What To Know
- Slow Horses has been one of the most consistent shows on television in recent years.
- Gary Oldman reveals why he still loves the show and how long he thinks it can last.
If there’s one word that can be used to describe Slow Horses, it’s consistent. The Apple TV spy thriller, based on Mick Herron‘s novels, delivers six episodes every season of brilliant writing, spectacular performances, dark humor that fits so well in this world, and compelling characters — and on an annual basis. The first two seasons were released in 2022, and there’s been a new one every year since. Season 6 premieres on Wednesday, September 16, and Season 7 has already been filmed.
But how long will that continue? TV Insider had to ask Gary Oldman, who stars as Jackson Lamb, the head of Slough House, the home for MI5’s rejects, just that when we spoke to him for our in-depth Fall Preview. After all, there’s another book, Clown Town, that can be adapted for a Season 8, and chances are that won’t be the last from Herron. Plus, there are novellas.
For Oldman, what keeps him coming back are the stories and those involved in telling them.
Apple TV
“With Season 6, I thought the story was interesting, that the horses were being targeted,” he shared.
“What’s kept me going really is the company. The scripts are based on these books, so we do have an advantage. You know sometimes you’re watching your long form TV, you’re watching a series and you invest a lot of time with characters and your time. You watch something, you go, ‘It’s an hour of my life. It’s two hours of my life or whatever, a week watching a show,’” he continued. “And you know you get to that moment sometimes where it just jumps the shark and you go, ‘Really? I’ve invested all this time in this show and now that has happened?’ I don’t think we’re in danger of that because we’ve got Mick’s books, which are a great template. We don’t have a situation where writers are sitting in a room in Season 5 scratching their heads going, ‘Oh, what can we do? What are we going to do? What story are we going to come out? I know, what if so-and-so joins NASA and becomes an astronaut?’”
As Oldman put it, “I think that is a virtue. It really helps keeping it on track.”
He added, “Mick’s going to keep writing books, I guess. And if Apple is happy with us and keeps writing the checks, they’re the ultimate — they’ll be the ones to keep it going or end it. I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
How long do you want to see Slow Horses continue? Let us know in the comments section below.
Slow Horses, Season 6 Premiere, Wednesday, September 16, Apple TV