Aahana Swrup
In season 5 of ‘Slow Horses,’ the Slough House narrowly escapes certain doom thanks to the never-ending aces Jackson Lamb keeps up his sleeve. His agents prevent a national tragedy from unfolding by foiling a Libyan terrorist group’s near-sucessful attempts at applying the destabilization strategy on the MI5. Even so, as the smoke clears and the time comes for pointing fingers and naming names, Claude Whelan, Front Desk’s Director General, attempts to throw the Horses under the bus to clear his own name. By some twist of fate, Lamb had managed to come into the perfect blackmail material against Whelan, which he now uses against the man.
As such, the latter has no choice but to accept defeat and leave the Slough House to their dubious peace. However, as fans of the show will know, this peace is only short-lived, and some new misadventure is lurking on the horizon for the renegade group of agents. With season 6 renewed way back in October 2025, and the filming having wrapped up earlier this year, it’s only a matter of time before the new season arrives. Despite the lack of a definitive release date, season 6 is expected to come out in 2026.
Lamb and His Agents Will Become Prime Targets in Slow Horses Season 6
The Slough House has always had a bit of a target on its back since the beginning. As MI5’s dumping grounds for unwanted agents, it’s usually also anyone’s best bet for a potential scapegoat. Nonetheless, Lamb’s efforts, albeit reluctant, have managed to keep the department safe until now. However, it seems season 6 will test this theory even further. In the next season, the horses are expected to be on the run from some sort of elusive threat. Reportedly, the inciting event that will define the core conflict of the upcoming season might revolve around the strange disappearance of the horses’ files from the Park’s database. Consequently, we can expect Slough House agents to find themselves in an increased amount of danger.
On the other hand, Diana Taverner’s storyline is expected to revolve around a unique reckoning as well. Although terribly competent at her job, Taverner also has many skeletons in her closet, much like the other characters in the story. Therefore, it remains difficult to guess exactly which instance is bound to return to haunt her future narrative. Nonetheless, according to reports, her central plotline will follow “a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge.” Additionally, there are multiple avenues to explore on a more personal level. Season 5 is all about Roddy Ho and his damningly piteous dating life, which allows the viewers to take a closer look at the characters. As such, it’s likely that the next season would take a similar pointed interest in one of the Horses, unveiling more of their personal lives and relationships.
Slow Horses Season 6 Will Add New Faces to the Series
At its core, ‘Slow Horses’ is reliant upon a core ensemble of characters who add heart and soul to the narrative. Therefore, even though the cast has seen many changes over the years, fans can expect the certain return of a few familiar faces. Gary Oldman will undoubtedly reprise his role as Jackson Lamb, alongside Jack Lowden and Kristin Scott Thomas, who will be returning as River Cartwright and Diana Taverner, respectively. Similarly, actors behind the other titular Horses will be making their return in the upcoming season. This includes Saskia Reeves (Catherine Standish), Christopher Chung (Roddy Ho), Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Shirley Dander), and the newest addition, Tom Brooke (JK Coe).
From the Park’s side of things, characters like Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley), Devon Welles (Cherrelle Skeete), and Molly Doran (Naomi Wirthner) are also expected to be a part of the upcoming season. However, season 5 has left the fates of some characters within the narrative uncertain. Therefore, given the way things have played out for Louisa Guy and Claude Whelan, it remains difficult to say if their respective actors, Rosalind Eleazar and James Callis, will be making a comeback. On the flipside, one exciting thing about a new season in ‘Slow Horse’ stems from the inevitability of a few new cast members. Likewise, there’s always a possibility that some from the horses or the other MI5 personnel’s past may make an unexpected comeback.
Slow Horses Season 6 Will Be Based on Mick Herron’s Sixth and Seventh Slough House Novels
Since ‘Slow Horses’ is based on Mick Herron’s ‘Slough House’ spy fiction novel series, each season tends to be based on one of the author’s novels, at least to some degree. With season 6, the show is expected to use ‘Joe Country’ and ‘Slough House,’ the sixth and seventh installments in Herron’s series, as the source material. The sixth novel finds the Horses in a dark place, with many of the agents re-familiarizing themselves with their old demons. However, the most intriguing development that happens in the department comes from the arrival of a new recruit, Lech Wicinski, who is determined to find the person responsible for his professional fall from grace.
Meanwhile, in the novel, Diana Taverner struggles with her first year as the Head of First Desk. As a result, he ends up making some ill-advised deals and equally ill-advised devil. As for ‘Slough House,’ the seventh novel deals with a conflict stemming from the Russian secret service, which compels the First Desk to head down adverse roads. Simultaneously, the Horses deal with the aftermath of being erased from the Park’s systems, which opens them up to a whole new world of danger. While it is unlikely that season 6 will follow either of these plotlines to a T, fans can expect much overlap between the adventures of the literary Horses and their on-screen iterations.
Read More: Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 5 Recap: Circus
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