Slow Horses: Apple TV’s Best Spy Thriller Just Returned & Is A Perfect Weekend Binge

Apple TV's best spy thriller series of all time has officially returned with new material this week and is perfect to binge-watch this weekend. The critically acclaimed series has earned a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 98% across six seasons, including a 100% rating for its newly released season. In fact, Apple TV's celebrated spy thriller is so good that it's already been renewed for two more seasons, even ahead of its season 6 debut. Winner of 3 Emmys, this series expertly combines psychological thriller with dark comedic elements.

Slow Horses season 6 just premiered this Wednesday, September 16, on Apple TV, fresh off its 2026 Emmy win for Directing in a Drama Series. While each new season 6 episode will be released weekly until October 21, the entire series remains one of the best on the platform to binge. With season 6 now releasing new episodes, it's the perfect time to start watching the show for those who haven't yet, as well as the ideal time to dive back into one of Apple TV's most addictive and longest-running series for those who are all caught up.

Slow Horses Is Officially Back With New Episodes On Apple TV

The long-awaited return of Slow Horses is officially here with the release of its first season 6 episode, which is already being hailed as one of the franchise's best based on its current IMDb rating of 8.5. For those new to the series, Slow Horses has been, somewhat quietly, one of Apple TV's most reliable flagship series and is widely considered the best spy thriller available to stream on the platform. The series stars Oscar winner Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, an experienced MI5 spy who leads a team of disgraced British intelligence officers.

Slow Horses first premiered in 2022 and has been one of the most well-crafted and purely entertaining series of the 2020s on any streaming platform. Series creator Mick Herron also wrote the original book series known as Slough House, which is the name of Jackson's team. Similar to other Apple TV franchises such as Silo, Slow Horses has a wealth of source material to adapt in the coming years, which is partly why the series is already confirmed to run for at least eight seasons, combined with its undeniable critical acclaim.

Oldman is joined by an all-star cast in Slow Horses, including Jack Lowden, who has recently garnered legitimate buzz as a potential candidate to play the next 007. Lowden plays River Cartwright, an ambitious yet impulsive MI5 agent who gets sent to Slough House after a training exercise goes terribly wrong. Slow Horses season 6 also welcomes back Olivia Cooke's character Sid Baker, another Slough House agent, who hasn't appeared since the show's very first season. This adds another layer of excitement to the already elite series.

Slow Horses Season 6 Earns Its First 100% RT Score In 2 Years

Reviews for Slow Horses season 6 have been unanimously great, resulting in the series earning its first perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score since 2024's fourth season and its third in franchise history. ScreenRant gave the latest season a perfect 10/10 stars, noting, "Slow Horses is in the strongest position it has been, potentially since the series began, and there is no sign of slowing down." In the same vein, RogerEbert.com writes, "After season five, I was a little concerned ‘Slow Horses’ was losing its cadence; now, I’m ready to watch it for another decade." This goes to show that Slow Horses is doing everything but losing its momentum in the never-ending streaming race.

That said, Slow Horses is much more than a critical darling, as its Rotten Tomatoes audience score is also quite impressive at 88%. Viewers can expect a degree of classic British spy drama, immortalized by the James Bond blockbuster franchise, with undertones of dark comedy and a stark sense of gritty realism throughout. Each season only has six episodes, making it a breeze to binge-watch, for a total of 36 episodes by the time the Slow Horses season 6 finale drops on October 21. If you're looking to watch all of the very best spy thrillers on television right now, this one can't be missed.