Gary Oldman Called This 98% RT Spy Series a Career Highlight (& It Just Got Renewed Through Season 7)

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Gary Oldman received an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for his performance as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, and he’s also well-known for playing Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films. However, the actor recently shared that his current spy thriller TV series has become “one of the best parts of [his] career.” The British show is adapted from Mick Herron’s Slough House novels, which have also received positive reviews from critics.

Slow Horses tells the story of MI5 agents who didn’t quite succeed and are relegated to a dumping ground. However, they consistently demonstrate they’re more effective than their colleagues at the agency’s main office in Regent’s Park. After four seasons and with three more already confirmed, viewers are eager to see how Gary Oldman’s character, Jackson Lamb, guides his team – affectionately known as “slow horses” – through dangerous missions that would likely prove fatal for less capable agents. The fifth and sixth seasons currently in production will be adapted from the novels London Rules and Slough House, respectively.

Slow Horses Reinvented the Spy Thriller Through Subversive Satire

Spy thrillers have traditionally been quite popular, but the genre’s appeal has been decreasing lately. While characters like Ethan Hunt continue to have an impact, even they are getting lost among the sheer number of movies and TV shows being released today. Most spy stories feature sophisticated and impressive agents who enjoy luxurious gadgets and travel the world. Even a well-known spy novelist like John le Carré mixes realistic, gritty stories with more glamorous and exciting adventures. However, Apple TV’s Slow Horses offers a very different, and surprisingly fresh, approach to the genre.

Slow Horses works so well because it balances exciting spy fiction with the often difficult and unglamorous realities of what agencies like MI5 actually do. This clever approach throws out many typical spy story clichés, turning the show into a compelling drama about imperfect people doing their best to keep others safe. Slow Horses offers a fresh take on the spy thriller, focusing on what realistically happens, which makes it both darkly humorous and surprisingly insightful for fans of the genre. The series allows viewers to see just how challenging the work truly is, stripping away the myths and exaggerations often associated with espionage.

Rather than portraying its main characters as sophisticated spies with charm and special abilities, Slow Horses focuses on a group of flawed and unconventional individuals. The show’s central idea is that Slough House-a depressing and rundown building-is where MI5 sends agents who have messed up. These agents aren’t completely dismissed, but are essentially transferred to Slough House hoping they’ll quit. Surprisingly, it’s this unlikely team of outsiders who repeatedly manage to protect the city, often while battling the rigid control of their own organization. Consequently, Slow Horses offers a commentary on the flaws within the system itself.

As a big fan of spy shows, I’ve really been enjoying Slow Horses. What I love about it is that it shows the intelligence world isn’t all glamorous – it’s just like any other job, filled with people who are frustrated and make mistakes, and those mistakes can actually be really dangerous. Honestly, a lot of the humor comes from watching these agents completely fumble things – miscommunications, plain incompetence, and just regular office drama. It’s a really smart way to update the spy thriller genre because it feels relatable, which is something I think audiences really appreciate, especially when we’re all becoming more skeptical of institutions. To me, watching these dysfunctional agents risk everything is way more satisfying than, say, James Bond, because the Slow Horses don’t always succeed. It’s just more realistic, and that makes it more compelling.

Unlike typical spy stories, Slow Horses doesn’t feature a single brave hero. Instead, it focuses on people just trying to get by, driven by feelings like guilt, desperation, or simply a lack of other options. Characters like River Cartwright and Louisa Guy are portrayed as trapped by their own inaction, even while they attempt to break free from the frustrating bureaucracy around them. River sometimes sees himself as a hero, but his motives aren’t always selfless. The character development in Slow Horses reflects how many people today feel about those in power and politics, suggesting that simply surviving is a more realistic goal in a world full of ethical compromises. The show dives into the darker side of things with a blend of subversion and satire, unexpectedly revealing how broken the entire system really is.

Jackson Lamb Is One of the Most Unique Characters on TV

As the unofficial head of Slough House, Jackson Lamb is a fascinating contradiction, full of opposing qualities. Gary Oldman’s portrayal of Lamb in Slow Horses perfectly captures this complexity, earning him nominations for two BAFTAs, Primetime Emmy Awards, and Golden Globes. Lamb is far from polished; he consistently wears roughly the same clothes, with slight adjustments when he goes undercover. Calling him untidy would be an understatement – he often looks as if he just woke up after a night of heavy drinking in a run-down room.

Jackson Lamb doesn’t exactly prioritize appearances. He has long, greasy hair, a scruffy beard, and often wears stained suits – his stomach usually spills over his belt. James Bond would never be seen like that, but Lamb actively embraces his unkempt look. This isn’t accidental; it’s a conscious choice. Lamb doesn’t just *not* care about what others think, he deliberately uses his slovenly appearance to his advantage. He hides his sharp intellect behind a facade of incompetence, consistently proving himself to be the most intelligent character in Slow Horses, often by a significant margin.

Jackson Lamb acts as rough as he looks. He’s quick to insult, belittle, and verbally abuse those who work for him, and he doesn’t bother with politeness or proper behavior. However, his mocking of employees like River Cartwright-who is often reckless and inexperienced-Min Harper’s consistent lack of skill, Roddy Ho’s inflated ego, and Shirley Dander’s quick temper feels somewhat justified – Lamb seems to believe harsh criticism is the way to improve them. The fact that this approach occasionally *works* makes his cutting remarks even more amusing. However, Lamb’s cruel treatment of Standish-whose biggest problem used to be her battle with addiction-shows a troubling and potentially self-destructive side to his personality. It suggests there’s more to his behavior than just tough love.

Similar to the other members of the team, Jackson Lamb develops significantly throughout the series. He demonstrates that people can change, even if he’s surprised by how much he does. Lamb has always been fiercely protective of his Slow Horses, but after enduring shared hardships for four seasons, he now sees them almost like his own children. While he’d hate to admit it, he’s increasingly becoming a father figure to them. Lamb has especially taken River under his wing, acting as a mentor and father figure during some of River’s toughest moments. In many ways, Lamb embodies the spirit of Slow Horses – a rough, chain-smoking, junk food-loving, alcoholic with a brilliant mind, and whose actions demonstrate his loyalty far more powerfully than his words.

Slow Horses Juxtaposes Bureaucracy Against Comradeship

The way British politics often prioritizes appearances over substance is sharply depicted in Slow Horses, particularly through the contrast between Slough House and the main MI5 headquarters at Regent’s Park. MI5, headed by various First Desks – including Lady Diana Taverner, who is consistently overlooked for the top position – presents a facade of flawless efficiency. However, the reality is that the organization is hindered by internal power struggles that compromise its impartiality. At the Park, the main focus seems to be protecting the institution itself, and even highly skilled agents view their work as part of a larger game for career advancement. The show makes its disdain for bureaucracy very clear by setting Slough House in direct opposition to the Park.

Despite occasionally making mistakes both on and off the field, the central characters are the agents at Slough House. In reality, these slow horses aren’t just a result of a demanding system – they *are* a symptom of an institution that expects flawless professionalism, personal lives, social skills, and technical expertise – everything, that is, except ethical behavior. Consequently, these individuals, often seen as failures, are determined to prove everyone wrong, repeatedly rescuing people and supporting each other in the process. Having been dismissed by MI5 and assigned to the lowest of the low positions, the only direction for these characters to move is forward. They navigate this journey as a remarkably dysfunctional, yet close-knit, found family. Ultimately, the slow horses demonstrate the strength of camaraderie in the face of a cold, impersonal system that prioritizes its own survival over the well-being of those who keep it running.

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2025-10-02 04:11