Apple TV+ dropped the explosive finale of Slow Horses Season 4 last week, wrapping up what was arguably the best season yet for the streamer’s adaptation of author Mick Herron’s acclaimed series of spy novels. And, in a sign of what a cracking success the show remains for the iPhone maker’s streaming service, it’s now confirmed that Slow Horses is getting at least two more seasons.
Apple revealed today that the show’s run has been extended to include a Season 6, making Slow Horses (if I’m not mistaken) the longest-running original series on Apple TV+. That renewal, by the way, comes before Apple has even confirmed a release date for the fifth season, which we previewed right here.
Based on the release cadence for Slow Horses up to this point, I’m expecting Season 5 — which will be adapted from Herron’s book London Rules — sometime in mid-2025 at the very earliest. As for Season 6, Apple TV+ has confirmed it will be drawn from two books in the Herron series, Joe Country and Slough House. And I’d expect it sometime in 2026.
Given everything from the show’s top-tier cast, including Gary Oldman as the boorish and alcoholic spymaster Jackson Lamb, to the strength of the source material, I’d argue that Slow Horses at this point is probably in league with Ted Lasso, in terms of the Apple TV+ shows that have broken into the mainstream and managed to secure widespread public awareness. Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, in fact, spent some time during the second hour of their MSNBC show today raving about three Apple TV+ shows: Bad Monkey, Disclaimer, and Slow Horses.
Some context that’s also worth the Apple TV+ naysayers bearing in mind: Yes, the streamer’s audience is comparatively small, in relation to the major players like Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and Disney+. Apple’s service is also only five years old at this point. Fun fact: At this same point in Netflix’s history, it was still 11 years away from launching a little show you might have heard of called House of Cards.
