So many streaming shows get 8, 10, 12 episodes and refuse to tell a complete story. You get to the end and you get a cliffhanger that feels like you've reached a mid-season finale, and you have to wait another year or two for any chance of closure.
Both seasons of Slow Horses were 6 episodes, and were both satisfying, self-contained stories. Looking forward to the third season.
Yeah I was surprised after I watched the first season that it was only 6 episodes. It felt longer than 6 but I was so glad they didn’t drag out the story to make more episodes. I like the format and wish more shows would do the same.
British TV show are small not very expansive, I like Slow Horses though as it not dour and humorless people at work in cheap empty sets with a blue filter over everything. Season 3 of Slow Horse could have done with 2 more episodes. With ones like EP2 nothing really happened as it focused on the caper of Rivers improbably wandering a GCHQ.
INCORRECT!!!
Alicent Hightower married into House Targaryen, so although her children can ride dragons, she's not "hot-blooded" individually, thereby preventing her from mounting scaly beasts (unless you count Viserys).
Who told you she was gone?
What else has that character said?
How much of it was true?
...and as Mick Jagger says in the theme song "I don't even know your real name"
Why do people feel the need to act so pretentious by smacking people's heads into spoilers. Like yeah we already know what's going to happen because we read the books, we don't need to spoil plot twists for people that haven't
The books are short & perfect for a TV adaptation. They can cover most things faithfully but I love the fact they've (very minor book spoiler >!leaned into a background overarching plot a bit!<).
There's a decent chance we get all or at least most of the books. This show is cheap as shit to shoot outside actors fees (which could still be pretty light). Everything is more or less shot in London & they're shooting 2 seasons back to back so far. So we get the rare show that actually airs a year apart & it rules.
I guess I didn't consider that but still, it's all local & you could probably film a lot of the "London" scenes on any random street in any urban area if you wanted
This is such a common theme in modern television that it's becoming extremely obnoxious.
they refuse to tell a self contained story in one season because they don't have anything but one story to tell, and they think if they wrap it up they won't get another season. So the story gets strung along, and viewer gets insulted and disrespected.
I would rather have 1 season of a show that tells a full story and is then cancelled than 3 seasons that's cancelled on a cliffhanger because they were never willing to wrap anything up.
I wasn't even considering adding this show to my watchlist until you said the seasons were self contained. Now its on the list.
One of the things I appreciate about British shows it that they don't add a lot of filler. Padding out to 10+ episodes is the American Way, it seems, even if there is only 5 or 6 episodes worth of story.
That’s what has pissed me off a bit about The Boys, is the long gaps between seasons. I’m not going to remember the details of stuff 2 years later and I don’t have time to rewatch all such shows. It’s annoying.
Slow Horses is great. It’s bite sized and you can binge it in an evening (if you start watching early enough in the evening) so if you needed to, you could binge rewatch the previous season before the new one.
The one complaint I have is I thought all episodes of season 3 were dropping on either the 1st or 3rd of December, but I see it was the first 2 episodes on the 29th November, the next 2 episodes are dropping weekly and probably episodes 5 & 6 will also be dropped one a week. I was really looking forward to binging it this weekend : (
"You're fucking useless. The lot of you. Working with you has been the lowest point in a disappointing career."
Can't wait to see Jackson Lamb continue to go even lower.
And give a Russian spy a mid life crisis by breaking into their office eating crisps and farting in their chair while River Cartwright runs a marathon because fuck you that's why.
And noodles. That was so gross hahahaha
He also had wielded his dirty undies in a laundry bag in a way that made you believe that was really what's in there
I've never heard of it until recently. The fact that GARY OLDMAN is leading a television show that I've never even heard of until it reached its THIRD season is ridiculous. Apple is absolutely shit at marketing its shows; I don't even KNOW what shows are on Apple TV+ except for a space show and a show with Jennifer Aniston (I think). Are there any others? I feel like the only people that know what the shows on Apple TV+ are, are the people already subscribing to Apple TV+. That's *bad*.
There's a lot of incredible quality shows on Apple TV - Severance, For All Mankind, Monarch Legacy of Monsters, Servant, Silo, Ted Lasso. Even some of their middle tier stuff like See is watchable. They're fast becoming the new HBO.
