Slow Horses
Slow Horses
Now Showing

Slow Horses

"Drinker. Thinker. Rebel. Spy."

8.0
Yr 2022
Status Returning Series
Crime Drama Mystery
Your Verdict

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Series Brief

Overview

Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.

Critical Reception

What critics are saying

Score 85 /100

Critical reception for Slow Horses is overwhelmingly positive, with reviewers praising the spy thriller as a distinctive, highly entertaining twist on the espionage genre. Gary Oldman's central performance as the obnoxious Jackson Lamb receives widespread acclaim, with critics noting that his magnetic work anchors a stellar ensemble cast that includes Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden.

Reviewers frequently celebrate the show's balance of sharp humor, gritty London atmosphere, and tense plotting, framing it as a rewarding sendup and celebration of classic John le Carré spy novels. Over its run, critics have noted its evolution into one of television's most swaggering and remarkably consistent series.

A few detractors found the early storyline somewhat familiar or derivative of well-worn tropes, noting that some of the source novel's literary humor felt lost in adaptation. However, the overarching consensus regards Slow Horses as a sharp, atmospheric, and deeply satisfying slow-burn thriller.

“one of the best shows of early 2022”

“a highly satisfying celebration and sendup of the John le Carré novels that clearly inspired it”

“Every scene in this series has a finesse of quality or invention”

“A rewarding slow burn.”

Transmission Paths

Where to Watch

Apple TV Amazon Channel
UK • US • CA
Apple TV
US • CA • UK
Why fans love it

Spy fiction usually leans into the clean aesthetic of sharp suits and high-stakes gadgets. This series takes a different route, centering on a group of intelligence officers relegated to a dumping ground for the career-ruined. Far from the suave archetypes of traditional espionage, these characters deal in incompetence, bureaucratic stagnation, and the grim reality of their own past mistakes.

The comedy here is as blunt as the violence. Gary Oldman depicts a supervisor who manages his team through insults and thick clouds of cigarette smoke rather than tactical brilliance. By grounding the threat of terrorism within an absurd office environment, the show makes British intelligence look less like a tactical machine and more like a decaying, cynical puzzle. It manages to feel both macabre and grounded, finding humor in the fact that the people defending England are the ones nobody else wants around.

