Will There Be A Slow Horses Series 7?

On Tuesday evening (20 October) Slow Horses fans were treated to a hair-raising season finale that culminated in a cliffhanger conclusion. With the groundwork laid for an intriguing seventh season, here’s everything we know about Slow Horses series 7. 

What Is Slow Horses About?

In case you’re unfamiliar with Slow Horses (in which case, stop reading now and go watch), Apple TV’s hit comedic spy thriller follows a dysfunctional-dead branch of MI5 known as Slough House where disgraced, failed or troublesome British intelligence agents are put out to pasture to serve out the end of their careers. Nicknamed ‘Slow Horses’, the unit is supervised by Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman), a sloppy, cynical, and abrasive spymaster who appears washed-up but remains a brilliant and fiercely protective operative.

Jack Lowden & Gary Oldman in Slow Horses. (Apple TV)

What Happened In The Series 6 Finale?

Is River Cartwright dead? That’s the cliffhanger question left dangling by that explosive series 6 finale. 

The emotional episode titled ‘Judgement Day’, saw the eponymous Slow Horses square off against Russian agents. Flyte (Ruth Bradley) was taken out and River (Jack Lowden) was once again reunited with his estranged father, Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving). Sid (Olivia Cooke) finds her way back to River’s grandfather’s house, where she leaves a light on for him. While Sid takes a shower, River prepares for a romantic evening – until he collapses with a heart attack. It seems that he’s been poisoned, but by whom?

(Chris Chung as Roddy Ho in Slow Horses; Apple TV)

Has Series 7 Been Confirmed?

Apple TV greenlit Slow Horses series 7 on 8 July 2025, a few months before series 5’s debut. According to the streamer, series 7 will see Lamb and his Slow Horses on the hunt to find and neutralise a mole at the heart of the British Government before they can bring down the state. It will be an adaptation of the eighth book in Mick Herron’s bestselling Slough House series, titled Bad Actors. 

Though the TV show is known to take liberties with the source material, the book synopsis reads: ‘In London’s MI5 headquarters a scandal is brewing that could disgrace the entire intelligence community. The Downing Street superforecaster – a specialist who advises the Prime Minister’s office on how policy is likely to be received by the electorate – has disappeared without a trace. Claude Whelan, who was once head of MI5, has been tasked with tracking her down. But the trail leads him straight back to Regent’s Park itself, with First Desk Diana Taverner as chief suspect. Has Taverner overplayed her hand at last?

‘Meanwhile, her Russian counterpart, Moscow intelligence’s First Desk, has cheekily showed up in London and shaken off his escort. Are the two unfortunate events connected? Over at Slough House, where Jackson Lamb presides over some of MI5’s most embittered demoted agents, the slow horses are doing what they do best, and adding a little bit of chaos to an already unstable situation… There are bad actors everywhere, and they usually get their comeuppance before the credits roll. But politics is a dirty business, and in a world where lying, cheating and backstabbing are the norm, sometimes the good guys can find themselves outgunned.’

Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Saskia Reeves in Slow Horses. (Apple TV)

What Will Happen In Series 7?

Fans of the show were treated to a series 7 teaser at the close of that shattering finale episode. 

The trailer opens with Standish standing in Jackson Lamb’s office asking: ‘Have you heard something? About River?’

‘Yeah, funnily enough I got a postcard,’ retorts Lamb. ‘Weather’s lovely in the afterlife, sunset to die for. Love and hugs…’

Meanwhile, MI5’s deputy director Diana Taverner reveals that Vassily Rasnikov, the shadowy Russian intelligence chief ‘is on British soil’ and seemingly after her. As Lamb recognises that Rasnikov sent the two Russian agents to murder his joes in season 6, we suspect he’s planning something even bigger than a simple take-down. We also see Lamb tell Shirley Dander she’s ‘going to rehab’ after she takes an iron to the windshield of a bus. We do know from previous series’ that she has a soft spot for cocaine – a weakness that almost got her killed. As you’d expect, the teaser was packed with plenty of action, gunfights and near-death calls, plus one explosion that looks suspiciously like the MI5 building at Millbank.

Kristin Scott Thomas and Sir Gary Oldman in Slow Horses, on Apple TV

Who Will Star?

Series 7 will see the return of many familiar faces, including Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner, Hugo Weaving as Frank Harkness, Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish, Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy, Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho, Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander, Joanna Scanlan as Moira Tregorian, Lucian Msamati as Oliver Nash, James Callis as Claude Whelan, and Olivia Cooke as Sid Baker.

Five new cast members will also join the latest installment. Varada Sethu (The Other Bennet Sister), Ethan Moorehouse (Ludwig), Tuppence Middleton (The Forsytes), Merab Ninidze (Homeland), and Joshua McGuire (The Gold) have been cast in roles yet to be disclosed. And there’s a familiar face returning to the fold, too: James Callis is back as Claude Whelan, the magnificently slippery former First Desk.

As for Jack Lowden returning as River Cartwright, only time will tell. If River is well and truly dead, some suspect that Lowden’s departure has been orchestrated in order for him to start filming on the next James Bond. Find out more about the casting rumours here. 

When Will Series 7 Be Released?

Compared to the multi-year waits fans must endure between seasons on other TV shows, Slow Horses boasts an enviable track record of one new season a year since its 2022 debut (a fact most likely helped by the fact that each season is only six episodes long). 

Filming has already wrapped for series 7, and production for series 8 is underway. Based on the episode rollout for the past three seasons, we should anticipate a fall release next year – perhaps September 2027. Stay tuned for further updates. 

Slow Horses series 1–6 are now streaming on Apple TV.

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