William Gallagher
The expected fifth season of Apple TV+ espionage drama "Slow Horses" has been announced, with Gary Oldman returning in the lead role.
Some 15 months after Apple ordered a fifth season of the thriller, it has now been revealed to begin streaming from September 24, 2025. It's based on "London Rules," Mick Herron's sixth novel in the "Slough House" series, which was published in 2018.
The six-episode season continues the story of Jackson Lamb (award-winning Gary Oldman) and his team of spies, all rejects from the UK's MI5. In "London Rules," Apple says that a "series of increasingly bizarre events" occur across the city — and somehow Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) has a girlfriend.
Part spy thriller, part a comedic drama about office work drudgery, the series created by writer Will Smith is a mixture of long laughs and high tension.
"London rules" is a phrase in spy tradecraft, which is usually paired with the subtly different "Moscow rules." The Moscow version means you have to cover your back because you could be killed, where the London one means cover your backside in case you're blamed for any failure.
Apple TV+ will stream the first two episodes of the new season on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. The remainder of the episodes will be released weekly until October 22, 2025.
As yet there has been no news of a sixth season, although Apple TV+ has previously made early announcements of each subsequent run.
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6 Comments
Dept. Q, now streaming, takes a lot of “cues” from this show. Not as good, but still entertaining.
London Rules is the 5th book in the series. That's why it's the basis for the 5th season.
The 6th book is "Joe Country".
Is “London Rules” the one where a former member turns up?
There are a few similarities between Dept. Q and Slow Horses, just like there are with dozens of other shows in their respective genres, even though these two aren't in the same one.
I like both a lot and consider them equally excellent but they are different, one being a police procedural, the other being an espionage drama, despite any similarities. The blazing gun battle in Horses was a huge disappointment. I haven't read any of the books so I don't know if that was "artistic license" or not. I like keeping the two genres separate.
Now, let the spoilers begin.