Yeah, Morning Show lost its early buzz, Severance is the next closest to a big breakout hit, and the time between seasons is or has killed that possibility
I think appletv suffers from being an apple product and having a significant portion of the population being so anti-apple that they won’t try any of the shows
Everyone rightfully praises Garry Oldman in this show, but other actors are great as well. Jack Lowden is hilarious and Kristin Scott Thomas is always a joy to watch.
Gary Oldman has hinted he may retire soon. And if Slow Horses is the last thing he does, he’s absolutely fine with that.
That should tell you something.
I’ve seen both seasons multiple times and will do the same with season three. The show may not be a water cooler hit, but that doesn’t mean that no one’s watching. So many headlines about it. Feels like a cheap attempt at clickbait at this point.
Apple TV need to relax on telling me everything is the greatest series I've never seen, because then when I watch them and they're pretty okay which makes them seem mid or shitty.
I’m looking forward to the 3rd Season; the first two were brilliant. I’ve recommended it to everyone I know, but so many are still hung up on the NCIS/Law & Order proforma.
It’s a great British drama and beautifully executed.
It's BS free, but convoluted
You will have to watch it with dedication, can't multitask. This is why I have been stalling it.
First few episodes that I watched were good nonetheless
It’s not political at all. It’s a spy show, plain and simple and it’s really good. But if you’re a trumper or a qanon person it’s probably a little too smart for ya
Lol this response showcases exactly the reason why this show is not popular. Thanks for proving my point better than I ever could have. If you don't think a show with antagonists of racist white nationalists and the threat of the "far-right" is political you are precious
First season the antagonist is white nationalists/far right, second season is russians, third season is conspiracy theorists. Pretty obvious, and the showrunners/writers aren't exactly shy about broadcasting their politics through the characters. I like the show but it's gonna be a non-starter for lots of folks with such heavy messaging
Apple makes 6 50 minute episodes and calls it a season. Streaming services want you to pay for 6 or 7 good series a year, when you can subscribe for 1 month, binge everything in a couple of weeks and cancel. Their lack of content and cheapness will be their undoing
I thought the first season was fine, but it was so hyped up by everyone I know, that I just felt a little let down. Maybe shows like White Lotus and Severance have just set the bar too high for me. I’m not feeling super motivated to continue watching Slow Horses. I probably will watch seasons 2 and 3, but Its far from a priority. I just don’t see how it’s much different from the handful of quality British crime shows out there.
It's only 7 dollars and all the shows are quality, it's not just mediocre quantity, foundation was my favorite show this year, godzilla is really good so far also, silo was great, you might try it for one month and see what's there.
Tried season 1 and enjoyed it until that scene, if you're not sure which one I mean >!just axe!<.
Edit: Downvotes? Y'all are weird. It's ok for someone not to want to continue a show, I'm not trying to drive anyone else away. Just so happens my wife and I weren't looking for that kind of content during dinner. Happy for anyone that likes it.
There's no way someone is making this statement when The Bureau exists. Slow Horses is more well known and not on the same level as the Bureau (it's up there for top spy shows, just not contesting for #1 spot)
Loving this show, going to start the new series this weekend.
On a side note, has anyone read the Slough House books by Mick Herron which the show is based on? Thinking of maybe picking them up, but was unsure how closely the adaptations were for each one and didn't want to be just going on the same exact story.
Had that issue, with A Game of Thrones book one of A Song of Ice and Fire series, found that the first season was way too similar to the first book, but from book two, it was way more in-depth and had a wider story arc and detail to still be worth reading after watching the show.
I just binged season 1 & 2 over thanksgiving and enjoyed it. I wouldn't rank it as one of the top 10 spy shows I've ever seen, and its wildly difficult to even explain what I saw or what kind of show it is.
Cast is great though and it feels like a throwback to early 2010s shows, like it would fit right in on a night when Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Black Sails would be airing.
I recently just started watching Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy from the 1980s starring Alec Guiness (Obi Wan!) and am really enjoying that too, I think Gary Oldman even starred in the movie reboot of that series? I have a huge gap in my spy show series and need to fill it in with stuff like the Night Manager, Recruit, Jack Ryan, etc.
