The outcast spies of Slough House are set to make their comeback soon — and, based on the initial glimpse of Season 5 of *Slow Horses*, things are bound to get chaotic in the most entertaining manner.
Apple TV+ has just revealed the first look at (and the official release date for) the new installment of its beloved spy series, the Emmy- and BAFTA-acclaimed espionage drama featuring Gary Oldman as the beautifully disheveled Jackson Lamb. The show is primed to unleash another wave of turmoil, dark humor, and profoundly dysfunctional espionage when it returns this fall. The new season is set to premiere worldwide on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, launching with two episodes, followed by weekly releases until October 22.
The fifth season carries on the show’s blend of investigation, wit, and overall disorder. This time, the narrative revolves around *London Rules* — book #5 in Mick Herron’s Slough House series of spy novels. The focus shifts to tech genius Roddy Ho, who grabs attention with an unexpectedly glamorous new girlfriend. However, as unusual occurrences begin to unfold across London, unusual even by Slough House measures, it falls upon Lamb’s mismatched crew of disgraced agents to unravel how everything is interconnected.
In classic *Slow Horses* style, it’s likely they’ll end up causing an explosion or offending someone significant along the way. The real enjoyment, however, consistently comes from witnessing the team bumble their way towards heroism under the ever-unimpressed glare of their HR nightmare of a spymaster.
Oldman, who has received numerous accolades for his performance, heads a returning cast for the forthcoming season that features Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, and others. Season 5 also introduces *Ted Lasso’s* Nick Mohammed as a guest star, bringing another talented addition to an already impressive lineup.
I’ve mentioned this in a prior review, but it bears reiterating: Slough House is almost a character in its own right within this remarkable drama — Slough House being the dilapidated outpost near the Barbican where the “slow horses” themselves operate, in a space resembling more of a janitor’s closet than an office. Overflowing bins, stale takeout boxes, and secondhand technology (except for Roddy’s prized computer setup) form part of the backdrop, all supervised by Lamb — a burping Cold War relic in ill-fitting attire who appears to detest everyone under his command, yet consistently proves to be the sharpest intellect in the room.
The agents who linger in these damp corridors are characterized not by sleek suits or James Bond-style gadgets, but by hangovers, regrets, and just enough resilience to still effect change. In the realm of *Slow Horses*, the spies are failures and has-beens. Yet, these failures also sometimes evolve into unwilling heroes, clumsily stumbling their way into salvaging the situation. As Season 5 draws near, it seems they will once again demonstrate that no matter how far one has fallen, a spy can still excel beyond expectations in the shadows.
