There is no show on television aright now more confident thanSlow Horses , and that sureness is not mislay . The serial carries itself with an impish , slicked - haircloth kind of swagger that would make it unacceptable to bear wereSlow Horsesnot able-bodied to back it up . But it can , and it does . TheApple TV+dramedy has been on a steady climb toward greatness ever since it made its quiet premiere on the still relatively new streaming platform in 2022 . Since then , it has unfreeze three seasons and is on the verge of premiere its quaternary . ( Its pace of output alone is enough to makeSlow Horsesstand out in an era in which even seemingly conventional season of television set are take away an increasingly long clock time to bring on . )
Last year , Slow Horses ‘ propulsive , shockingly red third time of year withdraw it to great pinnacle than its first two . The season agitate the spy dramedy into the mainstream conversation for the first time and earnedSlow Horsesits only Emmy nominations to escort . Less than a twelvemonth later , the show is back , and it has never been in a strong or more precarious emplacement before . come off its best season to date , Slow Horsesfaces the challenge of prove that it can proceed to deliver at the same tier . Its fourth season does n’t just do that . It also sees the series charge into more violent and personal places without ever losing the narrative and tonal sharpness that has madeSlow Horsessuch a systematically entertaining , gratifyingly cutting thriller .
In its fourth time of year , Slow Horsessticks to the same proved formula as its first three , which is to say that it give all of its six episodes to adapting another novel in author Mick Herron’sSlough Housebook serial . Based on Herron’sSpook Street , the season come after Slough House head Jackson Lamb ( a reliably magnificent Gary Oldman ) and all of his fellow MI5 rejects as they get beguile up in another confederacy , this time take the car bombing of a London shopping plaza and a countryside execution that somehow colligate to the wraithlike yesteryear of River Cartwright ’s ( Jack Lowden ) once - feared grandfather , David ( Jonathan Pryce ) . Slough House ’s impromptu investigation into the two , on the face of it unrelated upshot is complicated by David ’s aggravate dementedness and the introduction of Frank Harkness ( Hugo Weaving ) , a former CIA operative whose desire to treat up his own tracks makes him a deadly nuisance .
As is usually the case with Herron ’s espionage plots , dull Horses ‘ latest conspiracy is one that gyrate both outward and within . Its ramifications , however , raise to be far more astray - roam and in person impactful for everyone from River and Jackson to the ever - resourceful MI5 higher - up , Diana Taverner ( Kristin Scott Thomas ) , her new hirer Claude Whelan ( a gloriously wishy - washy James Callis ) , and return Slough House rejects like Shirley Dander ( Aimee - Ffion Edwards ) and Marcus Longridge ( Kadiff Kirwan ) than any of the show ’s previous closed book . Despite that , Slow Horsesseems less gift this time around in drawing out the twisty nature of its raw conspiracy , and more in wrench as much tension out of MI5 ’s battle with Weaving ’s tricky Frank as it can . This results in a few set piece , include a late - time of year ambuscade , that will go out you pant for gentle wind .
Slow Horsesseason 4 continues the tendency set by its predecessor by even more fully espouse the show ’s action mechanism elements . Like it frequently does , the Apple TV+ drama leaven that it ’s able of pull off car chases , gunfight , and fight scenes better than other shows with considerably larger budgets . The series has proven in the yesteryear that it is n’t afraid to drink down off even some of its more notable brook characters , and that lends an added sense of danger to every new confrontation and makes at least two of this time of year ’s set pieces land with far more force-out than they might have otherwise . While director Adam Randall maximizes the impact of season 4 ’s bursts of violence , though , creator Will Smith and his team of writers never let the show get too expectant for its own good . Its central squad ’s mission this time of year may seem even more at random put to death and disorganized than common , butSlow Horsesremains firmly rooted in its protagonists ’ messy , acrimonious humanity .
The show ’s dialogue and funniness is as sharp - witted as ever . Generally talk , Slow Horsesdoesn’t frequently stake into the same world of slapstick humor as most boob tube situation comedy , but there is still the spirit of a workplace comedy coursing through it . The serial publication mine most of its humor out of the sarcastic shot its lowly - level spies routinely throw at each other , and its type are so vividly drawn that it ’s just as much fun to watch Shirley and Marcus argue over the latter ’s play dependency as it is seeing River narrowly elude yet another near - end encounter . Slow Horses ‘ conspiracy may be getting more unsafe , but the show remain uninterested in sanding down the more embarrassing edge of its characters . Lowden ’s River still is n’t as equal to as he thinks he is , and that givesSlow Horsesthe space to not only pin him in more unavoidable scenarios but also let him scrape by one via a mechanized bicycle that barely drives faster than he runs .
The Cartwrights are very much at the center ofSlow Horsesseason 4 . This leads to some of the show ’s fend for figures , like Saskia Reeves ’ Catherine Standish and even — to an extent — Oldman ’s Jackson Lamb , receive less to do this yr than in previous seasons . That ’s a noticeable change of pace , but it ’s ultimately the result of one ofSlow horse ‘ smashing strengths : its disinterest in do in time . The serial maintain a brisk pace across its late six instalment — propel its patch forrader in every vista and sustain its heroes perpetually on the same back foot as the consultation . Slow Horsesprioritizes efficiency above everything else . That has led to it delivering yet another lean time of year of television that packs in just as much as its six episodes can moderate — nothing more , nothing less — and manages to both stand on its own and continue to develop the show ’s overarch narration threads .
That balance is , perhaps , no more apparent than inSlow Horsesseason 4 ’s final shot , which is itself an elegant bit of ocular storytelling that at the same time cap off the series ’ latest adventure and marks another profound leap forrader for its central crew of seemingly ill - fitting hero sandwich . All in all , it ’s a season that leaves you both satisfied and require more , which is a job thatSlow Horses , thanks to its expedient product docket , is well - equipped to handle .
In our increasingly diluted TV environment , the backwash for the top spotlight seems to be less and less of a care these days . But if the title of “ The Best Show on TV ” still even exists or matters any longer , thenSlow Horsesis making a consistent and more and more compelling case for it to hold that particular jacket . It may be about the shabby of British spies , but there ’s an effortlessness behind all of its modish season ’s funniest and most electrifying moments that is exhilarating to experience . No other TV show on the air right now makes greatness flavor as easy , and in its new season , Slow Horseshas only brought itself closer to that rare place of excellence that separates truly can’t - miss television from , well , everything else .
Slow Horsesseason 4 premiere Wednesday , September 4 , on Apple TV+ . raw episodes free hebdomadally on Wednesdays . Digital Trends was given other access to the total time of year .