Featured Players

Cast

Credited 75
Regulars 8
Longest run 36 eps
Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman
as Jackson Lamb
36 episodes
Jack Lowden
Jack Lowden
as River Cartwright
36 episodes
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
as Diana Taverner
36 episodes
Hugo Weaving
Hugo Weaving
as Frank Harkness
12 episodes
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
as David Cartwright
14 episodes
Saskia Reeves
Saskia Reeves
as Catherine Standish
35 episodes
Christopher Chung
Christopher Chung
as Roddy Ho
35 episodes
Rosalind Eleazar
Rosalind Eleazar
as Louisa Guy
31 episodes
Show 67 more
Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander 30 episodes Sam Hazeldine as Moe 2 episodes Miltos Yerolemou as Theo Makris 2 episodes Paul Higgins as Struan Loy 3 episodes Steven Waddington as Jed Moody 4 episodes Freddie Fox as Spider Webb 11 episodes Olivia Cooke as Sidonie 'Sid' Baker 3 episodes Paul Hilton as Robert Hobden 4 episodes Antonio Aakeel as Hassan Ahmed 6 episodes Samuel West as Peter Judd 10 episodes David Walmsley as Larry 5 episodes Stephen Walters as Zeppo 5 episodes Brian Vernel as Curly 5 episodes Chris Coghill as Hobbs 8 episodes Edmund Kingsley as Seb 2 episodes Charlotte Pyke as Olivia Judd 2 episodes Bally Gill as Agent Singh 12 episodes Sophie Okonedo as Ingrid Tearney 7 episodes Lesley Harcourt as Agent Owen 4 episodes Pierro Niel-Mee as Agent McCrae 5 episodes Ravi Aujla as Mr Abdul Ahmed 3 episodes Melissa Suppiah as Mrs Fatima Ahmed 4 episodes Dustin Demri-Burns as Min Harper 10 episodes Chris Reilly as Nick Duffy 13 episodes Marek Vašut as Andre Chernitsky 5 episodes Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus Longridge 18 episodes Naomi Wirthner as Molly Doran 10 episodes Rade Šerbedžija as Nikolai Katinsky 4 episodes Zahari Baharov as Piotr Volodin 5 episodes Yerden Telemisov as Kyril Asimov 4 episodes Tamsin Topolski as Kelly Tropper 4 episodes Adrian Rawlins as Duncan Tropper 4 episodes Alec Utgoff as Arkady Pashkin 4 episodes Catherine McCormack as Alex Tropper 4 episodes Sean Gilder as Sam Chapman 5 episodes Hywel Morgan as Steve Johnston 3 episodes Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as Sean Donovan 6 episodes Charlie Rowe as Ben Dunn 5 episodes Eliot Salt as Sarah Dunn 6 episodes Sion Daniel Young as Douglas 3 episodes Olwen May as Park Receptionist 3 episodes Rebecca Dyson-Smith as Agent Smith 5 episodes Nick Blood as Sturges 4 episodes George Smale as Rafer - Chieftain Security 3 episodes Kal Sabir as BBC Reporter 3 episodes James Callis as Claude Whelan 12 episodes Ruth Bradley as Emma Flyte 12 episodes Joanna Scanlan as Moira Tregorian 6 episodes Tom Brooke as JK Coe 12 episodes Joshua Lacey as Tattoo Dog 5 episodes Tom Wozniczka as Patrice 5 episodes Kiran Sonia Sawar as Agent Giti Rahman 4 episodes Nick Moss as Old Dog 4 episodes Leroy Kincaide as Beard Dog 3 episodes Nick Mohammed as Mayor Zafar Jaffrey 4 episodes Cherrelle Skeete as Devon Welles 4 episodes Abraham Popoola as Tyson Bowman 3 episodes Victoria Hamilton as Dodie Gimball 4 episodes Hiba Bennani as Tara 5 episodes Fady Elsayed as Kamal 5 episodes Christopher Villiers as Dennis Gimball 3 episodes Ahmed Elmusrati as Sami 5 episodes Monty Ben as Farouk 5 episodes Sunny Dhillon as Welsh Dog 4 episodes Tom Bradby as Tom Bradby 4 episodes Anita Anand as Anita Anand 3 episodes Christian Bradley as Agent Jim 3 episodes
Production Board

Crew

Director
Saul Metzstein
Costume Design
Guy Speranza
Supervising Art Director
Karen Wakefield
Camera Operator
Peter Byrne
Editor
Morten Højbjerg Zsófia Tálas Ben Whitehead Luke Dunkley Sam Williams Fiona Brands
Executive Producer
Hakan Kousetta Jane Robertson Gail Mutrux Douglas Urbanski Emile Sherman
Assistant Set Decoration
Graham Ward
Key Grip
Josh Close Alex Mott
Costume Assistant
John Usher
In Memory Of
John Usher
Set Decoration
Barbara Herman-Skelding Kamlan Man
Stunt Coordinator
Andreas Petrides Paul Kennington
Production Design
Choi Ho Man Tom Burton
Director of Photography
David Chizallet
First Assistant Director
Jim Imber Richard T. Harris
Casting
Nina Gold
Signal Match

Similarity

Where Slow Horses overlaps with other shows, and exactly what they have in common.

Keyword Cloud

Keywords

london, england spy based on novel or book secret agent terrorism british spy blunt macabre mi5 british intelligence absurd
Technical Sheet

Details

First Aired
April 01, 2022
Status
Returning Series
Origin
GB
TMDB Votes
926