A Late Horse in the Race

When I gathered my list of the Top 10 TV Shows of 2023, I noted an honorable mention of the third season of Slow Horses. I hadn't yet finished it at the time of that post, but it was "great from what I've seen so far." Well, it finished as strong as at began, and so for a proper accounting of the best of 2023 (and with all apologies to Star Trek: Picard, which just got bumped down out of slot #10 on my list), I must now dedicate a new post to one of the best reasons to get Apple TV+.

Slow Horses is based on the Slough House novels by Mick Herron. And while there seems to be no shortage of British spy thriller shows on TV, this show stands apart from all I've seen. Part of that has been the compelling stories so far; each season is based on one book, and they've all been so expertly paced and perfectly balanced between action and character that it has made me strongly consider reading the books. (And yet... could they live up to the show?)

Part of that is a wonderful cast. It's led by Gary Oldman as weary-but-brilliant Jackson Lamb, a thorny, crotchety agent whose "warm gooey center" is probably there, but far too small and buried to know for sure. Jack Lowden plays the younger, action-oriented lead, River Cartwright, while Kristin Scott Thomas is the deputy head of MI5, Diana Taverner. While each of these three "in the opening credits" actors is perfect for their role and plays them excellently, another strength of the show is the deeper bench of performers that round out the workers of "Slough House," a dumping ground for bad agents to be gradually worn down into leaving the service.

Season 3 of Slow Horses, based on the book Real Tigers, turned out to be my favorite season yet of the show. That's because even as it continued to do what it does so well, it added a new ball to juggle in the form of an intriguing mystery: somebody is trying to steal information from inside MI5; what exactly is it they want, and why do they want it? Seasons of Slow Horses are each a tight 6 episodes, which was the perfect length for a mystery like this. The "taffy" never seemed artificially stretched, yet at the same time, there were enough twists and turns in the mystery that each episode brought something new.

Season 4 of Slow Horses was filmed concurrently with season 3, and so it will be coming later this year. Better news still, the show was just recently renewed for a season 5. So this isn't going to be one of those British series that makes 6 or 12 episodes before riding off into the sunset. But also, judging from the "best yet" quality of the most recent season, it isn't going to be a show that lingers too long either. I'm eager for more.

So, to make it official, I give season 3 of Slow Horses an A. If I were making my Top 10 of 2023 list today, it would slide into the the #4 slot on my list.