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Apply TV+’s highly-rated British spy seriesSlow Horsesis all set to launch its third season. The thriller series is based on British novelist,Mick Herron’sSlough Housebook series. The first two seasons ofSlow Horseswere adapted from the booksSlow HorsesandDead Lionrespectively, whileSlow HorsesSeason 3 is set to be adapted fromReal Tigers. There’s also a fourth season in the works that will be taken fromSpook Street.
The show’s plot follows a group of formerly disgraced and rejected MI5 agents who are sent to the uneventful department called Slough House. Prepared for a doomed career, the agents sit out their jobs until a major conspiracy stirs things up in the first season. Led by the disgruntled chief, Jackson Lamb, played byGary Oldman, the agents decide to prove their merit and efficiency as agents. By the second season, the Slough Housers have managed to ward off two major national threats and uncover long-buried Cold War secrets.Slow HorsesSeason 3 will now return with the team trying to save one of their own while foiling a rogue agent. So, it looks like these so-called bungling agents are good at their jobs after all, and Lamb has no choice but to get a move on and do what a chief is supposed to do.
When it first premiered in 2022,Slow Horsesbecame instantly popular among fans and critics, with special praises for Oldman’s performance as a grumpy, disgruntled agent. Thereviews for the second seasonwere positive as well, with critical acclaim for the cast. Ahead of the show’s second season premiere,Slow Horsesgot renewed for back-to-back third and fourth seasons. The filming for the third season has wrapped up, and the fourth season is in progress.
With a new season, comes new characters, newer mysteries, and more thrill. So, brace yourself as Jackson Lamb and his super slick stallions take you on another exciting spy adventure when the all-new season lands this 2023. If you are a fan and waiting eagerly for the new season, then this quick guide below will inform you about what’s coming next to the Slough House. Read on to find out everything we know so far aboutSlow HorsesSeason 3.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on June 19, 2025.
What is the ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3 Release Date?
Slow Horses
Follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve as a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes.
Slow HorsesSeason 3 will debut with two new episodes on Friday, December 1, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday through December 29, on Apple TV+. You can use the following link to watch/re-watch the first two seasons:
Watch on Apple TV+
What Is ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3 About?
Slow HorsesSeason 3 is based on Herron’s third book in theSlough Houseseries,Real Tigers. Once again, Jackson Lamb is out on the field chasing a mystery. It looks like that as soon as he tries to return to his original comfort zone, life throws him a curveball. This time also Lamb will have to set aside his resentments and get to business. In the third season, when Catherine suddenly goes missing, Lamb and his agents will be putting their lives at stake once again to find her and discover a rogue agent.
Watch the ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3 Trailer
In December 2022, at the end of the second season of the thriller series, Apple TV+ revealed asneak peek intoSlow HorsesSeason 3. Although not a formal season trailer, the clip gives a quick look into what’s in store in the future. The minute-long teaser clip hints at the mysterious disappearance of Catherine Standish, played bySaskia Reeves, and the secrets that follow. We also seeJack Lowden’s River Cartwright and Jackson Lamb returning to the new season, where Cartwright looks injured, Lamb is his usual caustic self, and an ominous voiceover warns about a “reckoning.” The rest of the team, including members old and new, seem to be scrambling to find answers to the new mystery.
Apple TV+ released the full trailer forSlow HorsesSeason 3on August 12, 2025. Clocking in a shade under two minutes long, the trailer serves as a wonderful glimpse at wants to come.
How Many Episodes Are There in ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3?
The first two seasons of the British spy series have six episodes each, with each episode running for 41 – 53 minutes. So, although the episode guide forSlow HorsesSeason 3 is not revealed yet, we can expect that the upcoming season will follow the same number of episodes as the previous two. And just like the first two seasons,Slow HorsesSeason 3 will most likely get a two-episode premiere, following which every new episode will stream weekly.
Who’s In the ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3 Cast?
