There's no rest for the Slow Horses. As has become tradition for the Apple TV Plus spy drama, the conclusion of Slow Horses season 4 brought viewers a first look at Slow Horses season 5, the latest in the Emmy-nominated hit series starring Gary Oldman.
Slow Horses has become one of the longest-running and most successful Apple TV Plus originals. Its third season earned the show its first slate of Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series and a win for creator Will Smith in Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, while the show has also racked up 11 BAFTA TV nominations and two wins over its run thus far. And there are no signs of it slowing down, as there are eight books in his Slough House series, four of which haven't been adapted by the show.
What book are they tackling next? When can we expect to watch Slow Horses season 5? We've got everything we know about the latest season of the spy drama right here.
Slow Horses season 5 release date
There is no release date for Slow Horses season 5 at this time, but recent history would suggest that we'll likely get the latest season sometime in fall 2025.
Outside of Slow Horses season 1, which debuted in April 2022, new seasons of the spy drama have all been released as part of the fall TV lineup. Our guess is that will remain the case for Slow Horses season 5 until Apple TV Plus confirms the release date.
In the meantime, if you want to catch up with the show from the beginning to now, you must have an Apple TV Plus subscription, as all episodes are available exclusively on the streaming platform.
Slow Horses season 5 cast
Again, official details on Slow Horses season 5 are scarce at the moment, but the trailer confirms that pretty much the entirety of the main cast of Slow Horses is back for this latest season.
That includes Gary Oldman as disheveled spymaster Jackson Lamb, Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner, Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy, Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish, Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho, Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander, Ruth Bradley as Emma Flyte, James Callis as Claude Wheelan and Tom Brooke as JK Coe. We didn't spot Joanna Scanlan's Moira Tregorian or Jonathan Pryce's David Cartwright in the trailer, so their involvement is TBD, though we wouldn't be surprised if they returned as well.
As far as new cast members, no big names popped out in the trailer, so we'll have to wait and see who Apple TV Plus reveals to be joining the cast for the new season.
Slow Horses season 5 plot
Apple TV Plus has not released an official synopsis for Slow Horses season 5, but they did share that the new season will be based on Herron's fifth book in his Slough House series, London Rules. Here is the synopsis for that book from Amazon Prime (we'd guess they show will tweak a detail or two, but follow the overall gist of Herron's book):
"At MI5 headquarters Regent's Park, First Desk Claude Whelan is learning this the hard way. Tasked with protecting a beleaguered prime minister, he's facing attack from all directions: from the showboating MP who orchestrated the Brexit vote, and now has his sights set on Number Ten; from the showboat's wife, a tabloid columnist, who's crucifying Whelan in print; from the PM's favorite Muslim, who's about to be elected mayor of the West Midlands, despite the dark secret he's hiding; and especially from his own deputy, Lady Di Taverner, who's alert for Claude's every stumble. Meanwhile, the country's being rocked by an apparently random string of terror attacks.
"Over at Slough House, the MI5 satellite office for outcast and demoted spies, the agents are struggling with personal problems: repressed grief, various addictions, retail paralysis and the nagging suspicion that their newest colleague is a psychopath. Plus someone is trying to kill Roddy Ho. But collectively, they're about to rediscover their greatest strength — that of making a bad situation much, much worse.
"It's a good thing Jackson Lamb knows the rules. Because those things aren't going to break themselves."
Slow Horses season 5 trailer
Fans were treated to a preview of Slow Horses season 5 at the end of the Slow Horses season 4 finale. Highlights include someone trying to kill Roddy, River kissing Louisa and Lamb's epic backhanded compliment of his team ("at least my lot f**k up on an epic scale, they're not just run of the mill f**k ups like yours.")
Apple TV Plus has not released the teaser trailer online, so if you want to watch you're going to need to watch the Slow Horses season 4 finale and stick around to the very end.
Slow Horses behind the scenes
Already it has been confirmed that there is going to be a Slow Horses season 6, so no need to worry about season 5 being the last in the series.
Also, for a bit of fun, watch this video that sees the cast of Slow Horses guess which characters said certain lines:
