Exactly how this will work in practice, and whether the run will be split into two halves or the stories merged, remains to be seen.
The synopsis for season 6 says it “sees the Slow Horses on the run as Diana Taverner embroils them all in a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge”.
Jay Hunt, creative director for Apple TV+ in Europe, said in a statement: “Audiences around the world have fallen in love with the Slow Horses, and I’m delighted that Gary Oldman will be leading this star-studded cast on another acerbic and action-packed adventure.”
Oldman will be back to star as Jackson Lamb in the new season. The show’s cast also includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Samuel West, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Ruth Bradley, Tom Brooke, Joanna Scanlan and Jonathan Pryce, although it is not known if they will all be back for season 6.
Unlike previous seasons, which have been adapted for television by showrunner Will Smith, this new season is being adapted by co-executive producer Gaby Chiappe. Adam Randall who directed season 4, is returning to direct season 6. Smith is notably not listed as an executive producer on the new season.
Smith had previously expressed an interest in adapting the rest of Herron’s series, which currently contains eight novels, although a ninth is in the works.
He said: “I think Mick is writing the ninth now, but we’ll have to see what happens. Depends on what Apple wants and what the appetite is, but I definitely have the kind of leave-them-wanting-more rather than the outstay-your-welcome instinct. But the world of the show is there to be mined.”
The fifth season of the show has already been filmed, and is expected to be released next year.
Slow Horses season 4 is available to stream in full on Apple TV+ now – sign up to Apple TV+ now.
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