‘Slow Horses,’ Apple TV+’s Most Reliable Series, Returns With Excellent and Explosive Fourth Season
The Emmy-nominated series returns on Sept. 4 with the perfect mix of suspense, dry wit, and flatulence.
Season 4 of “Slow Horses” debuts on Apple TV+ on Sept. 4 and remains one of the best shows on television. The latest installment is as explosive as ever with a break-neck pace and a lot of action (and dry wit) packed neatly into its six-episode arc. Any of the typical slow cloak-and-dagger fat you might associate with other spy thrillers has been trimmed here. For newcomers, each season of the series adapts a different book in Mick Herron’s Slough House novel series. In both the books and show, a group of MI5 agents are forced into career purgatory following various work-related sins only to routinely find themselves — often unwittingly — at the center of some of the biggest espionage cases in British history. Led by flatulent and unhygienic super spy Jackson Lamb (played by Oscar winner Gary Oldman), the Slough House team isn’t always successful, but the new season manages to keep you rooting for the motley group of underdogs nonetheless.
In the fourth season — based on Herron’s novel “Spook Street” — River Cartwright (Emmy nominee Jack Lowden) has to come to terms with the mental unraveling of his beloved grandfather (Tony winner and Emmy nominee Jonathan Pryce), himself a legendary MI5 agent. However, what will the government do when someone who knows far too many secrets forgets that they are actually secrets? Unsurprisingly, the story takes the unexpected twists and turns that viewers have fallen in love with over the show’s first three seasons.
The show’s third season is currently nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and individual acting noms for Oldman, Lowden, and Pryce respectively.
Check out the trailer for Season 4 of ‘Slow Horses’:
For Season 4, “Slow Horses” welcomes a handful of cast members led by Hugo Weaving as Frank Harkness, Ruth Bradley as Emma Flyte, James Callis as Claude Whelan, Joanna Scanlan as Moira Tregorian, and Tom Brooke as J.K. Coe. Bradley and Brooke’s characters make for delightful additions to the ensemble, but unfortunately, I didn’t care for James Callis as Claude Whelan as his character comes across as an unfit idiot, even by Slough House standards. While there needs to be a reason that each team member was banished to the espionage hinterlands, this increasingly tiresome bumbling schtick makes you question how MI5 could have ever hired him to begin with.
Even with the few missteps in humor from Whelan, I continue to love the show for its smart and intelligent approach to storytelling. It nails a pitch-perfect tone that balances just enough suspense to be tense, but not enough to keep your nerves high-strung for an entire hour. The show continues to be a masterclass in espionage moderation.
Because of the show’s rapid pacing, it does require near full concentration to keep people, places, and subtle motives straight. As an American, I found it almost necessary to keep subtitles on so that I could catch the decidedly British slang and parse some of the unfamiliar turns of phrase.
With Season 4 premiering on Wednesday, Sept. 4, if you haven’t yet jumped into the show, there is still plenty of time to catch up on the 18 total episodes from the previous three seasons. Whether you are a long-time “Slow Horses” fan, or you are just now catching up, Season 4 should not disappoint.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is a subscription video streaming service for $9.99 a month that includes high-quality original shows and movies including Best Picture winner “CODA,” popular sitcom “Ted Lasso,” and dramas like “The Morning Show” and “Severance.” Apple TV+ is also home to MLB baseball games on Friday nights and MLS Season Pass.