Slow Horses is back... almost! The series 5 update we’ve been waiting for is finally here

Whether you’re a Slow Horses superfan (like us!) or you haven’t watched a single episode (where have you been?), you've likely heard the hype surrounding the show. It’s been a runaway success since its debut on Apple TV+ in April 2022, which spawned many more series – and we finally have some first look images of the fifth instalment and a release date!

In case you don’t know the story, the BAFTA-award-winning espionage drama follows a dysfunctional team of British intelligence agents who serve in an MI5 dumping ground department known unaffectionately as Slough House. And Gary Oldman, who plays the head of Slough House, Jackson Lamb, has been busy filming scenes in central London.

Does this mean series 5 will be on our screens before we know it? According to Apple TV+, it does – as soon as this summer, in fact! Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming fifth series, including the plot, cast, new images and release date.

What is Slow Horses about?

For the uninitiated, the series is based on the hit series of books by Mick Herron. It follows the misfit team at Slough House, the ‘dumping ground department’ of MI5 – in other words, where the spies who made career-ending mistakes end up.

Unaffectionately nicknamed the ‘slow horses’, the team, which includes River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar), Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) and others, is led by the notorious sloven Jackson Lamb, brilliantly played by Academy Award winner Gary Oldman. Regularly going toe-to-toe with Jackson is MI5’s deputy director general, Diana Taverner, whose withering looks are portrayed excellently by Kristin Scott Thomas.

What do we know about Slow Horses series 5?

Having been renewed for a fifth series back in January 2024 (just two months after series 3 streamed on Apple TV+), we don’t have long to wait for the next instalment of Slough House antics - and the first look images (above and below) provide a bit of a taste of what's in store.

Series 5 has been confirmed to be an adaptation of Mick Herron’s 2018 novel London Rules, which is is the fifth novel and sixth story in the Slough House series and the sequel to Spook Street, which was the basis for Slow Horses season 4. We also know that season 5 will consist of six episodes, the same as previous seasons.

An official synopsis has been released for the season, which teases: ‘In season 5 of Slow Horses, everyone is suspicious when resident tech nerd Roddy Ho has a glamorous new girlfriend, but when a series of increasingly bizarre events occurs across the city, it falls to the Slow Horses to work out how everything is connected. After all, Jackson Lamb knows that in the world of espionage, “London Rules” should always apply.’

Actor Christopher Chung, who plays Roddy Ho, has said of the fifth series: ‘There is a bigger focus on Roddy, as there is in the book. There’s a lot more of me and I may even throw in a dance move or two. Everyone gets a moment in the spotlight, which is great, but I had read the six or seven books that were out when I was cast and because London Rules has such a heavy focus on Roddy, I was hoping we would get to season 5.’

Who will star in Slow Horses series 5?

The cast for season 5 of Slow Horses includes:

• Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
• Jack Lowden as River Cartwright
• Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner
• Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish
• Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho
• Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander
• Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
• Ruth Bradley as Emma Flyte
• James Callis as Claude Whelan
• Tom Brooke as J.K. Coe

When can I watch Slow Horses series 5?

Apple TV+ has now confirmed the series will premiere globally on Wednesday 24th September 24, with the first two episodes, followed by one episode weekly until 22nd October. Until then, you can stream series 1-4 on Apple TV+ now.

Will there be a Slow Horses series 6?

Yes! Apple TV+ has confirmed a sixth series is in the works and will ‘see the misfits on the run as they find themselves embroiled in a high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge thanks to frenemy Taverner’.

‘Audiences around the world have fallen in love with the Slow Horses, and I’m delighted that Gary Oldman will be leading this star-studded cast on another acerbic and action-packed adventure,’ says Jay Hunt, creative director for Apple TV+ in Europe.