Slow Horses season four has a confirmed release date – and we don't have too long to wait.
In addition to a few first-look images at the brand new episodes, Apple TV+ – which we've named as one of the best streaming services – announced that its critically acclaimed spy show will be back on our screens in September.
And we're pretty hopeful about its longevity, too. We already knew that Slow Horses had officially been renewed for a fifth season, and for the first time in its history, the show has been nominated at the Emmys.
Slow Horses has been nominated for nine Emmys and will compete for Outstanding Drama Series against Fallout, The Crown, The Gilded Age, The Morning Show, 3 Body Problem, Mr & Mrs Smith and Shōgun.
Gary Oldman is also up for Lead Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of Jackson Lamb, while Jack Lowden is up for the Outstanding Supporting Actor award.
It seems things are looking bright for our favourite team of rejects.
Here's everything you need to know about Slow Horses season four.
Slow Horses season 4 release date: When will Slow Horses season 4 come out?
Slow Horses season four has been confirmed to start on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, September 4.
The six-episode season will start with a two-episode premiere, before weekly episodes until its finale on Wednesday, October 2.
In even more exciting news, Slow Horses has already been confirmed for season five ahead of the debut of the new season.
However, we don't yet know when to expect season five.
Slow Horses season 4 cast: Who's coming back for Slow Horses season 4?
A sneak peek at season four that popped up at the end of the season-three finale already revealed that many of our favourite Slow Horses will be returning for the next season.
Of course, Slough House wouldn't be the same without Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb. In season four, he will be joined by returning cast members, including:
• Jack Lowden as River Cartwright
• Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner
• Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish
• Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander
• Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus Longridge
• Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho
• Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
• Jonathan Pryce as David Cartwright
While they weren't in the trailer, it's also possible Samuel West will pop up as weaselly on-off Conservative MP Peter Judd, and Sophie Okonedo as Ingrid Tearney, the disgraced ex-head of MI5.
The preview also introduced us to Hugo Weaving as a potential bad guy (book fans will know about his connection to the Cartwright family...), along with James Callis as one of Taverner's associates at MI5 and Ruth Bradley as a new character we see being introduced to the 'delights' of Slough House by Jackson Lamb.
Slow Horses season 4 trailer: Watch the Slow Horses season 4 trailer here!
The end of season three (episode six: 'Footprints') saw the lovely people at Apple TV+ deliver an extra treat – a first glimpse of Slow Horses season four.
If you missed it above, check it out below:
Slow Horses season 4 plot: What will happen in Slow Horses season 4?
The fourth season of Slow Horses is based on Mick Herron's novel Spook Street.
The official synopsis for the novel shares that some of the action involves River's grandfather David, who began to show signs of memory loss and dementia in season three.
"Retired from the intelligence service, David Cartwright still knows where the skeletons are hidden. But when he forgets that secrets are supposed to stay buried, there's suddenly a target on his back… Jackson Lamb worked with David back in the day.
"He knows better than most that this is no innocent old man. So when River's panic button raises the alarm at Intelligence Service HQ, Lamb will do whatever he thinks necessary to protect an agent in peril."
There are also loose ends from the season three finale to be tied up.
At the end of the season, River leaked important documents that revealed some dodgy goings-on (including murder) at MI5 under Ingrid Tearney's leadership. By the final scene, Taverner had stepped up to take disgraced Tearney's place as First Desk (the Director-General of MI5).
"Where it ends in season three, where Taverner thinks she's got what she wants, let's just say there's a recalibration of that at the start of the next series," showrunner Will Smith told Digital Spy in an exclusive interview.
"There's repercussions [from River's leak], but they're more left field than directly to do with what he leaks."
Related: Slow Horses boss shares why Gary Oldman looks worse every season
Before he leaked them to the press, River was shocked when he took the documents to his grandfather for advice and David threw them in the fire to destroy them (luckily River had copies in his car).
Smith added that their relationship changes following that visit in the new season.
"The main thing is the fracture that occurs when River is going against his grandfather for the first time, and that's a big thing for him, and seeing his grandfather in a new light, and he is starting to make his own judgements and not just toe the line. The next series is sad with what happens between River and David," he said.
Catherine Standish, Slough House's reliable office administrator, also faces changes in the next season after Lamb shockingly told her that her former boss Charles Partner was a traitor who sold secrets to the Russians.
She quit and walked away from Lamb and Slough House but will be back in some capacity in season four.
It remains to be seen whether she discovers Lamb's secret (revealed to viewers in the first season) – that he killed Partner for his treachery on the orders of David Cartwright and made it look like a suicide.
"The only bit of the puzzle that she can put together is the fact that it was Lamb that did it and it's whether she intuitively knows that underneath it or it needs to be spelled out," Smith told Digital Spy.
"In the book, she's directly told at one point and we have the knock-on from that. We will probably get to that, yes."
As if that weren't enough drama, the season four sneak peek reveals that a bomb goes off in London, and MI5 and the Slow Horses have to investigate.
They're also in danger themselves – it's possible the sharp-tongued keeper of MI5's records, Molly (Naomi Wirthner), may not survive, and clips also show River being held at gunpoint and threatened by Hugo Weaving's mysterious character.
It's Jackson Lamb's closing line in the trailer that worries us most, however, as he says: "One of my team just died." Who could it be?
Slow Horses season four starts on September 4 on Apple TV+. All three previous seasons are available to watch on the streaming service.
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Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
