Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Slow Horses Season 6.The 21st century has gifted TV lovers with some incredible shows, but one from this decade has a proven track record of rivaling everything that came before and after: Slow Horses. Created by Will Smith, the Apple TV spy thriller lifts Mick Herron‘s book series in extraordinary fashion. The story follows the dysfunctional, cast-off unit of MI5 intelligence agents sent to Slough House. Led by Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), the unit does menial administrative grunt work, yet repeatedly stumbles into high-stakes terrorist plots, rogue-state conspiracies, and dirty political games orchestrated by MI5’s main headquarters, The Park.
Now six seasons deep, each season uses at least one of Herron’s books as its blueprint, crafting a high-octane story in six tightly constructed episodes. The antithesis of clean, polished James Bond-esque spycraft, Slow Horses has brilliantly built its own identity thanks to its fascinating plots and exceptional characters. But which season is the very best so far? It’s time to find out! The truth is, each season has a firm reason why it could top the list, but there is a method to the madness.
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Season 5
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Being at the bottom may sound like a bad thing, but the truth of the matter is there are no bad seasons of Slow Horses. It’s a show that continues to top itself. For the fifth season, the series adapted the narrative from the events in London Rules. The action follows a coordinated destabilization plot against the UK government and London’s mayoral election. A cell of disgruntled Libyan operatives, led by Farouk (Monty Ben), executes a classic British intelligence playbook: a mass shooting in Aberdeen by a radicalized shooter, sabotaging petrol supplies with contaminated fuel to cause vehicle fires and massive gridlock, and bombing a penguin enclosure at the London Zoo to hijack media coverage. The terrorists use Tara (Hiba Bennani) to “honey trap” Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung), exploiting his vanity in order to hack into the MI5 system and blind the agency. Targeting populist leader and mayoral candidate Dennis Gimble (Christopher Villiers) and Mayor Zafar Jaffrey (Nick Mohammed), the chaos leads to the former being accidentally killed by River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) and J.K. Coe (Tom Brooke). With a final standoff standing in the way, Jackson Lamb and the coherent agents of Slough House are tasked with intercepting and neutralizing the threat.
Season 5 had big shoes to fill as its predecessor was literally perfect. In turn, Slow Horses chose to infuse a bit more humor into the action. And it all came in the form of Roddy. For the first time, he’s platformed into the story as an active player, allowing him to showcase his humorous side. Chung delivers a standout performance, especially during his brilliant interrogation scene. His smugness brings a much-needed levity. The paint-can incident may be one of the best bits because it was ridiculous and Home Alone-coded, so you simply couldn’t believe it resulted in death. But that’s why these agents are Joes! By leaning into a lighter workplace-comedy tone, the series proves it can evolve without losing its identity. The season treats chance and political absurdity with sharp wit, tying public panic to anti-intellectual bullies and systemic institutional failure. One of the greatest revelations of the season comes in the confirmation of Lamb’s severely burned feet, the result of past torture when he witnessed the murder of his pregnant lover. It’s a shocking moment, but it shows how the events in the field have hardened Lamb. This season also watched Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) rise to where she dreamt of being, but at what cost? For five seasons, Thomas had her time to shine. The season has memorable moments that elevate it, but overall, it feels a bit more disjointed than the others.
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Season 1
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You always remember your first! Setting the tone and establishing the universe, Slow Horses lifted the story from the titular novel, Slow Horses. The first season introduced the audience to life inside Slough House, the most unglamorous place an MI5 agent can be. The series follows young MI5 agent River Cartwright as he is exiled to Slough House after a disastrous live-fire airport training exercise in which his rival, James “Spider” Webb (Freddie Fox), set him up to fail. Joining the outcasts, led by cynical veteran Jackson Lamb, the agents go rogue when MI5’s Second Chair, Diana Taverner, goes rogue herself. British-Pakistani comedian Hassan Ahmed (Antonio Aakeel) is kidnapped by the far-right nationalist group Sons of Albion, which includes an undercover agent sent by Taverner, to help her stage a heroic last-minute rescue to help her curry favor with Pakistan. But when the undercover agent, Alan Black (Sam Hazeldine), is killed, it’s Lamb and company to the rescue. Oh, and to simultaneously expose the conspiracy.
Season 1 is exceptional in its own world-building, becoming the alluring series we adore today. It drops so low because the series has only gotten better with nearly every passing season. The season deserves praise for establishing a grounded, tightly plotted anti-spy formula, anchored by Oldman’s powerhouse performance. Fans of the book rejoiced as the season faithfully adapted Herron’s work. The core story was cleanly elevated, adding extra beats simply for the medium. The initial kidnapping plot and internal MI5 bureaucracy were grounded and immediate, giving viewers something practically tangible to latch onto. While the action is exciting, Slow Horses proved it was also greatly character-driven. Lowden becomes the audience’s surrogate: a lovable underdog with a legacy hanging over his head. Oldman and Thomas have impeccable chemistry as both ends of authority. As far as the other agents, they add flavor to the mix, showcasing the unique found family that serves as the heartbeat of the story. By establishing a fast-moving six-episode arc, Slow Horses married feature-film thrills with bingeworthy efficiency.
