It's that time of year again, the armpit of the holidays: Christmas Day is over and New Year's Eve is still a few days away, no one knows when the bins should be taken out and every day feels like Sunday. That means now's the perfect time to stream Slow Horses on Apple TV Plus. It's not just one of the best shows on Apple TV, even though it is. It's one of the best shows on any streamer.
The season 3 finale went live on December 27 and provided a delightful and very stressful end to a spectacular season; the third season currently sits at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and has received numerous five-star reviews, part of a pattern where the second season received 100% and the first 95%.
The show stars Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, a truly awful human being in charge of a motley crew of MI5 misfits and failed security forces – the slow horses of the title. Each series is action-packed, incredibly twisty and often very funny, especially when Oldman is on screen chewing the scenery and abusing his underlings. It's an absolute blast, and this third season is often unbearably tense: it's best to watch it while you can enjoy it rather than having to wait a week after particularly brutal cliffhangers.
What the critics are saying about Slow Horses Season 3
rich gives season 3 the full five stars, calling it “a glorious low-fi subversion of traditional spy thrillers, centered around an outcast band of MI5's least wanted.” It's “a beautifully made prestige drama that would be well worth a primetime slot on BBC One” and reason enough to subscribe to Apple TV Plus.
Rolling stone say season three is “better than ever” and seems to be about me: “it's the kind of show where, if you mention the title to anyone watching, their face lights up and they won't stop monologuing about it for at least three minutes.” And Fashion calls the third season “a kinetic, escapist delight” like 24, but without the bad stuff: it's “a show to watch during the holidays with mom and dad, or with (teenage) daughter and son.”
Variety say it's “delightfully grim,” and while there's plenty of spying and shooting, “at its core it's the story of dangerously operating drones blasting their way through a broken workplace led by a flatulent boss with hair that hasn't been seen since Guy more has been washed. Fawkes Day 2011.”
All three seasons of Slow Horses are now streaming on Apple TV Plus, and if you get to the end there's an exciting trailer for Season 4. That's currently scheduled for December 2024, so you'll have plenty of time to catch up.