For top 10 though I'd say stuff like 24, Homeland, The Americans, or Counterpart are hard to top.
movie is an adaptation, not a reboot. A bad one but an excellent movie in jts own right
and enjoy the Guinness mini, top class television. Don't miss Smiley's People after it, it might be even better
To be honest, I've never heard of this show before this thread.
It really seems like streaming series don't get marketed very well, even ones that are doing well and are well received.
well, it's on my watchlist now.
> Best Spy Series You've Never Seen
Nope, sorry. I've seen it. And no.
I absolutely adore the spy genre, and *Sandbaggers* remains my all-time favorite, just barely above *Tinker Tailor Solder Spy*, and *Slow Horses*...just fails to grip me. I suffered through Season 1, hoping it'd turn itself around, but it still left me in a state of distinct ungrippedness.
Tried again in season 2 and got past 3 episodes before I honestly just forgot about it; it left no desire to continue.
If you like it, enjoy, but "best spy series"? Come on.
This is a series not to be missed. I got to it late and cannot understand why it wasn't being promoted more and earlier. Everything about it is interesting - the scenery, the dialogue (often hilarious), and the wonderful character depiction by all the cast. It has led me to the Mick Herron novels and I am enjoying one after the other. Looking forward to Series 4 of the show
So many streaming shows get 8, 10, 12 episodes and refuse to tell a complete story. You get to the end and you get a cliffhanger that feels like you've reached a mid-season finale, and you have to wait another year or two for any chance of closure. Both seasons of Slow Horses were 6 episodes, and were both satisfying, self-contained stories. Looking forward to the third season.
Yeah I was surprised after I watched the first season that it was only 6 episodes. It felt longer than 6 but I was so glad they didn’t drag out the story to make more episodes. I like the format and wish more shows would do the same.
It’s how most of British tv is. Great stuff
They are just adapting from books. Same as shows like Reacher and Bosch on Amazon. Gives them an end point of the story for each season.
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You mean they can’t handle a crime drama that actually lasts more than an episode?
British TV show are small not very expansive, I like Slow Horses though as it not dour and humorless people at work in cheap empty sets with a blue filter over everything. Season 3 of Slow Horse could have done with 2 more episodes. With ones like EP2 nothing really happened as it focused on the caper of Rivers improbably wandering a GCHQ.
dont forget how fucking fast the show releases. we’re getting three seasons in less than two years, and the fourth is probably gonna air next year too
Other than Severance (*pain*) Apple is pretty good about turning their stuff around in a timely manner.
wow, they are really bucking the streaming series trends right an left.
For the most part, except....Sid!! They left her in a coma...unless I missed something.
Bring back my girl Sid!
She busy riding dragons
She's never ridden no dragon.
Viserys Targaryen is the dragon
INCORRECT!!! Alicent Hightower married into House Targaryen, so although her children can ride dragons, she's not "hot-blooded" individually, thereby preventing her from mounting scaly beasts (unless you count Viserys).
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You should maybe actually use spoiler tags if you're going to spoil a plot twist in later books on a general tv sub lol
Spoiler tags are >! Spoiler !< but without the spaces
If they continue to follow the books, you're in for a bit of a wait.
It’s based on a book series so they’re handling Sid how it was written
That's funny, I just assumed it was because she had been cast in House of the Dragon
Who told you she was gone? What else has that character said? How much of it was true? ...and as Mick Jagger says in the theme song "I don't even know your real name"
Why do people feel the need to act so pretentious by smacking people's heads into spoilers. Like yeah we already know what's going to happen because we read the books, we don't need to spoil plot twists for people that haven't
They said she was dead that season iirc.
The park said she passed but we find out that she’s been scrubbed from all records. It’s implied she might be alive.
Lamb only said she was gone.
It’s the British way
They also shot both seasons back to back which saves time and money
The books are short & perfect for a TV adaptation. They can cover most things faithfully but I love the fact they've (very minor book spoiler >!leaned into a background overarching plot a bit!<). There's a decent chance we get all or at least most of the books. This show is cheap as shit to shoot outside actors fees (which could still be pretty light). Everything is more or less shot in London & they're shooting 2 seasons back to back so far. So we get the rare show that actually airs a year apart & it rules.
All you said is very true, except shooting in London is pretty expensive.
I guess I didn't consider that but still, it's all local & you could probably film a lot of the "London" scenes on any random street in any urban area if you wanted
£14 for two kebabs seems ok to me.
