If you want better accent authenticity
Choose How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Season 1. It scores 5.0 vs 1.0 for accent authenticity, with a 4.4 overall score.
Slow Horses, Season 6 Review
Bottom Line
Choose it for fast, darkly funny spy thrills, standout performances, and a tightly wound six-episode run. Skip it if the familiar formula, dense callbacks, or a major cliffhanger ending are likely to frustrate you.
Best for
Best for existing Slow Horses fans who want a darker, faster, more action-heavy season with returning characters, strong ensemble work, and major payoffs to earlier storylines.
Not for
Less suited to newcomers or viewers who want a mostly standalone story, slower character breathing room, or a fully resolved ending without a major cliffhanger.
Verdict
Slow Horses Season 6 is widely seen as a high point for the series, with critics praising its sharp writing, muscular action, dark humor, strong ensemble work, and sustained suspense. The two-book adaptation moves quickly and rewards viewers who remember earlier seasons, while River’s grief and returning characters add emotional weight. The tradeoff is that the speed and heavy continuity can crowd quieter scenes, and a minority of critics see the chase structure, callbacks, and familiar formula as repetitive or less plausible. The finale is similarly divisive: many found its cliffhanger gripping, while one called it a cheap send-off. Overall, the season keeps the show’s identity intact while pushing its danger and scale higher.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
54 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.042 (78%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.47 (13%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.43 (6%)
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Negative 1.5-2.41 (2%)
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Very negative below 1.51 (2%)
Pros
-
Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden remain major anchors, with reviewers praising Oldman’s lived-in comic menace and Lowden’s more vulnerable, physically demanding work. Both are repeatedly described as delivering some of their strongest material.
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Returning pairings—especially Jack Lowden with Olivia Cooke—were a major highlight, while new character combinations also brought fresh energy. The ensemble’s ability to bounce between bickering, affection, and danger remains a core strength.
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The chase scenes, fights, and later set pieces were repeatedly described as inventive, breathless, and unusually cinematic. Several reviewers felt Season 6 pushed the action to a new high without losing the show’s grubby identity.
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Despite the showrunner transition, the writing was broadly praised as sharp, polished, witty, and structurally confident. The strongest reviews felt the two-book adaptation was seamless, while a few critics missed some of the old comic bite.
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Most critics thought the ensemble was operating at a very high level, with several calling the cast’s work among the strongest the series has delivered. Even more mixed season reviews still tended to praise the performances.
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Most critics thought the show still balances brutality, grief, sarcasm, and absurd comedy remarkably well under the new showrunner. A few dissenters felt the humor had dulled, but the broader tonal identity remains intact.
Cons
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Hugo Weaving’s American accent drew one of the sharpest individual complaints, with one reviewer calling it the worst they had heard from an Australian actor.
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One reviewer found the recurring Sony game placement noticeable enough to become distracting rather than invisible background detail.
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The final cliffhanger is divisive: some reviewers found it breathless and brilliantly effective, while another called it a cheap send-off. Its ability to create urgency for Season 7 is not in doubt.
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The season often earns praise for making violence feel painful, messy, and grounded, but one critic objected to assassins becoming implausibly ineffective when the plot needed the heroes to survive.
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Opinions split sharply on freshness. Many critics loved the unpredictability and personal stakes, while dissenters thought the show was recycling familiar faces, chase mechanics, and a formula that has become predictable.
Cast & Creators
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Oldman remains the show’s comic and dramatic anchor, with critics praising how effortlessly he mixes grotesque humor, intelligence, and flashes of buried loyalty. Several reviews rank this work among his strongest as Jackson Lamb.
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Lowden earns some of the season’s strongest notices, especially for River’s grief, physical strain, comic timing, and vulnerability. Multiple critics describe the work as among his best on the series.
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Cooke’s return is one of the season’s most celebrated performances. Critics praise the emotional weight she brings back to Sid, her dry charm, and the easy chemistry she reestablishes with Jack Lowden.
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Scott Thomas is praised for making Diana Taverner controlled, intimidating, and visibly pressured without losing the character’s icy precision. Several critics single out her damage-control scenes and subtle reactions.
