Slow Horses

In Apple TV Plus' Slow Horses, MI5 failures might be the ones for the covert job in the series led by Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden.

Juxtaposing River’s past and present in this way emphasizes the depth of his screw-up and his frustrations with his current assignment.A conversation with his grandfather, David (Jonathan Pryce), speaks to the way Cold War methods and perspectives persist even after that conflict has officially ended. How Lamb came to be the reluctant boss of this collection of screw-ups is unclear and despite his vocal annoyance, there is an element of enjoyment with this gig bubbling beneath the surface. It's in this workplace arena that Slow Horses is at its strongest thanks to the interpersonal set-up (including the one employee who cannot get enough of his co-workers) and the dark comedy flourishes. When River stops by his former stomping ground to drop off a package, he is reminded of his failures by the smug Spider Webb (Freddie Fox) — who may or may not have led to River’s current posting. Emma Fraser spends most of her time writing about TV, fashion, and costume design; Dana Scully is the reason she loves a pantsuit. While Lamb day drinks and stinks up his upstairs office with a case of bad flatulence (that he seems particularly proud of), River attempts to figure out why he has been tasked with going through the trash of an ostracized right-wing journalist. “Cry me a river, River,” is Sid’s response to his whining about the kind of work he has been tasked with, but she also indulges his complaints. Robert Hobden (Paul Hilton) appears to be at the center of the Slough House surveillance and the overall plot, but he cannot connect the pieces without defying a few orders first. River is also the closest thing you can get to a secret agent nepotism baby, even if he isn’t living up to the reputation of his family lineage. River’s presence in the dreary office — which looks like it hasn’t seen a lick of paint since the start of the Cold War — has unsettled the balance of this environment as he actively tries to dig deeper into the hostage situation that has thrown the country into crisis. Leading the impressive cast is Oscar-winner Gary Oldman as the curmudgeonly Jackson Lamb, who is in charge of the MI5 rejects banished to Slough House. He has no time for anyone in his office and is perpetually annoyed with those under his command. He is reminded on several occasions that the only reason he wasn’t kicked out completely is due to his connections.

This recap of the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses season 1, episode 2, "Work Drinks," contains spoilers. Check out the archive for reviews, news, and recaps.

There’s that sarcastic banter fresh from the premiere as well, with Oldman delivering some hilarious one-liners in addition to the continued quick wit of Sid. It’s another excellent script as the large ensemble tries to crack the case before the hostage is killed. He appears to be just lazing around, smoking cigarettes, and downing whisky shots, but the disgraced spy has got to be devising some ingenious plan in secret. As MI5 attempt to pinpoint the hostage’s location and save the student, the ‘Slow Horses’ at Slough House do their own digging.

From 'Veep' and 'The Thick of It' writer Will Smith, this Apple TV+ series has a sliver of comic apathy running through it.

Principally, the show’s stars, with Oldman and Scott Thomas a particularly fizzy double act. Soon a conspiracy emerges involving a far-right terrorist group, the media establishment and potentially River’s superiors. Everyone is miserable, the streets are dirty, and the camera filter is the colour of a damp paperback stuffed in the backroom of an Oxfam. It feels like home.

Director James Hawes on See-Saw Films' 'anti-Bond' espionage series for Apple TV+.

With a world around them firmly established, the actors and I could experiment. There was probably more discussion, and certainly more opinions, on the music than any other element of production. And it is all realised in the colours and tones of 70s/80s movie palette. This is when the director needs to become a fully paid-up member of the awkward squad. We land a brilliant group of rooted, light touch actors who feel honest to the script. And it has a very particular DNA. Oozing with the influence of Le Carré, but with a pedigree all of its own, thanks to author Mick Herron’s clever touch, a scene can switch from an intense exchange about a threatened hostage to a juicy lamb korma and a fart.

The UK has long produced some of the finest spy dramas across both film and television from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to Spooks and The Ipcress File. Based on ...

This is also a fine opportunity for Lowden to show his continuing rising star paired with his more reserved role as Siegfried Sassoon in Terrence Davies’ Benediction.  The supporting cast slot in to place perfectly with Scott Thomas used sparingly but making the most of every moment she is on screen. As with the novel a group of British based extremists who go by the name of the Sons of Albion kidnap a British student of Pakistani descent, an incident which sees the Slow Horses drawn into play. Gary Oldman is a fine Jackson Lamb; sleazy and messy on the outside but with a brain wiring at a 100 miles an hour, this is easily one of his best roles post his Oscar win.

Apple TV+ tackles the British espionage thriller with Slow Horses, a gripping new series starring Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman as a disgraced MI5 agent in ...

River is tasked with rummaging through a suspect’s bins, whilst Sid manages to steal the files off of this fascist journalist. Like most Apple TV+ fares, this is cleverly written, with some impressive actors on board for the six-part series. There is clearly more to this man than meets the eye. If the premiere is anything to go by this is going to be a stunning show to get stuck into this month. River barges civilians out of the way, hijacks a car, and disarms a police officer, all in the hopes of catching the killer. That heart-racing opener introduces us to our protagonist, River Cartwright, played by Jack Lowden (Fighting with My Family). The youthful agent is in the midst of tracking down a suspect terrorist at a busy airport terminal, yet they jump the wrong man.

