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Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb© Jack English

Slow Horses confirms season 3 return date with first look: everything to know about Gary Oldman show

The show will be based on Mick Herron’s novel Real Tigers - get the details

Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
September 20, 2023
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Who is ready for the return of Jackson Lamb and his loveable band of misfits?! Slow Horses is returning for a third season, and Apple TV+ has treated us to all of the information about the return date, and what to expect from the group of hapless MI5 agents this time. 

What is the plot of Slow Horses season 3? 

Based on the book Real Tigers, the six-part third season will see "a romantic liaison in Istanbul threatens to expose a buried MI5 secret in London. When Jackson Lamb and his team of misfits are dragged into the fight, they find themselves caught in a conspiracy that threatens the future not just of Slough House but of MI5 itself".

WATCH: Are you caught up with Slow Horses?

The book’s synopsis adds further insight, reading: "Catherine Standish knows that chance encounters never happen to spooks. She's worked in the Intelligence Service long enough to understand treachery, double-dealing and stabbing in the back. What she doesn't know is why anyone would target her: a recovering drunk pushing paper with the other lost causes in Jackson Lamb's kingdom of exiles at Slough House. "Whoever it is holding her hostage, it can't be personal. It must be about Slough House. Most likely, it is about Jackson Lamb. And say what you like about Lamb, he'll never leave a joe in the lurch. He might even be someone you could trust with your life." 

For those who have yet to check out the series, the show follows a group of MI5 agents who, mostly for reasons of incompetence, have found themselves working at Slough House due to career-ending mistakes and find themselves doing the dull tasks that no one else wants while occasionally stumbling onto real cases including a white supremacist kidnapping and a Russian sleeper cell. 

Awesome TV shows coming in Autumn 2023

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Gen V, Amazon Prime Video - 29 September

Loki season 2, Disney+ - 6 October

Lessons in Chemistry, Apple TV+ - 13 October

The Fall of the House of Usher, Netflix - 12 October

All the Light We Cannot See, Netflix - 2 November

The Buccaneers, Apple TV+ - 8 November

When is Slow Horses season 3 being released? 

Fans of the award-winning show won’t have long to wait as the show will be back on our screens from Friday 1 December on Apple TV+, premiering with the first two episodes. It will subsequently release one new episode weekly, with the show concluding on 29 December. Merry Christmas to all!

Are you looking forward to the show's return?© Jack English
Are you looking forward to the show's return?

Who is in the Slow Horses cast? 

The hugely impressive cast including Oscar-winning star Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, Four Weddings and a Funeral actress Kristin Scott Thomas, The Gold actor Jack Lowden, White House Farm’s Freddie Fox and Us actress Saskia Reeves. The Crown actor Jonathan Pryce also stars in the show as River’s grandfather. Season three will also introduce new faces, including Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, who joins the season three cast as Sean Donovan, the former head of security at the British embassy in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Fantastic Beasts actress Katherine Waterston will play Alison Dunn, an MI5 agent. 

Are you ready for 'Real Tigers' © Jack English
Are you ready for 'Real Tigers'

Is there going to be a Slow Horses season 4? 

While we don’t usually know about the future of shows, this is the rare occasion where we actually do! Thanks to the huge success of seasons one and two, Slow Horses has already been renewed for season four, which will be based on the fourth novel in the Slow Horses novel series, Spook Street.  

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