One of the pinnacles of Apple TV’s output, Slow Horses, is back for another season, and it’s undoubtedly its best yet. Very few programmes for the streaming service have got to the number of seasons that the show has for the (arguably best, at least based on the Emmys this year) streaming service, and that’s most likely because the show consistently blows everyone out of the water with its impressively annual releases and high-calibre, well-written stories.

I was a little slow to join the show’s bandwagon, which I now regard as one of my biggest regrets as a TV fan, because it’s a phenomenally made show. All the seasons so far sit between 90% and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and this season will inevitably do the same. The show follows Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and his team of “Slow Horses”, a group of MI5 service rejects, as they somehow continually get involved in cases that endanger Britain. It also stars the brilliant Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, who’s rumoured to be the next James Bond. Whilst I think he would be brilliant in that role, it would be a massive shame for the show to lose him, as he is absolutely the heart of the show alongside Oldman and the rest of the team.

This season introduces the mysterious Jim (Kyle Soller) and Jane (MyAnna Buring), two assassins tasked with tracking down the Slow Horses. It’s unclear why we first meet them, but the season unravels that mystery in a fascinating, gripping, and deadly way. We’re also introduced to Damien Cantor, a media mogul and news channel owner (played by Harry Lloyd) who causes trouble for Diana Taverner (the ever-brilliant Kristin Scott Thomas). We don’t often see Taverner on the back foot over the course of the series, but this season offers an entertaining glimpse of what that looks like.

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The stars of the show, however, remain the fantastic team. It’s a delightfully well-cast show, with the group of rejects bouncing off each other so well throughout. Oldman remains a tour de force as Jackson Lamb, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else embodying the role so brilliantly. It’s fascinating to see how the other members of the team’s stories play out across the season too, with previously established character arcs for the likes of Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) and Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) continuing to impact their decision-making. It can be difficult to maintain audience investment across a whole ensemble in a show like this, but I felt that the decisions they made with some of the wider ensemble, such as the role Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley) played within the story, really added to the season’s strengths as well.

It’s great to have a well-made season, but not all shows get the benefit of a strong finale to tie it all together. Fortunately, I felt the finale was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time, and it gripped me from the get-go. At times, it almost felt like the final-ever episode of the show, with so many characters looking vulnerable in the final moments. That decision made for an absolutely magnificent finale that already has me invested in the next season, even though this one wasn’t out yet when I wrote this.

I absolutely loved this season; it’s another example of standout television. With Apple TV recently sweeping the Primetime Emmys (becoming only the second network to beat Netflix and HBO Max in the last 20 years), it’s potentially time to start putting more respect on their name when it comes to debating the best streaming service, especially when everyone mocked them when they first introduced it.

With Season 6, Slow Horses once again proves it’s not only the streamer’s finest, but also one of the best shows on television, full stop. Every episode is entertaining television; it works even if you’ve never seen it, but it’s even better if you’ve watched every season. It’s a show that truly sets the bar for what television can be, and what it should be. If more shows set the same high standard as this every year, we’d be in a really good position as audiences, and luckily for us, Apple is starting to head in that direction.

★★★★★

Streaming on Apple TV from 16th September / Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Christopher Chung, Saskia Reeves / Director: Adam Randall / Apple TV

About the Author

Danny

Editor

Danny is a freelance Entertainment Journalist with a background spanning marketing, journalism and governance. He is currently a Trustee at Chichester Festival Theatre. He can be found under @popcornandpace on Instagram.

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