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Soller is repeatedly praised as part of a cold, efficient assassin duo that gives the season real menace. Critics describe the pair as chilling, superb, and among the show’s most effective threats.
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Buring is repeatedly praised alongside Kyle Soller for creating a chilling, calculating threat. Their calm brutality makes the assassins one of the season’s most memorable new elements.
View all 54 feature scores and cast & creators
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other TV Shows, this product is above average in season length, release schedule, character consistency, near average in production design, below average in accent authenticity, finale satisfaction, realism.
Comparison summary
54 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher47 (87%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts1 (2%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower6 (11%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| accent authenticity | 1.0 | 3.4 | -2.4 |
| season length | 5.0 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
| release schedule | 5.0 | 3.0 | +2.0 |
| character consistency | 5.0 | 3.0 | +2.0 |
| season pacing | 4.7 | 3.0 | +1.6 |
| episode length | 5.0 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| violence level | 5.0 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
| continuity | 5.0 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better audience appeal
Choose Last Seen. It scores 5.0 vs 3.5 for audience appeal, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better realism
Choose Furious, Season 1. It scores 4.8 vs 2.5 for realism, with a 4.6 overall score.
If you want better emotional impact
Choose A Thousand Blows, Season 2 Review. It scores 5.0 vs 4.6 for emotional impact, with a 4.3 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Killing Eve
- Similar: dark humor and intense action The reviewer says Season 6’s mix of dark humor and intense action recalls prime Killing Eve.
FAQ
Does Season 6 stay strong after the showrunner change?
Most reviewers say yes. They found the transition surprisingly seamless and felt the show retained its established pacing, tone, humor, and character voice.
Is Season 6 darker and more violent than earlier seasons?
Yes. Multiple reviewers call it the darkest or most violent run yet, though positive reviews generally felt the brutality served the suspense rather than empty shock value.
Can a new viewer start with Season 6?
It is possible to follow the main threat, but several reviews say this season is more serialized and dependent on older characters and past plot points. Starting earlier will make the returns and emotional payoffs land better.
How is the pacing?
Most full-season reviews describe it as exceptionally fast and propulsive, especially after the opening episode. A few critics felt the speed crowds quieter character moments or makes the middle harder to follow.
Are the performances still a highlight?
Yes. Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden receive repeated praise, Olivia Cooke’s return is widely celebrated, and several supporting players are singled out as strong additions.
Does the finale fully resolve the season?
Not completely. The finale delivers a major cliffhanger that many reviewers found gripping, while at least one critic considered it an unsatisfying send-off.
How long is the season?
Season 6 runs for six episodes, with reviewers praising the roughly 45-minute chapters for moving quickly and avoiding filler.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - Ringer TV
- Review score
- 4.8
YouTube - Media Melanie TV
- Review score
- 5.0
Article Reviews
avclub.com
Old characters are dropping like flies, as Apple’s spy thriller wrestles with a new enemy: Long-form narrative callbacks.
- Review score
- 3.8
the-independent.com
Jack Lowden returns as hapless agent River Cartwright in Apple TV’s sturdy prestige show, which is starting to lose its capacity to shock
- Review score
- 4.1
theguardian.com
The show’s creator has gone, it’s been retooled as a conventional thriller and it feels like it’s starting to run out of ideas – even if it’s...
- Review score
- 2.0
decider.com
Slow Horses' Season 6 review on Apple TV: Decider's Stream It or Skip It adapts two novels from Mick Herron's series, Joe Country and Slough...
- Review score
- 5.0
vulture.com
River doesn’t have the time to fully process the death of his grandfather before the Slow Horses are thrown into the latest crisis.
- Review score
- 5.0
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#4
This product
Slow Horses, Season 6
Best for fast, darkly funny spy thrills, standout performances, and a tightly wound six-episode run. Skip it if the familiar formula, dense callbacks, or a major cliffhanger ending are likely...
Pros: season finale quality, character development
Cons: accent authenticity, product placement