The world of espionage isn’t all sleek suits and covert missions. For the Slow Horses, MI5’s most misfit team, it’s a messier kind of intelligence—and one that Bartleby might accidentally draft if he’d ever picked up a mug. Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series takes us into a world where scruffy agents, buried mistakes, and bureaucratic blunders form the bedrock of narrative tension and black humor.

Herron has crafted a gang of unlikely heroes—Jackson Lamb, the foul-mouthed genius boss who somehow still cares; River Cartwright, who’s barely kept from redemption; and Roddy Ho, whose awkward charm brings what humanity remains to Slough House. Reading London Rules, the fifth novel in the series, is like watching dysfunction dance with danger—all threaded with a deep affection for his characters that never lets things stray into parody.

Recent conversations with Herron reveal just how instinctive his writing process can be. He admits that Jackson Lamb seems to crawl out from “deep out of my subconscious,” rather than arriving through careful planning. What keeps the series so compelling is Herron’s delight in breaking conventions—“doing things that are against the rules.” That spirit ensures Slough House never feels tidy or formulaic. Readers don’t just watch these agents fall; they stumble, spit, swear, and somehow, against all odds, survive.

If you’ve been curious whether these misfits will bumble their way back to the screen, the answer is emphatically yes. Slow Horses Season 5 lands on Apple TV+ on September 24, 2025, drawing its narrative straight from London Rules. A gripping new trailer teases conspiracies, lockdowns, and a tech genius with a suddenly suspicious girlfriend. It’s dark, it’s sharp, and it’s the kind of spy show that knows wit is the best weapon.