16 TV Shows Like Slow Horses You Should Watch Next
It’s starting to feel like successful series on streaming platforms are increasingly becoming the exception rather than the rule, and Slow Horses is another example: a successful series with a remarkably stable release schedule. Five seasons have been released since 2022, unlike the increasingly common “every few years or whenever it gets there” schedule typical of other streaming shows, and it’s a real treat to be able to reminisce about the events of the previous season when starting a new one.
If all this sounds like guarded praise, it’s worth noting that it’s also a smart and brilliantly entertaining series, starring Gary Oldman as the scruffy, flatulent, once-brilliant spy Jackson Lamb, now in charge of Slough House, an MI5 office for agents who can’t be trusted with important tasks but who haven’t actually done anything worth sacking. Their irrelevance puts them in danger from the start and constantly, while the ambitious intelligence chief, Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), finds the team alternately useful and a liability. The series has been renewed for at least two seasons—Mick Herron’s novel series on which it’s based already has nine books, so there’s potential for more.
Road to the Cemetery (2025 – )
This is perhaps the most obvious parallel, not least because both series are produced by Apple TV and based on Mick Herron’s novels. However, this series leans more toward spy themes, starring Emma Thompson as private investigator Zoe Boehm, a hard-drinking, wild-lifer. She’s hired by Sarah Trafford, a married art restorer played by Ruth Wilson. No one takes her seriously (including, and especially, her husband), even when she begins investigating the fate of a young girl whose family was (presumably) killed in a nearby gas explosion. The girl, whose parents were killed, disappears, and no one seems to care until Sarah hires Zoe and her husband to investigate. It turns out both women have gone too far, as the missing girl points to a much larger conspiracy. The villains are a bit cartoonishly distracting, but Thompson and Wilson are brilliant as a pair, and their performances more than make up for the price of admission. Watch Down Cemetery Road on Apple TV+ .
Agency (2024 – )
Michael Fassbender stars as “The Martian,” codename Brandon Colby, a former undercover CIA agent who has just returned to London after six years in Sudan. He left behind his lover, Dr. Samia Zahir (Jodie Turner-Smith), a relationship he hadn’t been very open about with his handlers. When Sami arrives in London as part of a diplomatic delegation, The Martian is forced to choose between his work and his personal life, which becomes even more complicated when it turns out she’s involved in a larger scheme involving the Sudanese government, MI6, and an undercover agent in Belarus. It’s all very twisted and unpredictable, in the best tradition of spy series. Jeffrey Wright plays The Martian’s boss and mentor, Richard Gere is the CIA’s London station chief, and Hugh Bonneville (from “Downton Abbey”) is a cunning, high-ranking MI6 agent. Watch Agency on Paramount+ .
Bureau (2015–2020)
In addition to or instead of “The Agency,” you might also want to watch “The Bureau of Legends,” the French original on which the film is based (they’re equally addictive, though many will prefer the original on principle). The general premise is the same: Mathieu Kassovitz plays Guillaume Debailly, a spy recently returned from a six-year undercover mission in Damascus, Syria. While trying to adjust to his new life, he encounters the reappearance of Nadia (Zineb Triki), a woman with whom he had a relationship, in Paris. “The Bureau of Legends” is available on Paramount+ .
Day of the Jackal (2024 – )
This cinematically ambitious new series based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel benefits from a brilliant cast: Eddie Redmayne plays the Jackal, a cold-blooded and fearless international assassin pursued by MI6 agent Bianca Pullman—played by Lashana Lynch, who skillfully puts her experience as the new 007 to good use in No Time to Die . I’m not sure there’s anything new here that we haven’t seen in countless other spy thrillers (including, of course, the 1973 and 1997 adaptations), but the acting and production values are top-notch, with each episode unfolding like a tense mini-movie. Watch The Day of the Jackal on Peacock .
Monsieur Spade (2024)
An original drama from Scott Frank ( The Queen’s Gambit ) and Tom Fontana ( The Killing , Oz ), Monsieur Spade follows Sam Spade, made famous by Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon , as he lives a quiet retirement in the south of France. Everything is going well for the world-weary former detective—until six nuns are murdered at a nearby convent, the very one where Sam’s ward has been staying for some time. Naturally, his past catches up with him, and he’s forced to abandon his idyllic life to help solve a complex mystery that threatens his (few) loved ones. Clive Owen gives a superb performance as the battered, emphysema-stricken detective, and the story feels like a worthy continuation of Hammett’s novel. Watch Monsieur Spade on Prime Video and AMC+.
Killing Eve (2018–2022)
Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer star as the two leads in one of television’s greatest cat-and-mouse stories. Oh plays Eve Polastri, a bored MI5 analyst who becomes obsessed with finding the brutal and infamous assassin known only as Villanelle. At first, it’s a professional obsession, but it quickly becomes personal: Eve and Villanelle begin toying with each other, and it soon becomes clear that they have a mutual attraction. Watch Killing Eve on Prime Video , Paramount+ , Britbox, Tubi, and Netflix.
The Night Manager (2016–)
Given that The Night Manager (based on the 1993 novel) is based on the works of John le Carré, author of many modern spy sagas, its success probably comes as no surprise—though the stellar cast of Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Colman certainly didn’t hurt. Hiddleston plays Jonathan Pine, working the night shift at a luxury hotel in Switzerland when he encounters an unexpected guest: arms dealer Richard Roper (Laurie). A former army veteran, Pine previously dealt with Roper in Cairo, and Foreign Secretary Angela Burr (Colman) convinces the night manager to infiltrate the criminal organization. The long-awaited second season will premiere in 2026, followed by a third. Watch The Night Manager on Prime Video .
