Slow Horses Season 5 debuts Sept 24 on AppleTV+ adapting London Rules

Slow Horses returns to Apple TV+ on September 24 with a six-episode fifth season that adapts Mick Herron’s London Rules and once again centers on the misfit MI5 unit led by Gary Oldman’s unorthodox station chief Jackson Lamb. New episodes will roll out weekly on Apple’s streaming platform, though reports vary on whether the episodes will appear on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

Showrunner Will Smith and his creative team lean into political themes this season, updating the novel’s concerns to reflect contemporary debates over right wing populism and immigration, Smith said in a recent interview. The plot opens when tech operative Roddy Ho arrives with a glamorous new girlfriend and a string of odd events across London forces the Slow Horses to connect the dots, with Lamb and his team trying to keep the city from unravelling.

Critics who have reviewed the season praised its blend of espionage, dark comedy and character work, with many singling out Oldman’s performance. One reviewer called Jackson Lamb possibly Oldman’s best role to date, noting the actor’s ability to make the curmudgeonly, ethically compromised boss both repellent and indispensable. Ensemble players including Jack...