Slow Horses Seasons 5 and 6 Renewed by Apple TV+

I’ve got a confession to make. I was all set to cancel my free three-month Apple TV+ subscription. I thought I was done after finishing what I believed was the last installment of Slow Horses. Gone, finito, I was ready to pull the plug. Let’s be honest, Apple TV+ doesn’t have the most robust selection when it comes to streaming content. But just as I was about to hit the cancel button, they pulled a fast one—renewing the series for not just a fifth, but also a sixth season!

Created by Will Smith (no, not that Will Smith), Slow Horses stars the legendary Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the sharp-witted yet irritable leader of a ragtag team of British intelligence agents. Lamb’s brilliance is undeniable, but his gruff demeanor and biting sarcasm make him as difficult to work with as he is effective. This dysfunctional group of spies, relegated to MI5’s underachieving department known as Slough House, may not be the agency’s top performers, but under Lamb’s unorthodox leadership, they find themselves embroiled in high-stakes situations that test their mettle in ways they never expected.

Now I’m hooked, and their almost year-long shooting schedule between seasons isn’t helping. Each season flies by with only six episodes, and there’s nothing slow about Slow Horses. Once those metaphorical horses are unleashed, the show charges full speed into a maze of intrigue like no other spy series out there. It’s easily the best series on TV right now.

I’ll be honest, I thought Gary Oldman’s career went to the glue factory, that he’d faded into the background of Hollywood. Boy, was I wrong? You can’t help but root for his character, a crass, disheveled bastard who surprises you by showing glimpses of decency just when you least expect it. The cast, including the always-excellent Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden, strikes the perfect balance between humor and suspense, making the show an easy recommendation for almost anyone.

My biggest complaint? It’s stuck on Apple TV+, which occupies only a small fraction of the streaming market, dominated by bigger—often inferior—platforms. Despite Apple offering some of the best series on TV right now, Slow Horses included, they’re not exactly the go-to for most people. And now, after getting so hooked, I’m stuck with Apple TV+ for another two years. Damn you, Apple!