The Apple TV+ spy drama Slow Horses is receiving an order for two more seasons. Starring Gary Oldman, this news follows the season one premiere back in April. Season two is set to arrive later this year.
At the end of season one of Slow Horses, Apple teased that the show will return soon with all season two episodes already filmed.
‘Slow Horses’ Seasons Three and Four on Apple TV+
Following this additional order, that means Slow Horses will run for at least four seasons. Each season follows the plot of a novel by Mick Herron in the Slough House book series. Respectively, seasons three and four will follow the stories of Real Tigers and Spook Street.
In a press release, Apple TV+ stated,
In season three of Slow Horses, Jackson Lamb’s disgraced spies work together to foil a rogue agent when one of their own is kidnapped. Season four opens with a bombing that detonates personal secrets, rocking the already unstable foundations of Slough House.
Production is most likely going to begin soon for the newly ordered episodes. Both season one and season two are comprised of six episodes. Currently, it is unknown how many episodes will be in season three and four.
Slow Horses follows the story of a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department for MI5 agents. The team is led by a brilliant though troublesome leader, the legendary Jackson Lamb.
The series is also known for having the intro song being written by Mick Jagger. It is the first TV show theme song in the legendary singer’s career. The song was written in collaboration with Daniel Pemberton, who earned an Oscar for his work on The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Apple TV+ is having an incredible year in terms of fresh content. With luck, it should be an award winning season for the streaming service.
Do read the book Slow Horses before watching it on TV. It’s an “anti-Bond” masterpiece and the film is captivating too. Raw noir espionage of this quality is rare, whether or not accompanied by occasional splashes of sardonic hilarity. Slow Horses is an “anti-Bond” classic from the same genre of thoroughbred stables as the fictional Harry Palmer, Carter or Cole, based on Len Deighton’s spy novels or the fact based Edward Burlington, the protagonist in The Burlington Files espionage series by Bill Fairclough. If you enjoyed any of these you should delight in Slow Horses and vice versa.
Completely agree with your assessment, and ‘anti-Bond’ Slow Horses most certainly is.
Although Bad Actors meanders a bit, it is still almost as compelling a read as Slow Horses. Mind you, that’s not surprising: on Amazon, Mick Herron is described as “The John Le Carré of our generation” and it’s all to do with bad actors and slow horses. Who would have thought le Carré might be associated with “any generation”! In terms of acclaimed spy novels, Herron’s Slough House series has definitely made him Top Of The Pops in terms of anti-Bond writers. For Len Deighton devotees that ends a long and victorious reign at number one.
Raw noir espionage of the Slough House quality is rare, whether or not with occasional splashes of sardonic hilarity. Gary Oldman’s performance in Slow Horses has given the Slough House series the leg up the charts it deserved. Will Jackson Lamb become the next Bond? It would be a rich paradox if he became an established anti-Bond brand ambassador. Maybe Lamb should change his name to Happy Jack or Pinball Wizard or even Harry Jack. After all, Harry worked for Palmer as might Edward Burlington for Bill Fairclough in another noir but factual spy series, The Burlington Files.
Of course, espionage aficionados should know that both The Slough House and Burlington Files series were rejected by risk averse publishers who didn’t think espionage existed unless it was fictional and created by Ian Fleming or David Cornwell. However, they probably didn’t know that Fairclough once drummed with Keith Moon in their generation in the seventies.
Can Mick Herron keep afloat in the crowded pool? We hope so but there are so many epic espionage films and TV shows on now or in the pipeline. Coming soon is Joe and Anthony Russo’s The Gray Man starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans based upon Mark Greaney’s debut novel: it sounds like an epic movie and if you love the Gray Man you had best read this article. Already on TV or in cinemas are The Ipcress File with newcomer Joe Cole, Mick Herron’s Slow Horses from the Slough House stables, The Courier about Greville Wynne played by Benedict Cumberbatch who looks astonishingly just like Wynne did in real life, Colin Firth in Operation Mincemeat, Olen Steinhauer’s All the Old Knives and let’s not forget Kaley Cuoco in the Flight Attendant.
Indeed, ignoring the fact based Operation Mincemeat and The Courier, there’s almost too much fictional espionage on the menu to cope with so why not try reading instead. If you liked Deighton, Herron or Wynne, we suggest a noir fact based espionage masterpiece could do the trick. Two compelling thrillers spring to mind. They are both down to earth curious real life Cold War novels you’ll never put down.
Try Bill Fairclough’s Beyond Enkription in The Burlington Files series and Ben Macintyre’s The Spy and the Traitor about KGB Colonel Oleg Gordievsky.
Talking of Col Oleg, he knew MI6’s Col Mac (aka Col Alan Pemberton in real life) who was Edward Burlington’s handler in The Burlington Files. Bill Fairclough (aka Edward Burlington) came across John le Carré (aka David Cornwell) long after the latter’s MI6 career ended thanks to Kim Philby. The novelist Graham Greene used to work in MI6 reporting to Philby and Bill Fairclough actually stayed in Hôtel Oloffson during a covert op in Haiti which was at the heart of Graham Greene’s spy novel The Comedians.
Nick:
Slow Horses knocked it out of the park, to borrow an American expression for a British series. Not only is it packed with an outstanding cast and production crew, the storyline is brilliant, well-paced and captivating from the word ‘Go’.
I initially gave it a look simply because of the cast, but felt that the previews suggested a comedy. While not without its humour, much of it dark, its twists and turns felt like an emotional roller coaster. And then it ends with a bombshell, one that simply has to get explained, and no doubt will be.
I highly recommend the series to anyone who has not seen it, particularly those who like an intelligent, action-packed spy thriller.
Absolute agreement here. I loved every second of the first series, and am definitely looking forward to the next 3 seasons. I may even carve out time to read the books!