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Season 6
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Image via Apple TVFor the show’s most recent season, Slow Horses abandoned its normal process by adapting not one but two novels into one singular narrative. Drawing on events from both Joe Country and Slough House, Season 6 follows former and current Slough House agents on the run as MI5 Deputy Director General Diana Taverner draws them into a high-stakes conspiracy. Having used stolen Russian government funds to secretly hire a hit squad to assassinate a GRU agent, she uses the identity of Sid Baker (Olivia Cooke) to cover her tracks. Only Sid is very much alive. When the Russian government and media tycoon Damien Cantor (Harry Lloyd) retaliate, former CIA operative-turned-mercenary Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving) is hired to hunt down and eliminate the Slough House agents. Kicking off with the murder of former Slow Horse Struan Loy (Paul Higgins), Jackson Lamb and company must outmaneuver the hit squad, led by Jane (MyAnna Buring) and Jim (Kyle Soller), before more Joes die. Ending with a shocking cliffhanger that will rattle the story’s future, Season 6 is a slick, action-packed thrill ride where the agents become heroes once again.
One of the most thrilling and relentless installments yet, Slow Horses used two narratives to create one tight story. It becomes a highly orchestrated cat-and-mouse chase where no one is safe. The story becomes a taut, breathless masterpiece that moves faster than any of its predecessors. The season is noted for raising real physical stakes, with no one safe. One death is expected, but multiple deaths shake the equilibrium. The mid-season killing of J.K. Coe rattled fans, but ending it with the brutal assassination of Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley) shook the story to its core. Part of the season’s excitement comes from the levity when the agents unite in the safe house. Some of the strongest character moments emerge when they’re forced to sit still and stew. Long-time fans were excited by the return of both Sid Baker and Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar), reminding them that no one is truly out unless there’s a dead body on screen. As in Season 4, the familiar element raised the stakes, pushing River through the emotional gamut after his grandfather’s death and bringing his estranged father back into the fold. The River-Frank final showdown is one of the best-written and best-performed scenes across the entirety of the show. As is the tender moment of mourning when the team gathers to honor Coe. Though the cliffhanger may scare viewers, knowing where Herron’s books go next should provide a roadmap for River’s fate.
- He reads ground the way other people read a room.
- He will stand between you and the worst of it without discussing it.
- He says almost nothing, and never the wrong thing.
- The 1982 original came from David Morrell’s 1972 novel, which ends very differently.
- Stallone cut most of his own dialogue in the edit to make the character nearly silent.
- Five films across thirty-seven years, from 1982 to the fifth in 2019.
- He is better in the room than he is on paper, and he is excellent on paper.
- He will not explain the plan, and the plan will work.
- He treats charm as a tool, and it is a remarkably effective one.
- Eon has made twenty-five Bond films since Dr. No in 1962, across six actors.
- Denis Villeneuve is directing the next one for Amazon MGM, which took creative control in
2025. - The search for the new 007 was still running through 2026, with screen tests under way.
- He has read the thing nobody else thought to read.
- He will risk the whole plan for the artifact, and be right about half the time.
- He improvises better than most people prepare.
- The Cairo swordsman scene was improvised on the day because Harrison Ford had dysentery.
- Raiders was filmed in about 73 days, which was fast even in 1981.
- Dial of Destiny in 2023 was Ford’s fifth and last outing, at the age of eighty.
- He turns whatever is in the room to his advantage.
- He is funniest when things are at their worst.
- He has never once agreed that it is over.
- Die Hard came from Roderick Thorp’s novel Nothing Lasts Forever, a sequel to a book
filmed in 1968. - Nakatomi Plaza is Fox Plaza, which was the studio’s own headquarters at the time.
- Bruce Willis was a television comedy actor then, and a long way down the casting list.
- He takes the risk himself rather than assigning it.
- He is three moves ahead and will not say which three.
- He treats your survival as the actual objective.
- Cruise hung off the side of an Airbus A400M at a thousand feet for the opening of Rogue
Nation. - The HALO jump in Fallout took 106 takes, filmed at dusk for the light.
- The Final Reckoning in 2025 was the eighth film, and was sold as the last.
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Season 3
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For Season 3, Slow Horses adapted Real Tigers as the basis for its action. The story centered on the kidnapping of Slough House administrator Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) as part of a larger conspiracy to expose the corruption inside MI5. Under the guise of an AA sponsor, rogue Chieftain Security operative Sean Donovan (Sope Dirisu) captures Standish in order to get his hands on the classified “Grey Books” and a hidden “Footprint” that proves First Desk Ingrid Tearney (Sophie Okonedo) and Home Secretary Peter Judd (Samuel West) covered up the death of MI5 agent Alison Dunn (Katherine Waterston). Because the abduction mimics an authorized security exercise, River Cartwright and the Slow Horses are tricked and caught in the middle of the deadly power struggle. As Deputy Director Diana Taverner orchestrates a political maneuver to expose Tearney and seize control of MI5, River and Louisa Guy become the heroes they were always meant to be.
