Crime thriller ‘better than Line of Duty’ confirms season 8 plot before seventh is out

| Deputy TV editor Published September 15, 2026 3:00pm Updated September 15, 2026 3:10pm The Slow Horses are back… again (Picture: Jack English) Slough House might be full of losers, misfits, and boozers, but Apple TV clearly has confidence in the Slow Horses. The streaming service has confirmed that Gary Oldman’s popular spy series – which is regularly compared to Line of Duty – will be getting an eighth season despite seasons six and seven not being released yet. According to Apple, the new series will adapt the ninth book in Mick Herron’s popular Slough House series, ‘Clown Town’. So what colossal mess are Jackson Lamb (Oldman), River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) and the rest of MI5’s most embarrassing agents going to have to clean up this time? Well, apparently this new series will see Lamb and spy chief Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) come to blows over a botched attempt to blackmail the Park. With Taverner on the warpath, Lamb will have to uncover one of MI5’s darkest secrets. Can the spooks of Slough House save the day? (Picture: Jack English) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What’s the secret? Well, we’ll have to wait and find out, as we don’t know when exactly this new series will be released. Still, as we’re getting season six in 2026 and season seven next year, it stands to reason Lamb won’t be ‘sending in the clowns’ until 2028. Thankfully, Slow Horses season six is just around the corner, though. The latest series is set to begin on Wednesday, and it’s received great reviews so far. The new series will see Lamb trying to uncover a dark secret (Picture: Jack English) Will Sid be back? (Picture: APpple TV) At the time of writing, Slow Horses season six boasts 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Giovanni Lago from Next Best Picture gave the series an eight out of ten, writing: ‘Slow Horses sixth season shows no signs of slowing down’ and calling it ‘one of the year’s essential watches.’ Slow Horses has been a huge hit for Apple TV (Picture: Jack English) Meanwhile, Ed Power at The Telegraph called Gary Oldman ‘reliably excellent’ in the sixth series. In fact, the only (partly) dissenting voice was Metro’s own Rebecca Cook, who gave the series four stars but feared it didn’t quite live up to previous outings. She wrote that Slow Horses has set itself an impeccable standard, and while she enjoyed this adventure, she felt it was weaker than previous stories and ‘rather repetitive’. Deals of the Day Topman’s new-season collection has arrived and prices start at just £10 An Instagram mattress left me with back pain – this one completely changed my mind Book Val d'Isère, Val Thorens and Tignes for less in Club Med's ski sale Save 25% on red light therapy masks, sauna blankets and sleep gadgets in Bon Charge sale The viral LED face mask with over 350 lights that's currently discounted by £100 The complete first five seasons of Slow Horses are now streaming on Apple TV, with season six set for release onSeptember 16, 2026. TV Newsletter Sign up and tell us which TV shows you love to watch to get personalised updates every morning.