Mick Herron's "Slow Horses" is a series of darkly funny espionage novels. The books have been adapted by Apple TV+ with the show recently kicking off its third season.
Gary Oldman returns as Jackson Lamb, the head of a dysfunctional team of British intelligence agents known as the "slow horses." Lamb is a disheveled, flatulent, and often drunk veteran of the espionage game.
"Lamb is just flatlined," Gary Oldman explained. "He's just on his frequency. He doesn't actually react to the different scenarios that are presented. The die is set with Lamb. I'm not knocking on the door of the scriptwriter saying, 'I need some more character development.' I'm set. Lamb hasn't changed very much and he isn't going to change."
But don't let his appearance or attitude fool you. He is also shrewd and often ahead of the game.
"He never seems anxious," added Jack Lowden, who plays River Cartwright, one of the "slow horses."
"I love imagining that Jackson Lamb has dealt with a lot of anxiety or anxiety inducing situations in his life and that he's just sort of decided to sort of not care anymore," Lowden continued. "And it makes him operate a lot better than the rest of us."
The series is based on Mick Herron's novels, which currently total eight in the "Slow Horses" series of books. His approach is to present us with very real characters that we can relate to in terms of their humanity.
Oldman has had experience playing John Le Carré's famous spy, George Smiley, and noted the difference.
"As much as I love John Le Carré, it's not as dry," Oldman said. "There's a lot more humor in Mick's take on this world. He's taken a genre that we all know. I mean, we're very used to 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,' James Bond, 'The Bourne Identity,' 'Mission Impossible.' And Mick has sort of turned it on its head and gives you characters that are like you, that are relatable. In season one, we have Louisa in the launderette doing a laundry. You would never see Moneypenny in a launderette or James Bond eating a kebab. James Bond doesn't fart. And not that we want him to. I want my James Bond — when I pay my money — I want my James Bond to drive around in an Aston Martin. I don't want to see him sitting on the toilet."
"Slow Horses" gives us wonderful characters that we get to see grow over the seasons. We become invested in them and sometimes Herron brutally takes them out.
Season three involves an MI5 agent that is incensed to reveal some dirty secrets and the slow horses get involved when one of their own is taken hostage.
Unlike other streaming shows, "Slow Horses" is a compact six episode season with tight, efficient 45 minute runtimes. This season ramped up quickly and the final three episodes will keep you on the edge of your seat. I sometimes find it hard to commit to streaming shows because it is a big chunk of time. But there is no padding in this series. Every episode is expertly paced and scripted with a balance of humor, tense action, and riveting character development.
"Slow Horses" is currently streaming on Apple TV+ and just started its third season.