Deadlock (2023 – )
Slow Horses isn’t exactly a parody of the spy genre, but it does make fun of it with relish. More overtly funny , Deadlock is both a superb detective series and an effective satire of the genre; the Australian film crafts its central mystery about as well as Broadchurch and its many (very many) imitators. Kate Box plays Dulcie Collins, a meticulous senior police sergeant in the fictional town that gives the series its name. When a body is discovered on the beach, Dulcie is joined by Eddie Radcliffe (Madeleine Sami), a gruff and generally unpleasant detective brought in to investigate. Unraveling the web of secrets and mysteries in the tiny Tasmanian town is incredibly gripping, with the added bonus of relentlessly lampooning police thriller tropes throughout. Watch Deadlock on Prime Video .
Capture (2019 – )
This list features several imported series; Peacock is too young to have a large selection of its own projects, but they have acquired several impressive series. In this British series, a young, ambitious London police detective investigates the case of a soldier recently acquitted of a war crime, but who appears to have assaulted and then kidnapped his lawyer (sorry, his barrister ). The series is heavy on police drama and international intrigue, but it has a slightly different focus: it examines the dangers of our reliance on CCTV and the dangers of the widespread belief that cameras don’t lie. London is one of the most surveilled cities in the world, so there’s a uniquely British perspective, but the issues will be familiar to anyone who has lived in any major city. Season three is on the way. Watch “The Takeover” on Peacock .
Mr and Mrs Smith (2024 – )
Mr. & Mrs. Smith , which surpassed the film starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, follows a pair of spies tasked with posing as a married couple, coordinating (and sometimes competing) on missions. Each episode focuses on a different mission in a different location, complicating the characters’ relationships and gradually raising the stakes until the season finale, where they find themselves face to face. The series has been renewed for a second season, but its release has been delayed, and it’s unclear whether Glover and Erskine will return or if there will be a new season of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith on Prime Video .
Archer (2009–2023)
H. Jon Benjamin, the charming loser from Bob’s Burgers , plays the polar opposite of Bob Belcher in this series: a handsome spy who’s also a deeply narcissistic womanizer with a boundless thirst for alcohol. It’s a true comedy about the adventures of a New York independent intelligence agency led by the hard-drinking Malory Archer, played by Jessica Walter—but it’s such a clever parody of James Bond-style antics that it works as a spy show, too, and sometimes the team’s missions aren’t much sillier than the plots of more serious spy films and TV shows. Engrossing and irreverent, the series features one of the best casts in the history of television animation, including Aisha Tyler, Amber Nash, and Judy Greer as sociopathic heiress Cheryl Tunt. Watch Archer on Hulu and Tubi .
“The Equalizer” (2021–2025)
The Equalizer, starring Queen Latifah, reboots the 1980s series (and bypasses the Denzel Washington films) with a slightly different plot: Latifah plays single mother Robin McCall, a prodigiously talented former CIA operative who uses her abilities to benefit those in need. The series is a cross between a crime drama and a spy drama, with episodes focusing on crimes close to home and others involving international espionage. While the original depicted cops constrained by “rules” and “restoring basic human dignity to criminals,” this series is more about those harmed by a system that doesn’t care about them, and who can benefit from a woman who can kick just about anyone’s ass. It’s thrilling to watch Robin and her team, through spying and/or fighting their way out of difficult situations, help the downtrodden. Watch The Equalizer on Paramount+ and Tubi .
The Little Drummer Girl (2018)
Based on John le Carré’s novel, this series is directed by Park Chan-wook (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy), who exudes an undeniably sexy period style. Florence Pugh plays Charlie, a young actress recruited by Mossad chief Martin Kurtz (Michael Shannon) to infiltrate a Palestinian terrorist group, while being manipulated by an Israeli intelligence officer played by Alexander Skarsgård. Crucially, like the book, the series offers multifaceted characters on all sides of the conflict, raising serious questions about who the real villains are. Watch The Little Drummer Girl on AMC+ or buy it on Prime Video.
The Americans (2013–2018)
Created by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg, The Americans is set in the 1980s during the Cold War. The series follows Soviet KGB agents Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys) as an American couple living in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and raising their American-born children. This critically acclaimed (and popular!) series draws heavily on its historical context and central conflict, which pits the two spies in the heart of American suburbia while simultaneously attempting to undermine the Reagan-era government under which their children will grow up. Watch The Americans on Disney+ and Hulu .
Homeland (2011–2020)
After the first few seasons, Homeland shifts its focus somewhat. The series begins with CIA operative Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) suspecting that decorated Marine sniper Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), recently rescued from an al-Qaeda hideout, has been re-infiltrated and is planning a terrorist attack on the United States. Because Mathison has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, her superiors dismiss these suspicions, setting off a cat-and-mouse game: is he real? Both leads won Emmy Awards for their roles, and the series won Outstanding Drama Series in its first year. Watch Homeland on Hulu andNetflix .
Inside Man (2024–)
This isn’t a spy drama at all, but a funny and often very touching comedy from the creator of The Good Place . Still, there’s plenty of undercover adventure, so I’d say it’s a kind of counter-programming to the spy genre. The series, very, very loosely based on a true story, follows Charles Nieuwendyk, a recently widowed retired professor, played by Ted Danson. He begins to live… an ordinary life when, on a whim, he takes a temporary job at a detective agency. They’re investigating missing jewelry at a local nursing home, and the bumbling, awkward Charles is perfect for the role of undercover agent, even if the job evokes memories of his late wife’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Ted Danson is in fine form here, as is the supporting cast, which, in season two, includes his real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen.Watch Inside Man on Netflix .