or prevent a catastrophe.

Sleeper agents make for tense moments in a stellar Slow Horses [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Slow Horses recap Apple TV+: The hunt is on for Russian sleeper agents.★★★★
The hunt is on for Russian sleeper agents.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ spy thriller Slow Horses nears its bogey this week, in an excellent episode full of richly drawn character detail from the show’s charismatic cast.

Lamb is on the hunt for more evidence, Louisa’s giving in to her grief over Min, River’s getting lost down a rabbit hole of suspicions, Catherine relives a bad moment from her past, and the Russians are cleaning house.

The episode, entitled “Cicada,” stands as a fine and compelling exercise in tension and unspoken personal development.

Spies drop like flies as Slow Horses raises the stakes [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Slow Horses recap Apple TV+: Spy games have deadly consequences on Slow Horses.★★★★☆
Spy games have deadly consequences on Slow Horses.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThere’s a man down this week on Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ show about underdog British spies and their disheveled bureau chief. The horses say goodbye to one of their own, but they don’t get much time to grieve.

Peter Judd’s giving everyone grief again, the Russians are in town doing damage, Lamb’s off the radar conducting his own investigation, and River’s in deep cover … though not that deep.

The episode, entitled “Drinking Games,” is a rough and engaging chapter of the saga. Everyone plays their part beautifully, and the stakes continue to climb.

Slow Horses’ second season cuts to the chase [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Slow Horses season two on Apple TV+: Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman, right) has a new mystery to solve.★★★★☆
Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman, right) and his slow horses have a new mystery to solve.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ spy thriller Slow Horses returns this week for a slick second season of low-brow high tension.

Grotesque super spy Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman) is on a personal crusade in the wake of a friend’s death. And the rest of his “slow horses” are desperately looking for work — even the ones who are still behind their desks at Slough House, the London HQ for MI5’s misfit spies.

Season two of Slow Horses starts at a good clip and just keeps galloping. The show, based on the Slough House series by British crime novelist Mick Herron, remains one of the most consistent secret pleasures of the Apple TV+ lineup.

Sleeper agents threaten London in Slow Horses season 2 trailer

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The gang of third-string MI5 agents from Slough House are back for season 2.
The gang of third-string MI5 agents from Slough House are back for season 2.
Photo: Apple TV+

It looks like something big and bad is about to happen to London, and it may fall to a team of remedial MI5 back-benchers to step up and stop it.

That’s at least according to the season 2 trailer of the darkly comedic Apple TV+ espionage thriller Slow Horses, which dropped Wednesday. The series resumes December 2. Watch the trailer below.

Gamers rejoice! Mythic Quest season 3 premieres Nov. 11

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Rob McElhenney and Charlotte Nicdao in “Mythic Quest” season three, premiering fall 2022 on Apple TV+.
Rob McElhenney and Charlotte Nicdao return for season three of the gamer-oriented comedy.
Photo: Apple TV+

Gamer-themed workplace comedy Mythic Quest returns to Apple TV+ on November 11. That’s the date the third season of the hilarious show premieres, Apple said Thursday.

Apple’s streaming video service also announced the launch dates for new seasons of Slow Horses and Little America.

The 5 best comedies on Apple TV+

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Best comedies on Apple TV+: Itching for a laugh?
Itchin' for a laugh? These Apple TV+ comedies deliver.
Photos: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is known perhaps first and foremost for its international hit Ted Lasso. But that heartwarming show about a bumbling soccer coach with a positivity streak a mile wide only scratches the surface of the streamer’s burgeoning comedy roster.

Comedy veterans and unlikely newcomers alike staked out spots in the ever-growing Apple TV+ lineup, offering laughs for the cost of emotional engagement with some deeply wounded and weird characters.

Ultimately, the best comedies on Apple TV+ are the ones that hurt a little.

Slow Horses finishes strong and we can’t wait for next season [Apple TV+ recap]

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Slow Horses season finale recap: The Slow Horses race to track down kidnappers in a rip-roaring season finale.
The Slow Horses race to track down kidnappers in a rip-roaring season finale.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ spy thriller/comedy Slow Horses crosses the finish line of its fine first season this week. The show horses chases down its kidnapping rogues as Lamb gains the upper hand, and Taverner gets desperate. The last-minute rescue operation comes down to blind luck, determination, and no small amount of heroic stupidity.

