Slow Horses

Gary Oldman has already proved himself as a master in the political and espionage thriller sub-genres, with his powerful performance in the Oscar-winning "The Darkest Hour (2017)" as well as the more understated by equally effective "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)". He has portrayed gravitas, charisma, calm under pressure as well as steadfast efficiency very well on screen but Apple TV+'s new offering showcases an altogether different dimension to the British veteran, one laced with dry British wit and wry humour while never letting up on the espionage thrill elements.

We follow the story of MI5 agent "Jackson Lamb" (Oldman) who runs a sub-group within the intelligence agency dubbed the "Slow Horses" since it is primarily composed of disgraced, underperforming has-beens who no one else seems to want. Lamb seems perfectly happy running routine operations and surveillance gigs when his team gets inadvertently embroiled in a kidnapping of a Muslim youngster, presumably executed by right-wing fundamentalists.

Featuring Jonathan Pryce, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Jack Lowden and a host of fine British actors, Slow Horses takes care to paint vivid character sketches of its motley crew of temperamental agents, all with a point to prove given their sordid pasts. Director James Hawes builds his narrative slowly but self-assuredly across six wholesome episodes, which are full of unexpected twists and turns as the stakes get progressively higher and the conspiracy, more convoluted as the team tracks down one lead after another.

Oldman is in blistering form as the caustic, trash-talking spymaster who seems to use mockery and disdain as weapons to get his team to perform and the supporting cast play an able foil to the old master, creating a vivid world that intrigues as well as makes you chuckle at the most unexpected junctures. The writing from Morwenna Banks; Will Smith; Jonny Stockwood; Mark Denton deserve special praise for striking the right balance between character development, suspense, unexpected twists and humour. Apple TV+ has another winner on its hands, with "Slow Horses", alongside "Severance" clearly emerging as one of the Best new series of 2022. Highly recommended and I cannot wait for Season 2!

Gary Oldman plays the quintessential crusty old curmudgeon, an MI5 spy left over from the Cold War (and ostracised to Slough House), still parrying at shadows, and seeing real threats before anyone else.

This is stylised Cold War spy craft in a modern setting - and it's a very satisfying watch. Another well-realised show that creates its immediate world with details of environment, character (and subterfuge) - the indispensable building blocks of good story telling.

If you're just coming upon this show now that season 2 is released you should do yourself a favour and binge season 1 first - it's a good yarn and will offer a depth of character and situation that will add to your enjoyment

Season 2 appears to have lifted the game in terms of production design and cinematography - it's really paid off and elevated the show above the usual weekly episodic grind TV.

Highly recommended - Oldman and Kristin Scott-Thomas are terrific, as are Jack Lowden and Saskia Reeves.

Ignore most of the reviews here; either they didn't actually watch it long enough to understand what was going on or they were not bright enough.

If you liked the books you'll probably enjoy it even though the characters were not quite as I imagined them.

This is not a series to watch if you want a lot of action (The first episode may be misleading).

This is not a series to watch if you want a handsome hero to ride of into the sunset with the girl (swap genders to whatever rocks your boat).

This is a series to watch if you want geat characters and story.

S. Best spy TV show in a long time, combined with the social commentary that doesn't beat you over the head. And with some very subtle but increasingly fun British humor. You have a winner. Glad they have these into green light already. Of course Gary Oldman is perfect, but no one else has missed a beat either. Budget is movie quality. Writing is top notch. It deserves a nine easily but this is what we can expect from anything that says anything about anything in our world today. I'm just thankful for a show that has an opinion without compromising story or making me feel like I'm an idiot if I disagree.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy Slow Horses as much as I did. I was looking for a new show to watch to heard really good things about this show and you can't go wrong with Gary Oldman either. He's great in just about everything he's ever been in. It's no different here. He's the best thing about the show but not the only thing. The rest of the cast more than holds their own. I got so into this that I binged both seasons in just few days. It seems that most people enjoyed as much as I did because it's already been renewed for another two seasons! I can't wait to see more of this group of dysfunctional MI5 agents!