Breaking News: Slow Horses has no competition it’s the best of the best and there will never be a Jackson Lamb like Gary Oldman….

Some people consider the British spy thriller TV show Slow Horses to be among the best on television. The drama centers on Gary Oldman’s character, Jackson Lamb, who leads a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents. Oldman’s portrayal as Jackson Lamb is regarded by some as one of his best parts. Even though peak TV has officially reached its peak, there is still an excessive amount of television. I have to watch as many TV series as I can for work, but sometimes I feel like I’m only getting the very tip of the iceberg. Every time I believe I have a firm grasp on the situation, I’m thrown back to the drawing board when I receive an email that reads, “Lou Diamond Phillips gives the performance of a lifetime in Not Without My Carrots, exclusive to the new Google Maps streaming platform, starting at just £75 per month.”

I’m trying to convey that everyone will occasionally miss something. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I feel a little foolish about having only recently come across Slow Horses.

To my credit, I was aware of the existence of Slow Horses. I simply refused to view it due to old-fashioned stubbornness. I concluded that there are too many streaming services, all of which are too avaricious to deduct money from my paycheck. I therefore began acting as though the new ones didn’t exist a while ago. BritBox? Thank you, but no. The Paramount Plus? I had never heard of her. Apple TV+? I’m out just because of how awkward it appears with a question mark after it.

However, I’ve given in. Too many positive things had been said about Slow Horses. It has a devoted following and an incredible number of reviews. According to a recent tweet I came across, Slow Horses would have been a Line of Duty-style hit if it had been aired on BBC One instead on Apple. Having witnessed it, I am unable to disagree.

Of course, Gary Oldman is the primary attraction. Oldman’s brilliance is so extensive that you feel as though you’re watching his final performance in any capacity. However, it appears to be the situation here. His portrayal of Jackson Lamb, who leads a team of spies who have all been sent to a rotten purgatory, is amazing. He is a walking clutch of defense mechanisms meant to keep anyone from ever approaching him. He is tired, uncivil, and flatulent. And he’s hilarious with it, my goodness. He is shot while singing along to a Proclaimers song in a large set piece towards the conclusion of the first series, and I dare say it’s the most upbeat thing I’ve seen on TV in a long time.

Amazingly, practically everyone else is equally good. Playing the closest thing to a protagonist, Jack Lowden uses witty timing to undermine his bravery. Despite handling the majority of the show’s emotional beats, Rosalind Eleazar never lets them bring her down.

Reeves, Saskia
“Where else could you find yourself in a taxi between Gary Oldman and Jonathan Pryce?” asked Saskia Reeves.
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But only because Saskia Reeves blends into her role so well, I’m tempted to think she’s the greatest of the group. Reeves fully enters the fragile, buried, and resigned figure she plays. Slow Horses is a sleeper hit, as evidenced by the fact that I’m only now discovering it. Hopefully, Reeves will eventually receive the accolades she is due for the song.

Naturally, this does not imply that the show is flawless. Everything about the second season is a little strange, and it doesn’t fit cleanly into the series as a whole. It has a strangely cozy tone, the Slough House crew is kept apart for the most part, the story threads come together too late, and even the lighting is a little too crisp and brilliant. It resembles a bizarro adaptation of ITV3’s commissioned and broadcast Slow Horses. I might have ducked out at this point if I had been following episode by episode like everyone else.

But now that the show is really taking off, I’m delighted that’s not the case. There’s a certain swagger in seasons three and four, as though everyone involved is aware of how amazing what they’re creating is. Mick Herron can produce Slough House novels and novellas at such a rapid pace that the show won’t run out of source material for a very long time, and there are more seasons to come—the fifth was approved in January. And it has found the ideal showrunner in Will Smith, who wrote a mystery in his incredibly successful 2015 book Mainlander and a comedy for The Thick of It.

Naturally, there is a risk associated with longevity. Writing Jackson Lamb alone must be like walking a tightrope; every time you discover that he is a little kinder than you anticipated, you run the risk of his jagged edges slowly eroding and turning him into a farty Father Christmas. However, that’s a concern for another day. One of the greatest things I’ve seen in a long time is Slow Horses. Avoid waiting as long as I did to find out for yourself.