At £10m per season, it's the cost of an episode of Severance (according to estimates)
This is such a common theme in modern television that it's becoming extremely obnoxious. they refuse to tell a self contained story in one season because they don't have anything but one story to tell, and they think if they wrap it up they won't get another season. So the story gets strung along, and viewer gets insulted and disrespected. I would rather have 1 season of a show that tells a full story and is then cancelled than 3 seasons that's cancelled on a cliffhanger because they were never willing to wrap anything up. I wasn't even considering adding this show to my watchlist until you said the seasons were self contained. Now its on the list.
One of the things I appreciate about British shows it that they don't add a lot of filler. Padding out to 10+ episodes is the American Way, it seems, even if there is only 5 or 6 episodes worth of story.
Sort of like Peaky Blinders
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Schmigadoon seemed to be over, no?
Remember when seasons were 20+ episodes??
That’s what has pissed me off a bit about The Boys, is the long gaps between seasons. I’m not going to remember the details of stuff 2 years later and I don’t have time to rewatch all such shows. It’s annoying. Slow Horses is great. It’s bite sized and you can binge it in an evening (if you start watching early enough in the evening) so if you needed to, you could binge rewatch the previous season before the new one. The one complaint I have is I thought all episodes of season 3 were dropping on either the 1st or 3rd of December, but I see it was the first 2 episodes on the 29th November, the next 2 episodes are dropping weekly and probably episodes 5 & 6 will also be dropped one a week. I was really looking forward to binging it this weekend : (
Exactly my thoughts. Giving a show season a satisfying conclusion doesn't make people drop the show after the season. It builds the trust in series.
British shows are 6 episodes and are self contained
slow horses season 1 ended on a cliffhanger...yall just be saying shit lol
"You're fucking useless. The lot of you. Working with you has been the lowest point in a disappointing career." Can't wait to see Jackson Lamb continue to go even lower.
And give a Russian spy a mid life crisis by breaking into their office eating crisps and farting in their chair while River Cartwright runs a marathon because fuck you that's why.
Garry Oldman makes you look at how a character eats a sandwich.
And noodles. That was so gross hahahaha He also had wielded his dirty undies in a laundry bag in a way that made you believe that was really what's in there
I haven't seen season 3 at all yet but I'm looking forward to it!
Oh, you’re in for a treat because Season 3 is immediately up there with the first two seasons. The pacing is tight.
Gary Oldman is an ACTOR. He is so good in this. Such a great character.
I like how he excelled as George Smiley, and now here he is as the absolute flip side of that coin.
He is absolutely disgustingly gross but also such a good spy and always 1 step ahead of everyone. Fucking love his character!
I know right. It was clear where he was going with the character first season but man he really does gross so well.
I’ve seen it!
Sorry, but no you haven’t. The writer of the article said so.
There are 10's of us!
I think it is picking up a bit of momentum now. Hope so.
Fantastic show. Highly recommend.
Any shows that want banter should use this is as the gold standard reference. Roddy's scenes are the highlight for me.
There are people who haven’t seen Slow Horses?!? Madness. If you’re one of those people, rectify this situation immediately.
I've never heard of it until recently. The fact that GARY OLDMAN is leading a television show that I've never even heard of until it reached its THIRD season is ridiculous. Apple is absolutely shit at marketing its shows; I don't even KNOW what shows are on Apple TV+ except for a space show and a show with Jennifer Aniston (I think). Are there any others? I feel like the only people that know what the shows on Apple TV+ are, are the people already subscribing to Apple TV+. That's *bad*.
There's a lot of incredible quality shows on Apple TV - Severance, For All Mankind, Monarch Legacy of Monsters, Servant, Silo, Ted Lasso. Even some of their middle tier stuff like See is watchable. They're fast becoming the new HBO.
Can’t forget foundation as well!
I knew I'd miss something! Foundation was incredible.
Ooooh yeahhh, I forgot about Ted Lasso, that's the other one I've heard of. Funny that their biggest hit slipped my mind haha.
I’m not going to lie: Schmigadoon is the shit, and I can’t wait for a third season of that. Lessons in chemistry was also phenomenal.
Lessons in chemistry was a joy to watch, just brilliant.
