Your Weekend Binge Watch: Slow Horses

Your Weekend Binge Watch: Slow Horses

Available to watch on AppleTV+; 5 Seasons, 6 episodes each, Thriller (& TWO MORE SEASONS ARE OFFICIALLY COMING!!) 

Listen to Johny read blog

0:00

Watch Slow Horses for its perfectly cast ensemble of lovable misfits navigating the UK and Europe as the cast-aside members of MI5.

Synopsis

A dysfunctional team of MI5 agents and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb (played by the incredible Gary Oldman), navigate the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.

Thoughts

Honestly, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write about Slow Horses. I was, admittedly, an early adopter of season one and have been so excited with how many people have jumped on board the fan train while I begged those closest to me to watch. Side bar (before I get really into it): I got to attend a Q&A for Slow Horses with Gary Oldman and Jonathan Pryce as a member of SAG-AFTRA, and although I was already incredibly biased in my undying devotion for this show, seeing Gary Oldman and Jonathan Pryce chat about how they’ve enjoyed filming it/joking about old age chair yoga made me ship this show even harder.

There are so many things I absolutely love about Slow Horses. It’s a British spy thriller show where, instead of rooting for the classic James Bond-type hero, you’re cheering on the last-chance screw-ups from Slough House. They’re the lovable castaways who, for one reason or another, are on spy probation, but they’re not in Slough House because they’re inherently terrible at being spies. No, they’re all quite decent at being spies, but it’s mostly their personal lives and individual character flaws that have them cast aside into Slough House for one reason or another. Every member of Slough House is a mess, and we love them even more for it.

Gary Oldman is amazing as Jackson Lamb. A member of MI5 for literal decades, he’s been cast away to be head of Slough House because of long-standing personal clashes with traditional management. But even though he doesn’t always like to play by the official rules, he’s usually a few steps ahead of everyone else – and even though he’s a jackass to his wards in Slough House, he’s also protective of them and has their backs.

Gary Oldman isn’t the only heavy hitting actor in the series. There are several long-time savants of the craft who make appearances throughout the show’s five seasons. And I know what you’re going to say. FIVE SEASONS?! That’s a lot for a weekend binge, Johny. And yes, I agree. Don’t spend your entire weekend watching all five seasons! Get outside, touch the grass, look at the sky, and then come home in the evening, make a nice cup of tea, and cozy up for your viewing.

The nice thing about Slow Horses is that although there are five seasons and although most of the cast returns each season, each six-episode arc has its own storyline. There are, of course, some storylines/relationships that carry into each new six-episode arc, but there’s always enough of an ‘in case you missed it/last time on’ recap situation that you won’t feel completely left in the dark if you jump into a new season without having seen the previous.

I love this show, I look forward to each new episode (it premieres them weekly like in the olden days!), and I cannot stress enough just how much I enjoy the concise, purposeful writing. If you are a fan of strong acting, lovable screw-ups, brilliant writing, and rooting for the underdog, please please please make this show your next nightly adventure. Totally BingeReady.