Fourth Season of 'Slow Horses' is "Superb"

         On September 4, 2024, Apple TV+ premiered the fourth season of the Emmy nominated hit 'Slow Horses, which has received rave reviews from critics, currently holding at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a Critics Consensus that reads, "The stakes get more more personal than ever before in Slow Horses' superb fourth season, proving that this spy series is saddled up for the long haul with no signs of fatigue." The ensemble cast includes Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, and Rosalind Eleazar. But what did the critics say? 

Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

        Claire Fulton of Loud and Clear Reviews writes, "Despite the cold open hinting at terror threats and mass panic, season 4 is in fact a lot more intimate, narratively speaking. It’s not quite at ‘the call is coming from inside the house’ levels, but the personal stakes feel even greater for the Slough House team this time around. There’s a poignancy and an emotional complexity to this season’s narrative, with some genuinely sombre moments coming in the latter half, but it doesn’t ever feel mawkish or trite. Slow Horses continues to strike the tonal balance that has worked so well throughout the entire series, balancing serious and not-so-serious moments with a deftness that might not work on a show that isn’t as confident it can pull it off successfully. (And with a good dose of humour thrown in.)"

        Kaitlin Thomas of Paste Magazine praises the series, stating, "One of the joys of Slow Horses is its ability to balance an inherently dramatic narrative with a wry sense of humor. That still exists, but Season 4 is more personal, and, thus, feels more consequential than its predecessors." Continuing, "You can probably argue Apple should have launched Season 4 during the second phase of Emmy voting for Season 3 to put it in front of voters and remind them of the show’s many strengths (Lowden and Pryce, in particular, are exceptional here). But no matter what happens come Emmys night, if Slow Horses keeps operating at this level for the rest of its run (it’s been renewed through Season 5 thus far, though there are more novels in the series), it won’t just be a serious awards contender, but potentially one of the best shows of the decade."

       James Dyer of Empire Magazine says, "Darkly funny and tighter than the buttons on Lamb's sauce-stained shirt, this is yet another outstanding season for Apple’s brilliantly unconventional spy series."

       Nick Clark of London Evening Standard notes, "It’s one of the great shows to come out of Britain full stop. And series four delivers more of the same: a fully realised world, superb script, a stellar cast all at the top of their game and a lot of great action." Adding, "The returning cast is superb, from Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves and Price to Rosalind Eleazar and Kadiff Kirwin. And there are some fantastic additions to the cast including Matrix and Lord of the Rings alum Hugo Weaving, Joanna Scanlan, a busybody who tries to tidy up Slough House (good luck) and James Callis, as the secret Service’s new ‘First Desk’ who is way out of his dept."