Apple TV+ has pulled back the curtain on season five of “Slow Horses,” its critically acclaimed espionage drama fronted by the incomparable Sir Gary Oldman. Based on London Rules, the fifth novel in Mick Herron’s award-winning Slough House series, the new season is set to premiere on September 24, 2025, with weekly instalments running through to October 29.
For the uninitiated, “Slow Horses” has built a reputation as the best spy series on television — a perfect cocktail of grit, gallows humour, and grubby tradecraft. sharp as they come but never shy of a cutting word, running Slough House — MI5’s backwater for agents whose careers have gone badly off track. Still, written off or not, this band of “slow horses” have a knack for stumbling into the kind of missions that could change the fate of nations.
Season five promises another serpentine ride through the murk. Suspicion takes centre stage when Slough House’s resident tech savant Roddy Ho turns up with a surprisingly glamorous new girlfriend. But when a string of bizarre incidents rattles London, Lamb and his ragtag team are forced to connect the dots — all under the shadow of the infamous “London Rules”: cover your back.
Alongside Oldman, the returning ensemble includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Ruth Bradley, James Callis, Tom Brooke, and Jonathan Pryce. New to the line-up is “Ted Lasso” favourite Nick Mohammed, guest starring in what promises to be a memorable turn.
Since its debut, the series has earned real acclaim — with Emmy wins, BAFTA nods, and even two seasons sitting at a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The third run brought nine Emmy nominations and a writing win, while the fourth followed with five more, including recognition for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor. And with seasons six and seven already on the way, Slough House is set to keep its doors open for some time yet.
Saul Metzstein is back in the director’s chair after his Emmy-nominated work on season three. The show is produced by See-Saw Films, with the scripts adapted by writer Will Smith. Executive producers on the series are Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Julian Stevens, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Douglas Urbanski, Gail Mutrux, Smith and Graham Yost.
Come September, the London Rules will be in full force again — and with Lamb leading the charge, expect them to be broken in the most spectacular fashion possible.
