Slow Horses
2022
Original language: English
- crime
- drama
- mystery
The story
Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.
What it’s like
Grey, rain-streaked London rendered in drab, cold daylight: scruffy office interiors under flat fluorescent strip lights, rundown flats, dank pubs and wet pavements, all shot with a steady, observational camera that lingers on awkward silences and sour faces. The palette is muted and nicotine-stained, with the occasional flash of bright violence breaking the gloom. The score is sparse and tense, built on low strings and ticking pulses, with long stretches of ambient street noise and dialogue doing the work. Its vibe is bleak, dry and darkly funny, the sort of cynical British wit that undercuts every grim turn. It suits a grey weekday evening, a late-night binge alone, or a sardonic watch with a friend who enjoys bickering. Pacing is brisk within episodes but unhurried in its character scenes, following a band of disgraced intelligence officers exiled to a dead-end desk, slowly revealing loyalty and wounded pride beneath their contempt for one another. Violence is sudden and brutal when it comes, including shootings and beatings, with some strong language and sexual references, but gore is restrained and most of the menace is psychological. It is for viewers who like morally compromised, character-driven thrillers with a mordant, British edge and no interest in glossy heroics.
More TV shows like Slow Horses
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Slow Horsesand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