Gary Oldman plays a washed-up version of his Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy character in AppleTV+'s sharp spy thriller Slow Horses.

Herron’s novel was forward thinking in 2010 as it looked beyond the heroic stories of thwarted Islamic terror threats that dominated the genre following the Sept. 11 and 7/7 attacks, turning instead to examine corruption within security agencies, the rising threat of white nationalism, and the general feeling that Britain’s best days may have already passed. Their uselessness and despair feels physically manifested in the dark and dingy Slough House as compared to the sleek glass of MI5 headquarters, where the regal Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) commands agents who actually get things done. Oldman’s Jackson Lamb is a flabby and flatulent desk jockey leading a team of MI5 rejects.

The Apple TV+ series' opening delivers on a spy show promise without betraying the deceptive nature of the story to come. [Interview]

We had a day for the Wembley part, a day for the train, and a day in the [MI-5] hub. You find a file, you find a sock with holes in it. But I imagine on some level, you wanted to put in a few details that, if people went back and watched it again, might clue them in the fact that what they’re watching is actually a training exercise. It’s always a balance between how much you feel the need to give the story geography to the audience and how much you want to keep them working. Most of the police that you see in the airport are real policeman telling you, ‘This is what I’d do.’ Most of the stewards in the high-vis jackets, they’re the real airport staff responding as they would. If you’ve thought it through properly, and the actors will always test you on this, there’s a logic to how they’re running and behaving and what they’re reacting to and against. And to be honest, they weren’t terribly keen on the scene, which was a terrorist attack. INDIEWIRE: This had to be the biggest logistical challenge of the season. When you get through baggage reclaim, I wanted to continue building out our world and moving towards a climax, and Stansted didn’t [offer] me that. This discussion of the scene below has been condensed and edited for clarity. The opening scene of “Slow Horses” is something of a magic trick. First, Cartwright’s chase and the team of MI-5 officials guiding him — led by Kristin Scott Thomas’ steely Diana Taverner — has to provide an entry point for viewers unfamiliar with the source material.

'Slow Horses' has made its debut on Apple TV+, but how many episodes of the Gary Oldman-led show can viewers anticipate?

With Slow Horses debuting on April 1, it’s probably premature to be discussing another season of episodes. Although Slow Horses is kicking off with just six episodes, Gary Oldman told Collider that 12 episodes make up the story of season 1. “The six episodes are not season 1,” Oldman explained. Those looking for more episodes of Slow Horses following the Apple TV+ show’s premiere can expect another four weeks of content in April. Six installments are coming to the streaming service to start. The first two chapters of Slow Horses debuted on April 1 on Apple TV+, and they already have viewers talking about Gary Oldman and his team of misfit spies. How many episodes of Slow Horses can viewers expect on the streamer?

Gary Oldman leads an all-star cast in the new new Apple TV Plus series Slow Horses. Here's how to watch it free online with a 7-day Apple TV+ trial ...

Apple TV+ is available in over 100 countries. Slow Horses, a grimy British espionage thriller starring Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas, premiered on Apple TV+ on Friday, 1st April 2022 and all five episodes are now available to watch in full. Slow Horses is based on author Mick Herron’s award-winning crime novels, and the theme is sung by Mick Jagger no less.

Real intelligence agents are not like James Bond or Jason Bourne. You can't go all rogue and still go unscathed. Sometimes, if you fail, you are sent into ...

“Slow Horses follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 – Slough House. Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irascible leader of the spies who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes. When River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), a newcomer to Slough House, discovers a crime and reports it to Lamb, the young agent is instantly discouraged by the grouchy boss-man. In other words, Slow Horses is a story of underdogs, agents who the world never hears of, unless they prove themselves. But when he finds out about a hostage situation, he decides to look further into it and get back on the field, so he can right the wrong and prove his merit to MI5. Every new episode will release weekly on Fridays. The final episode of Slow Horses will be released on April 29, 2022. Jackson Lamb – Played by Gary Oldman, Lamb is the head of Slough House and boss of a bunch of failed agents. Lamb is a disenchanted and disgruntled employee and as miserable as a boss can be. The video introduces the audience to Slough House, and we see a bunch of demotivated employees, who have turned up in this dumping ground of failed MI5 agents, otherwise called the slow horses. The trailer also introduces us to the department’s boss, Jackson Lamb, played by Gary Oldman. Lamb seems to be the most miserable of all, bored to death with this life and job, and has absolutely no interest whatsoever in improving it or that of others. That is to say, you’ll probably see a very dull and drab side of MI5 but one that is equally thrilling once you get into it. The plot follows an MI5 agent, who fails his training mission and is sent to the Slough House in a paper-pushing, keyboard-thumping role until he discovers something dangerous that could threaten the entire nation. And if you want to know everything there is to know about this all-new series, check out our handy guide with all the latest information on the release date, plot, cast, characters, and more of Slow Horses.