‘Slow Horses’ Head Writer Promises Not to Kill Your Favorite Character, Unless Mick Herron Does First
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Since premiering on Apple TV in 2022, Slow Horses has been one of the most consistently excellent shows on streaming. The adaptation of Mick Herron’s Slough House spy novels never wastes a moment of its six-episode seasons, delivering tightly paced mysteries interspersed with biting humor at the expense of the show’s failed MI5 agents. Even more remarkably, Apple has released six seasons in just four years at a time when the gap between new seasons of hit shows can exceed presidential terms. So when Slow Horses creator Will Smith announced he’d be leaving after season 5, fans were understandably worried about what it would mean for the show. Perhaps no one was as nervous as Gaby Chiappe, who took on the role of head writer for season 6.
“I was a massive fan of the books and a massive fan of the series, so you really don’t want to screw that up,” Chiappe tells Polygon. “It’s not just professional pride, it’s also my favorite show. It felt like an amazing opportunity and quite scary in equal measure all the way through.”
Thankfully, there’s no dip in quality. That’s an impressive feat given this is one of the show’s most complex seasons. While each previous season was based on a single Slough House book, season 6 fuses both Herron’s sixth book, Joe Country, and his seventh, Slough House. The decision was made before Chiappe joined the team.
“Joe Country is an amazing novel, but it essentially takes place in a blizzard in Wales over a very short time,” Chiappe says. “Finding somewhere you could film that snow presented really big challenges. In lots of ways it’s a very exciting novel, but it’s one chase in one weather condition.”
Herron’s mysteries each come to their own satisfying conclusion, but they also build on each other, meaning the show couldn’t simply skip Joe Country. So Chiappe had to find ways to weave in some of the book’s key plot points, like River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) having a very unhappy reunion with his twisted mercenary dad, Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving), at River’s grandfather’s funeral.
“In the end, it felt more like Slough House with some elements of Joe Country changing the shape of Slough House,” Chiappe says. “I hope we’ve made it feel seamless and organic, because we were trying to take the best of both and make them into something that would feel like a proper arc of its own rather than something that was grafted together.”
Making a pact with the audience
Frank isn’t the only returning character in season 6, which also brings back Sid Baker (House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke), who was presumed dead after being shot in the head in season 1, and Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar), who quit Slough House at the beginning of season 5. Louisa’s departure doesn’t happen in the books, but she was written off because of scheduling conflicts.
“Very occasionally there’s a change like that which isn’t in the books, but we wouldn’t kill somebody who isn’t killed in the books,” Chiappe says. “You have to be flexible, but we’re not deviating from the novels for the sake of it.”
The speed at which Apple releases new seasons of Slow Horses means writing began for season 7 while season 6 was still shooting. Co-executive producer Billy Bowring coordinated with Chiappe and Ben Vanstone, who will take over as showrunner for season 7, to handle the transition.
“As a viewer, even a year feels like a long time to wait, but knowing that you’re going to get the next season in the autumn some time, and they’re going to keep coming is really good,” Chiappe says. “There are shows where I loved season 1, and then you wait for ages for season 2, and then you’ve sort of lost a connection with it. We’re making a kind of pact with the audience that you will get the show this time next year.”
Season 6 of Slow Horses premieres on Apple TV on Sept. 16. New episodes release Wednesdays through Oct. 21.
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