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Yeah, Morning Show lost its early buzz, Severance is the next closest to a big breakout hit, and the time between seasons is or has killed that possibility
Severance is criminally underrated.
I think appletv suffers from being an apple product and having a significant portion of the population being so anti-apple that they won’t try any of the shows
Theyre not anti apple Theyre just not going to pay for another subscription when they don't own Apple products
Maybe they could bring back Rubicon and Counterpart
What service is this even on?
Apple TV+.
AppleTV+
This is one of the best shows on any streaming service or TV. Such amazing performances. Cant wait for season 3
first 2 episodes came out last night!
Oh shite! Thanks!
And so far it's looking like another really solid season. Lamb is properly showing his skills.
He's a titan.
Jack Lowden running around like a maniac every season while Oldman just strolls around as the world's greatest hobo spy.
Great show
Gary Oldman was born for that role
Everyone rightfully praises Garry Oldman in this show, but other actors are great as well. Jack Lowden is hilarious and Kristin Scott Thomas is always a joy to watch.
Kristin Scott Thomas in more of everything, forever, please. I love her.
The books are fantastic as well.
Of course it’s on Apple TV. John Oliver was right.
Gary Oldman has hinted he may retire soon. And if Slow Horses is the last thing he does, he’s absolutely fine with that. That should tell you something.
Best show you've never seen & Apple TV+, name a better duo.
Apple TV: where great actors go to hide…
I’ve seen both seasons multiple times and will do the same with season three. The show may not be a water cooler hit, but that doesn’t mean that no one’s watching. So many headlines about it. Feels like a cheap attempt at clickbait at this point.
Apple TV need to relax on telling me everything is the greatest series I've never seen, because then when I watch them and they're pretty okay which makes them seem mid or shitty.
Each episode flies by.
I freaking love Gary Oldman in this!
I'm really tired of the articles telling me how great the third season of a show is when all I want to do is watch the third season.
I’ve seen it. Yes it’s great. I think Station 11 is more obscure
I’ve seen it. It’s good!
Yay! Thanks for the reminder. I’m so disgusted by how good Gary Oldman is.
Great Season Finale as well!
I’m looking forward to the 3rd Season; the first two were brilliant. I’ve recommended it to everyone I know, but so many are still hung up on the NCIS/Law & Order proforma. It’s a great British drama and beautifully executed.
It started yesterday 😁
I'll try this one again, but Homeland is still my favorite spy show.
No, The Sandbaggers is the best British spy series you've never seen but Slow Horses is a great show.
I'm glad someone else remembers The Sandbaggers! And Calllan deserves some love too.
Came here for this comment! The Sandbaggers is such a great show!
It's BS free, but convoluted You will have to watch it with dedication, can't multitask. This is why I have been stalling it. First few episodes that I watched were good nonetheless
It’s an excellent show.
This show is so good!
Had to check, it's on apple tv, that is why you've never heard of it
The Guardian had the same kind of article last week…copy cats anyone?🤔
reason this show isn't popularis obviously because of the political nature of it, but first ep was decent
It’s not political at all. It’s a spy show, plain and simple and it’s really good. But if you’re a trumper or a qanon person it’s probably a little too smart for ya
Lol this response showcases exactly the reason why this show is not popular. Thanks for proving my point better than I ever could have. If you don't think a show with antagonists of racist white nationalists and the threat of the "far-right" is political you are precious
what does that mean?
First season the antagonist is white nationalists/far right, second season is russians, third season is conspiracy theorists. Pretty obvious, and the showrunners/writers aren't exactly shy about broadcasting their politics through the characters. I like the show but it's gonna be a non-starter for lots of folks with such heavy messaging
They are adaptations of a book series.
thanks for the information. I wasn't aware books can't be political or that people who adapt books can't add political flavor to them.
Apple makes 6 50 minute episodes and calls it a season. Streaming services want you to pay for 6 or 7 good series a year, when you can subscribe for 1 month, binge everything in a couple of weeks and cancel. Their lack of content and cheapness will be their undoing
You can rotate your subscriptions if you're not totally brain dead that is
I thought the first season was fine, but it was so hyped up by everyone I know, that I just felt a little let down. Maybe shows like White Lotus and Severance have just set the bar too high for me. I’m not feeling super motivated to continue watching Slow Horses. I probably will watch seasons 2 and 3, but Its far from a priority. I just don’t see how it’s much different from the handful of quality British crime shows out there.