Slow Horsesgained recognition for its quirky ensemble cast and their brilliant performances. The first two seasons saw a bunch of people come and go but themainSlow Horsescast memberswho drive the series will be definitely returning. After all, we cannot imagine the Slough House without its slovenly, grumpy chief Jackson Lamb, played by Academy Award-winning Gary Oldman. Joining him sinceSeason 1 is Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, the newbie to Slough House who soon manages to gain recognition within the team; Academy Award-nominateKristin Scott Thomasas the tough and powerful Diana Taverner, Lamb’s former colleague and now the Deputy Director-General of MI5 who would “stop at nothing” to get the job done, and Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish, the office admin, and a recovering alcoholic who gets kidnapped in the third season.
Among other significant characters, we can also expect to see the return ofRosalind Eleazaras Louisa Guy, an effective Slough House agent;Christopher Chungas Roddy Ho, the team’s tech expert;Jonathan Pryceas David Cartwright, River’s grandfather;Freddie Foxas MI5 agent James “Spider” Webb, who is constantly in a feud with River; andDustin Demri-Burnsas Min Harper, a Slough House member with a romantic interest for Louisa.Aimée-Ffion EdwardsandKadiff Kirwan, whojoined the Season 2 castare also set to return from Season 2 as Shirley Dander and Marcus Longridge, respectively.
Joining the existing cast members, the upcoming third season ofSlow Horseswill also see a long list of newcomers. As announced,Gangs of LondonstarṢọpẹ́ Dìrísùwill join the spy series for Season 3 and will continue through Season 4. Dirisu stars as Sean Donovan, the former head of security at the British embassy in Istanbul.Hugo Weaving,Joanna Scanlan,Ruth Bradley,Tom Brooke, andJames Callisare set tojoin the fourth season’s cast, so there’s a chance some of them could appear in Season 3 as well.
Who Are the Creators of ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3?
Apple TV+’sSlow Horsesis written byMorwenna Banks,William James Smith,Jonny Stockwood, andMark DentonwithSaul Metzsteinset to direct Season 3.James HawesandJeremy Loveringdirected the first two seasons, whileAdam Randallwill join as the director for Season 4.
Banks is a comedy actor, writer, and voice artist, best known for writing the British film, The Announcement, and appearing in television shows likeSaxondale,Shameless, and the BBC ComedyCelebrities STFU. James Smith is a stand-up comedian, screenwriter, novelist, actor, and producer, best known for co-producing and co-writingVeep,Damned, andBack, and executive producingAvenue 5. Both Stockwood and Denton are best known for previously writing forWhite Dragon,Medici, andiBoy. Metzstein is best known for directing the 2002 film,Late Night Shopping, for which he won the British Academy Scotland New Talent Award for best director. He has also directed various episodes of television series likeDoctor Who,The Musketeers,Our Zoo,You, Me and the Apocalypse, andLiving the Dream.
Daniel Cohenis the cinematographer for the latest seasons ofSlow Horses, andhe is best known for working in award-winning films likeThe King’s Speech,Les Misérables,Room, andThe Danish Girl, among many other projects. If you found the opening credit song of Slow Horses familiar with nostalgic chords, it’s becauseRolling Stonefront-man,Mick Jaggerperformed and co-wrote the song with the show’s composerDaniel Pemberton. Pemberton is most known for composing music for films likeSteve Jobs,Gold,Motherless Brooklyn,The Trial of the Chicago 7, andBeing the Ricardos, among various other projects. Since 2022, he is credited as the composer for Apple TV+’s popular murder mystery comedy,The Afterparty(set to release itssecond season this summer).
Smith continues to serve as the executive producer for the series, along withIain Canning,Hakan Kousetta,Jamie Laurenson,Gail Mutrux,Emile Sherman,Douglas Urbanski, andGraham Yost.Slow Horsesis produced for Apple TV+ by See-Saw Films and Flying Studio Pictures.
