Slow Horses viewers have been praising its creators for the short waiting times between seasons after Gary Oldman revealed that its seventh season is being shot later this year.
The series, based on Mick Herron’s spy novels, follows a group of intelligence agents investigating espionage at the fictional Slough House.
In an interview with Deadline, Oldman, who plays MI5 agent Jackson Lamb in the TV adaptation, has revealed that season six of Slow Horses has already finished filming. He also said that season seven will begin shooting in late September or early October this year.
It comes as a surprise to fans, who are currently waiting on the release of its fifth season, which will arrive in September.
While season seven hasn’t officially been confirmed by Apple TV yet, there are still more of Herron’s novels for the show to adapt – and it’s expected that they will, given the show’s popularity.
Viewers have praised the update, hailing the short turnaround as a rarity, when compared to other series with longer waiting times, such as Apple TV’s workplace drama Severance, which had a three-year gap between seasons one and two.
One person wrote of the Slow Horses news on X/Twitter: “This is how TV shows should be filmed and distributed. No messing around. Easily one of the best shows to boot.”
Another added: “I’ve rarely seen a show’s production be so insanely ahead of schedule. They will literally have a full season preview at the end of the current season of the next season that won’t debut for an entire year later and in that time they’re already in production of the following season.”
“This is how it should be done. A true blueprint,” said another person, as one simply added: “It’s a good life being a Slow Horses fan.”
One viewer compared it to Netflix’s sci-fi drama Stranger Things, which has had a gap of over three years between seasons four and five.
“The first season of Slow Horses premiered a couple of months before Stranger Things four….MORE SEASONS OF SLOW HORSES WILL HAVE COME OUT BEFORE STRANGER THINGS five. I love Stranger Things but they really are taking the piss,” they said.
Speaking with Deadline, Oldman said the series is “the wonderful gift that keeps on giving”, adding: “I just adore the hell out of it, and the people. It is just such a wonderful thing really to be part of.”
It has already been announced that season six will include Am I Being Unreasonable? and Doctor Who actor Lenny Rush, who was spotted filming with Oldman in January.
The synopsis for season six says it “sees the Slow Horses on the run as Diana Taverner embroils them all in a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge”.
In The Independent’s four-star review of season four, out last September, Nick Hilton praised the series for being one of the “most consistent, and consistently enjoyable, shows on TV”.
Hilton added: “The show feels swaggering and well-defined in the way that very few shows are.”
It is expected that season seven will be based on Herron’s eighth novel in the Slough House series, called Bad Actors – but nothing has been confirmed. The Independent has contacted Apple TV for comment.