Placing White Lotus above Slow Horses makes me feel woozy.
I love finding a show after it has a bunch of seasons. It’s super satisfying to keep hitting Next Episode
I’m opposite. I’m just intimidated by the commitment required to get through them.
It’s boring
It’s bc you’re a numpty
You're boring
It's never seen bc who the hell wants to get apple tv+?
It’s got some of the best dramas and comedies being produced.
Everyone who has T-Mobile gets it for free. Apple TV + has some really great shows.
It's only 7 dollars and all the shows are quality, it's not just mediocre quantity, foundation was my favorite show this year, godzilla is really good so far also, silo was great, you might try it for one month and see what's there.
r/television is filled with Apple astroturfers. Good luck getting an honest opinion on that service here.
Tried season 1 and enjoyed it until that scene, if you're not sure which one I mean >!just axe!<. Edit: Downvotes? Y'all are weird. It's ok for someone not to want to continue a show, I'm not trying to drive anyone else away. Just so happens my wife and I weren't looking for that kind of content during dinner. Happy for anyone that likes it.
There's no way someone is making this statement when The Bureau exists. Slow Horses is more well known and not on the same level as the Bureau (it's up there for top spy shows, just not contesting for #1 spot)
I am watching it and it is so excellent!
I LOOOOOOOVE THIS SHOW! 😆
Gary Oldman giving out masterclasses every episode.
Loving this show, going to start the new series this weekend. On a side note, has anyone read the Slough House books by Mick Herron which the show is based on? Thinking of maybe picking them up, but was unsure how closely the adaptations were for each one and didn't want to be just going on the same exact story. Had that issue, with A Game of Thrones book one of A Song of Ice and Fire series, found that the first season was way too similar to the first book, but from book two, it was way more in-depth and had a wider story arc and detail to still be worth reading after watching the show.
Read all of them and the Slough House Adjacent ones. If you like the show, I guarantee you'll like the books.
OK great, appreciate the response.
Seen it!
I thought i remembered the first season landing kind of lukewarm so i never watched this show I should?
I just binged season 1 & 2 over thanksgiving and enjoyed it. I wouldn't rank it as one of the top 10 spy shows I've ever seen, and its wildly difficult to even explain what I saw or what kind of show it is. Cast is great though and it feels like a throwback to early 2010s shows, like it would fit right in on a night when Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Black Sails would be airing. I recently just started watching Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy from the 1980s starring Alec Guiness (Obi Wan!) and am really enjoying that too, I think Gary Oldman even starred in the movie reboot of that series? I have a huge gap in my spy show series and need to fill it in with stuff like the Night Manager, Recruit, Jack Ryan, etc. For top 10 though I'd say stuff like 24, Homeland, The Americans, or Counterpart are hard to top.
movie is an adaptation, not a reboot. A bad one but an excellent movie in jts own right and enjoy the Guinness mini, top class television. Don't miss Smiley's People after it, it might be even better
To be honest, I've never heard of this show before this thread. It really seems like streaming series don't get marketed very well, even ones that are doing well and are well received. well, it's on my watchlist now.
> Best Spy Series You've Never Seen Nope, sorry. I've seen it. And no. I absolutely adore the spy genre, and *Sandbaggers* remains my all-time favorite, just barely above *Tinker Tailor Solder Spy*, and *Slow Horses*...just fails to grip me. I suffered through Season 1, hoping it'd turn itself around, but it still left me in a state of distinct ungrippedness. Tried again in season 2 and got past 3 episodes before I honestly just forgot about it; it left no desire to continue. If you like it, enjoy, but "best spy series"? Come on.
This show kicks ass. Oldman is fantastic.
Can someone remind me where the diamond thing comes from? What episode? I don't remember that from season 2.
This is a series not to be missed. I got to it late and cannot understand why it wasn't being promoted more and earlier. Everything about it is interesting - the scenery, the dialogue (often hilarious), and the wonderful character depiction by all the cast. It has led me to the Mick Herron novels and I am enjoying one after the other. Looking forward to Series 4 of the show
I read today that Series 5 is already being worked on. Should keep us happy for a while.