Premiered: December 2, 2022

On: Apple TV+

Starring: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Kadiff Kirwan, Jonathan Pryce, Chris Reilly, Samuel West, Freddie Fox, Naomi Wirthner, Rade Šerbedžija, Marek Vašut, Alec Utgoff, Catherine McCormack, Adrian Rawlins, Tamsin Topolski & Phil Davis

With fast-paced intrigue and a toning down of Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, Slow Horses mostly does better in its second season, though the intersecting storylines do get hard to follow.

After Dickie Bow (Phil Davis) is found dead, Cold War secrets threaten the safety of London. Lamb orders River (Jack Lowden) to look into it further while James Webb (Freddie Fox) hires Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar) and Min (Dustin Demri-Burns) to run security on his meeting with Russian operatives.

The writing of the show weaves together these stories with most of the Slough House separated on their own tasks, which all eventually merge. Though the coming together is a bit muddled and the new members of Slough House are underdeveloped, the action will keep you enticed, especially with several episodic cliffhangers.

Final say: This espionage is more exciting than season one. ★★★★☆