Slow Horses Season 6 'Might Have Run Its Course' — SkimNews
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- Gaby Chiappe takes over as lead writer of Slow Horses season six, replacing Will Smith (The Thick of It, Veep), whose departure the review identifies as a noticeable loss of the show's sharp comic voice
- Slow Horses is now described as 'old,' with the review arguing the show's central trick — getting viewers to root for shambling MI5 misfits in Slough House — gets harder to suspend disbelief in each year
- Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb started to 'burn out' in season five, the review argues, alongside the over-promotion of supporting character Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung), whose pivot from comic relief to pivotal role made him 'unbearable'
- Season six's plot reduces to a long chase with two black-clad assassins played by MyAnna Buring and Kyle Soller, who are never properly developed and repeatedly become 'incompetent' to keep the story from ending
- Hugo Weaving returns as Frank, River's father, alongside Rosalind Eleazar's Louisa and Joanna Scanlan's Moira — a recycling move the review says is 'something that might be done by a show that finds itself short of ideas'
- The one bright spot is Lenny Rush, cast as a civilian caught in the crossfire, whose presence 'immediately improves anything he's in'
Why it matters: Slow Horses' shift from Will Smith's sharp political satire to a more conventional thriller under Gaby Chiappe risks alienating the audience that made it a streaming hit. Even Lenny Rush's strong addition can't compensate for recycled characters and underdeveloped villains, with the reviewer suggesting the series 'might have run its course.'
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