Slow Horses (S1+S2)
— Mike Hale perfectly summarises Slow Horses:
It’s a complicated conspiracy thriller crossed with an office comedy, and it lightly dusts grungy realism with off-kilter, absurdist touches
Gary Oldman, in the centre of it all as the delightfully rude leader of a group of disgraced MI-5 agents, is the perfect casting for the role of Jackson Lamb. Few actors are as good at portraying functioning alcoholics. Case in point: Oldman as Herman J. Mankiewicz in Mank and as Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour.
With only six episodes per series, Slow Horses is refreshingly short. Not everyone agrees; Mike Hale, again:
If there’s a problem with the show, it’s the inverse of what’s sometimes referred to as Netflix bloat. “Slow Horses” demonstrates that six episodes — a standard length for British crime dramas — isn’t necessarily enough time to adapt a complexly plotted, fully characterized book.
Six episodes per series are just right for Slow Horses—for any TV series, really. The plot is a bit dense at times, but I take that any time over the slog of many of today’s TV series.
Slow Horses Series 1 and 2 (2022). Cast: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas. Streaming now on Apple TV+.