The sixth season of Slow Horses isn’t the end, but it feels like it ‣ Diverse Daily

One of the longest-running Apple TV series makes a triumphant return to the small screen, as the sixth season of Slow Horses kicks off this month. The popular British title features a band of relegated misfit MI5 agents as they confront national mysteries and personal demons. The series is action-packed and dryly funny, with Gary Oldman’s sloven Jackson Lamb providing plenty of humor.

Attendees at the Toronto International Film Festival got a look at the first two episodes of the upcoming sixth season that will stream soon on Apple TV. Here’s what you need to know.

Price: $13 per month
Free trial: 7 day free trial and 3 months free if you buy an Apple device
Simultaneous streams: 6
# of profiles: 6
Originals: Yes
Live TV:: Limited (There are live sports and some add-on channels offer live TV)

Slow Horses Season 6 feels intimate and grave

New and returning threads create dramatic tension

Still from Slow Horses Season 6 with Gary Oldman

What I most love about Slow Horses is how each season feels like a contained story that follows a particular rhythm; its season premieres are particularly exciting as they set the stakes for the episodes to come. Each season concludes by wrapping up the main mystery, yet of course, there are consequences and personal stories that weave throughout the entire series.

The sixth season continues in this vein, except it feels more personal than ever and with higher stakes. In the premiere, River’s grandfather has passed away, and in typically River fashion, he’s pretending it’s not affecting him. Meanwhile, a former Slough House agent is murdered, and the Slow Horses realize that they’re not getting paid. Based on how the series unfolds, these three plot points that get introduced in the first episode all make for what feels like a pretty compelling season.

What makes the season feel more intimate, at least through the first two episodes, is the return of a pair of characters from seasons past. Their connection to River, in particular, creates dramatic tension. There are certainly narratives in Slow Horses that move through the seasons, but through two episodes, this feels like the first season that is really leveraging the past to propel the story and create tension. I have only watched two episodes, but I do get the feeling that not everyone is going to make it out unscathed.

Those returning characters are key; I won’t spoil them, but there is plenty of press around them already. That’s because it seems like the Slow Horses world has gotten a bit small. River’s grandfather is gone, Diana has moved to First Desk, and the Slough House group comprises only a handful of agents. There are two new villains that appear at the start who are tasked with killing off agents, but there isn’t yet any new blood that enliven the ranks. I would expect some new characters to step up, but the returning ones are equipped to do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to interpersonal drama.

There is the right amount of humor so far as well. Season 5 went a bit too heavy with it, especially with all the time spent with Roddy, but Season 6 feels like it has a better balance. The former agent is killed in an opening scene that’s made to look like an accident, and Lamb pretty quickly proves that it wasn’t with the kind of disdain that he is known and loved for. There is enough that is both familiar and new that makes me eager to see how everything will unfold.

In all, the first two episodes set up a fantastic season, and I’m ready to watch them all as soon as possible. It feels stronger already than a handful of seasons. Some past seasons leaned too much into action or humor; here’s hopingt his season can balance it all.

How can you watch Season 6 of Slow Horses?

Coming soon to Apple TV

You can watch Slow Horses on Apple TV. The sixth season will premiere on Wednesday, September 16, with an episode dropping each week. Like seasons past, this season will feature six episodes.

Despite the feeling that the story, with its throwbacks and threats towards Slough House, the series isn’t ending with the sixth season. Apple TV had already renewed Slow Horses for a seventh season over a year ago, and just this week announced it will be returning for an eighth series as well. So if you haven’t started it, there is no better time than now.

After Slow Horses, check out these Apple TV shows

Dark Matter, Silo, and Hijack offer mystery and thrills

Apple TV Plus Showing Dark Matter preview on Samsung TV

There isn’t much like Slow Horses, but Apple TV does have a bunch of other entertaining thrillers and mystery shows. Ironically, many of these other slows take a bit of a slower pace, while Slow Horses moves pretty quickly. Dark Matter, Invasion, and Silo are mystery series that center humans in a sci-fi world, though they can take a bit of a long route to get to the end of season one.

Perhaps the most similar show would be Hijack, where Idris Hijack plays a negotiator tasked with stopping a terrorist plot aboard a plane. He turns in Season 2 where he does the same thing aboard a train. He’s also British, so you can enjoy that Slow Horses connection.