Season 3 put the action in overdrive. Coming out at a breakneck speed, the mix of action and deep emotional focus on the Slough House team. With the bulk of the action coming within a tight 36-hour window, the tight structure keeps the narrative moving relentlessly without a wasted second. From the explosive Istanbul prologue to the guns-blazing shootout, the season truly rivaled its big-screen counterparts. One of the season’s biggest moments furthered Jackson Lamb’s backstory when he revealed the truth about Charles Partner (James Faulkner) to Standish, who was loyal to him to a fault. It built immense tension, adding even more color and intrigue to Lamb’s own morality as an agent. It was a sobering, unvarnished conversation that shattered any romanticizing of their dirty reality. This season was really the first big moment where Roddy Ho was the gift that would keep on giving. Watching him crash a double-decker bus straight through a building’s wall for cover and escape was cinematic gold. Marcus Longridge (Kadiff Kirwan) also steps up in a brilliantly brutal clash with internal affairs and tactical chief Nick Duffy (Chris Reilly) in a close-quarters brawl. Needless to say, action fans got their money’s worth in Season 3!
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Season 2
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Using the plot of Dead Lions as the blueprint, Season 2 follows Jackson Lamb and his team of misfits as they uncover a Cold War plot involving Russian sleeper agents. When former agent Dickie Bow (Phil Davis) is poisoned, leaving a hidden phone with the single code word “Cicada,” Lamb discovers the sleeper agents are embedded in British society. Min Harper (Dustin Demri-Burns) and Louisa Guy take an off-the-books security gig for a meeting with Russian oligarch Arkady Pashkin (Alec Utgoff), only for Min to be shockingly murdered by the Russian operatives, who stage the assassination as a drunk-driving accident. The deeper the mission gets, the more personal it becomes as the entire operation is orchestrated by Nikolai Katinsky (Rade Šerbedžija), a KGB defector known as the mythical spymaster “Alexander Popov.” His goal is to seek revenge on Lamb and David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce) for the death of Charles Partner.
Earning a rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, Season 2 picked up where Season 1 left off and raised the stakes immensely. The season’s brilliance lay in expanding the present by exploring the past. Introducing the Cold War secrets and how past actions affected the individuals in our story exposed the depth of the spycraft. Lamb’s character is greatly expanded through his rich backstory and hidden loyalty. Further, Season 2 proved how fearless it could be by dealing with real, permanent consequences. Season 2 was truly the first time viewers felt genuine heartbreak when one of the Joes was killed off. While it certainly never gets easier, Slow Horses proved that there was absolutely no safety net attached to this show. Anyone can die at any moment. Especially if Herron prescribed it first. After Min’s death, Louisa had a profound arc filled with grief and grit, giving Eleazar a standout performance. The season added newcomers Shirley Dander (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) and Marcus Longridge, establishing that Slough House is a fluid place and any reject can be dropped into the mix. Bringing a perfect mix of espionage twists, crude and dark humor, and a tense final standoff, Season 2 deserved its perfect score.
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Season 4
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It simply does not get better than Season 4. Based on the novel Spook Street, this season centered around a London shopping center bombing and a deep conspiracy tied to the Cartwright family’s past. When a suicide bombing at Wester’s Mall is carried out by former MI5 operative Robert Winters (Zachary Hart), new Director General Claude Whelan (James Callis) and First Desk Diana Taverner scramble to cover up Winters’ connection. Meanwhile, a suffering David Cartwright shoots an assassin, Adam Lockhead (Jack Lowden), sent to target David, believing he accidentally shot his grandson. As River fakes his own death to investigate, he uncovers that the conspiracy is linked to Frank Harkness, a disgraced former special forces and CIA operative who just so happened to be River’s father. As Slough House and MI5 unite to clash with Harkness and his lethal operative, Patrice (Tom Wozniczka), a beloved Joe goes down, rattling Slough House forever.
Another perfectly crafted season, Slow Horses simply can’t get better than this. Season 4 stands out as a high point of the show due to a powerful mix of deep personal stakes, a chilling new villain, and the emotional weight of aging and family history. This season proved that spycraft is a family business, and the harrowing effects can be lethal. Season 4 delivered exceptional performances from Lowden, Weaving, and Pryce, proving that emotional ties enrich the story. Weaving’s take on the villain is almost Bond-level. He provided a chilling calmness that made him utterly terrifying. The story’s ability to balance personal and political stakes allowed Slow Horses to move into new territory, as high-tension espionage and deep, existential dread are intimately tied together. Oldman is sublime as Lamb, with his rawest scene with Price, where he must convince David his grandson is dead. It’s truly gut-wrenching to watch, especially after River was forced to put him in a care facility. Unfortunately, it’s not the most devastating moment of the season, as it saw the brutal death of Marcus. What makes his death hurt so much is that he was truly on the path to improving himself and his family. His dynamic with Shirley Danver was at its peak, which made her arc simply harrowing. But at least we will always have the slapstick comedy of the three-way rescue involving Shirley, Marcus, and Lamb.
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