The show’s efficient plotting and knee-deep characterizations pay off in a desperate last act that uses every agonizing second to its advantage. The show makes a strong case for its next season — and for its own place in the roster of the best Apple TV+ shows yet.

Get into Slow Horses on Apple TV+ with this spy slang glossary

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"Slow Horses" on Apple TV+ features Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, plus a lot of muttered words and phrases you might need help understanding.
Photo: Apple TV+

There’s nothing like discovering a truly rich and deep source of entertainment — like a darkly amusing TV series that you find out is made from a whole lineup of engrossing books that you at least aspire to read. Such is the case with Slow Horses on Apple TV+, adapted from a series of spy-thriller novels by Mick Herron.

The dozen books and subsequent TV show rise from a complex world of spy circles with Cold War underpinnings leading into and out of MI5. That’s the U.K.’s primary security agency, sort of like the FBI in the U.S. In the story, a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents relegated to “Slough House” become embroiled in matters of national security, often at odds with M15 first-stringers.

Even if you’ve got a good ear for U.K. and European accents, you may still find yourself baffled by the in-jokes, shop talk and slang coming out of the characters’ mouths. Good thing there are helpful reference materials out there, like a whole glossary of terms.

Slow Horses doubles down on misdirection and suspense [Apple TV+ recap]

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Slow Horses recap: River Cartwright (played by Jack Lowdon) searches for a crucial clue.
River Cartwright (played by Jack Lowdon) searches for a crucial piece of evidence.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ spy series Slow Horses gets ready for the climactic showdown between MI5, Jackson Lamb’s misfit spies at Slough House and the kidnappers. Lamb hatches a plan to acquire some crucial evidence, but it involves subterfuge, bombs and the music of The Proclaimers.

Are these guys as clever as they pretend to be? The penultimate episode of season one delivers high highs and no lows — everything an hour of TV should be.

Slow Horses turns up the heat in a real potboiler [Apple TV+ recap]

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Slow Horses recap
Things turn deadly serious this week, but thankfully there's still room for humor in this spy series.
Photo: Apple TV+

Slough House’s Slow Horses are on the run in this week’s installment of the Apple TV+ dark comedy about rogue failed spies working at the bottom of the British intelligence circus.

Slough House chief Jackson Lamb makes a Faustian bargain with Standish. River can’t help but check on Sid. Min’s crush on Louisa deepens. Struan gets picked up. Ho is in the wind. And everyone’s afraid of Taverner.

It’s another cracking potboiler of an episode this week as the noose tightens around everyone.

These 3 hits prove Apple TV+ is a serious streaming contender

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3 hits show Apple TV+ is now a serious streaming contender
CODA, Slow Horses and Severance are popular because they are some of the best streaming shows available.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

CODA, Severance and Slow Horses all showed up in this week’s top 10 most-watched movies and TV shows. Each is from Apple TV+, and they show the streaming service has become a strong competitor against Netflix, Hulu and Disney+.

Perhaps this will silence any lingering doubts about Apple’s foray into film and TV.

Slow Horses picks up the pace this week [Apple TV+ recap]

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Slow Horses recap: Slough House's reject spies get into some serious business this week.
Slough House's reject spies get into some serious business this week.
Photo: Apple TV+

Slow Horses enters the thick of its spy games this week in an excellent third episode. Jackson Lamb is in Dutch with M15 chief Diana Taverner just as she screws up an important operation — and implicates him and his whole team at Slough House, the reject pile of the British intelligence service.

As a result, they enter into a sleazy bargain to clean up the mess together. Of course, nothing’s ever as easy as it seems when your business is underhanded espionage. The pace and the tension ratchet up for a marvelous little installment of this new spy show on Apple TV+.

Spy series Slow Horses comes out of the gate fast and sarcastic [Apple TV+ recap]

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Slow Horses recap: Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, head of a group of screwup spies in new thriller series Slow Horses.
Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, head of a group of screwup spies, in new thriller series Slow Horses.
Photo: Apple TV+

Slow Horses, based on the first book in the Slough House series by author Mick Herron, is the newest addition to the Apple TV+ roster of thrillers.

In the series, which premieres Friday, Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the leader of a group of misfit spies who work cases in secret while MI5 looks down its nose at the scrubs.

Directed by James Hawes and created by Will Smith (no, not that Will Smith), the first two episodes of this oddball spy show prove reasonably diverting.