Cliff Notes – Line of Duty’s ‘biggest rival’ confirms season 7 plot before fifth is even out
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Apple TV Plus has renewed Slow Horses for a seventh season, with the plot revolving around the Slow Horses team uncovering a mole within the British Government, mirroring the storyline of Mick Herron’s seventh novel, Bad Actors.
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The show, which has received critical acclaim with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score, features a dysfunctional MI5 team led by Gary Oldman’s character, Jackson Lamb, and is praised for its unique blend of humour and high-stakes espionage.
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With seasons five and six already in production, the rapid release schedule has garnered positive feedback from fans, who appreciate the tight storytelling and character development throughout the series.
Line of Duty’s ‘biggest rival’ confirms season 7 plot before fifth is even out
Slow Horses is confirmed for a seventh season already (Picture: Apple TV+)
If you know the difference between ‘London rules’ and ‘Moscow rules’, then you’ll be delighted to learn that Apple TV Plus has officially renewed Slow Horses for a seventh season.
While the renewal itself isn’t that much of a surprise – star Gary Oldman accidentally spoiled the reveal in June – what may shock Slough House fanatics is that we already know the plot.
According to Apple’s official synopsis season seven will see Lamb and his inept spy team (the titular Slow Horses) trying to find and neutralise a mole at the heart of the British Government.
Now, if you’ve been keeping up to date with Mick Herron’s Slough House series, the books that Slow Horses is based on, you’ll know that sounds very similar to the plot of the seventh novel, Bad Actors.
According to the Bad Actors blurb, that story sees a key member of a Downing Street think-tank ‘disappear without a trace’.
MI5 then tasks an old super-spy with tracking her down, which leads them to spy master, Diana Taverner, who quickly becomes the prime suspect, and she has to rely on the Slow Horses to get her out of a tricky situation.
Of course, Slow Horses hasn’t been afraid to veer from the narrative path laid out by the books before, so we’re expecting some surprises along the way.
Slow Horses Season five is set for release this September, season six has also wrapped production, and cameras will start rolling on season seven in late September, early October.
For those keeping track (and if you are looking for a mind-boggling statistic to share with your friends), that’s four aired seasons and three more on the way, all in the time between Stranger Things season four and five.
Those new to the show, which has an average score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, have 24 episodes of delicious action to catch up on before the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons land. We’re seriously jealous.
The show stars Jack Lowden and Gary Oldman alongside an impressive ensemble cast (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)
If you have somehow been living under a rock, here’s the lowdown on what the unconventional espionage thriller is all about.
The Will Smith-created series follows a ‘dysfunctional team of MI5 agents’ led by Oldman’s endearingly grumpy and gross Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), with agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) determined to prove he’s got what it takes.
Soon our team finds themselves embroiled in ‘the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces’.
Honestly, it’s the kind of show you just need to watch to fully appreciate the critically acclaimed mix of absurd hilarity, high-stakes tension and surprising moments of tenderness.
TV writer Ruth Lawes on why Slow Horses season four deserves five stars
[Jackson] Lamb is the embodiment of why Slow Horses is the best crime show to come out of the UK.
He does not fit the mould of a classic TV detective in the same way Slow Horses does not conform to the usual espionage show formula.
The drama does away with most thriller tropes – from an overabundance of female victims to missing children in backwater towns – and is all the more compelling for it.
Season 4 takes this up a notch by making the plot, normally what drives any thriller, almost secondary to the characters.
Despite their various vulgarities, I cried twice during the season because, for the first time in a long time in a crime drama, I actually cared about the characters.
It’s not just Oldman, who puts in a performance of a lifetime, but the rest of the Slough House misfits, I’m rooting for too.
The news of a season seven renewal has thrilled fans of the show who have taken to social media to celebrate and praise it for its tight seasons and pacey production timeline.
‘Good. I’m really enjoying this show. It’s so much fun,’ Roscoe_King wrote on Reddit.
‘The complete story arcs is extremely rewarding and it makes me want to watch the show far more than when everything is a cliff hanger,’ strangedistantplanet added.
The show with an average 98% Rotten Tomatoes score will return in September (Picture: Jack English)
‘Proper British 6-episode seasons. No fat, and it allows them to maintain the tension of the story. I’m here for this clockwork-like turnaround,’ FoxMcCloudOwnsSlippy added.
‘Probably my fav current show, the pace at which they are churning this out is also fantastic. The entire cast is phenomenal, Oldman and [Jonathan] Pryce in particular,’ Fawkes_91 agreed.
‘Genuinely one of the most satisfying/addictive experiences I’ve ever had watching a TV show. Before I started, I thought, “oh nice, 24 episodes. That should keep me entertained for the next month or so.”
‘Nope. Ended up watching all four seasons in like 5 days because I just couldn’t put it down,’ hic_forum_est said.
Slow Horses is based on a series of novels by Mick Herron with eight out so far and a ninth on he way – a promising sign for the future of the show with plenty more content still to adapt.
Slow Horses seasons one to four are available to stream on Apple TV Plus now. The fifth season lands on September 24, 2025.
[A previous version of this article was published on June 16]