Apple TV's Renewed Spy Series Has 6 Seasons Without Ever Dipping Below 95% On Rotten Tomatoes

Published Sep 13, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT Memory Ngulube joined Screen Rant in April 2024 as part of the Movies and TV team. Since then, she has written for the Perennials and Streaming team, covering a wide range of topics from new releases to old movies and TV shows. Memory is currently a Classic TV writer. Before joining Screen Rant, Memory was a freelance copywriter who specialized in email marketing and social media management. While she enjoyed her job, her true passion was always movies and TV. When she isn’t writing for Screen Rant, Memory can be found reading, baking (which is one of her passions), or watching her favorite K-drama. Spy thrillers have always had a special place in the TV landscape, yet even the best of them have fallen off after a few great seasons. In contrast, Apple TV’s espionage series has remained consistently good across its six installments and has never dropped below its 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That in itself is a remarkable achievement, particularly because there are only so many ways a spy show can continue to be entertaining, especially after such a long run. Based on Mick Herron's acclaimed Slough House novels, Slow Horses turns the traditional image of the glamorous super-spy on its head. Instead of following perfectly polished agents saving the world, the series focuses on a group of disgraced MI5 operatives dumped into the agency's bureaucratic dead-end, where they are forced to deal with their failures under the watchful and perpetually irritated Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). Apple TV renewed Slow Horses for a sixth season in October 2024, a few days after the fourth installment’s finale aired. Given that the series is another feather in the streamer's cap in the prestige television landscape, this renewal was hardly a surprise. Slow Horses season 6 is set to premiere on September 16, 2026. Early reviews of Slow Horses' sixth installment have been nothing short of fantastic, with the new season currently sitting at a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. In 6 Seasons, Slow Horses Has Never Dipped Below 95% On Rotten Tomatoes Image via MovieStillsDB Audiences and critics have been of one mind when it comes to how great Slow Horses is. Since the show’s debut in 2022, the series has maintained an excellent Rotten Tomatoes score. As of season 6, every installment of Slow Horses has scored at least 95%, with three seasons earning a 100% rating thus far. The series started with an impressive 95% rating and has only gotten better since. Rather than suffering from the dreaded sophomore slump, Slow Horses actually improved its critical standing. Season 2 earned a perfect RT score, thereby demonstrating that the show's premise had enough depth to support another gripping espionage story. The third season remained close to perfect, scoring 98% from critics. Season 4 returned to 100%. In fact, that particular installment’s Rotten Tomatoes consensus even emphasized that the series showed "no signs of fatigue." Slow Horses Rotten Tomatoes Score Per Season Season Critics' Rotten Tomatoes Score Audience Rotten Tomatoes Score 1 95% 88% 2 100% 90% 3 98% 89% 4 100% 89% 5 96% 82% 6 100% TBA Even Slow Horses' somewhat divisive fifth season remained comfortably within elite territory. Season 5 earned 96%, with the show’s positive reception continuing in its sixth installment, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating. As a whole, Slow Horses' overall series Tomatometer currently stands at 98%. These Rotten Tomatoes scores help explain why the espionage thriller has become such a standout in the modern spy television landscape. The Apple TV espionage series did not just have one great season — it has repeatedly avoided the creative decline that often accompanies long-running series. With season 6 once again receiving a perfect score, Jackson Lamb and the misfits of Slough House have somehow made consistency one of their greatest strengths. Why Slow Horses Deserves Its Impressive Rotten Tomatoes Streak Slow Horses certainly has several elements contributing to why it continues to be the best spy thriller on TV right now. From the get-go, the series understood that its characters are just as important as its nail-biting plot. The MI5 rejects, in particular, provide a nice contrast to the polished spies audiences are accustomed to seeing in espionage shows. While every member of Slough House brings something unique to the table, it would be disingenuous not to admit that Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb with scene-stealing brilliance. Lamb initially appears to be little more than a foul-mouthed, miserable boss who has no interest in motivating his employees, but beneath the insults and disgusting habits that indicate he has no good home training is an exceptionally intelligent spy with a knack for maneuvering the dangerous world in which he finds himself. Slow Horses has a tone that is always a joy to see unfold. The series can easily switch from being genuinely funny one minute and brutally tense the next. The Apple TV show has also resisted the temptation to simply repeat what made its previous installments successful. Each season gives the Slough House agents a new crisis to deal with, and it never once feels boring. Most importantly, Slow Horses has been a great adaptation of Herron’s novels. It maintains what made the source material unputdownable, but also adds personality to a story that could have easily missed what the books are about. Release Date April 1, 2022 Network Apple TV+ Showrunner Douglas Urbanski Cast Jack Lowden River Cartwright Slow Horses is an adaptation of CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning "Slow Horses" novels, which follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 – Slough House. Gary Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irascible leader of the spies who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes.