Slow Horses Season 6: Episode Schedule, Cast and Finale Date
In short: Slow Horses season 6 has six episodes on Apple TV, released weekly on Wednesdays from September 16, 2026. The finale, episode 6, arrives on October 21. The season adapts Mick Herron's novels Joe Country and Slough House, and brings back Olivia Cooke as Sid Baker for the first time since season 1. Critics love it (100% on Rotten Tomatoes, 85 on Metacritic), and Apple has already renewed the show for seasons 7 and 8.
Get series picks based on this article
Need another sharp spy series while you wait for the finale? Get picks matched to your mood.
Get series picksPrefer to answer a few questions? Take the 8-question series quiz →The essentials
- Where: Apple TV.
- Episodes: six, one each Wednesday.
- Dates: September 16, 2026, to the finale on October 21.
- Based on: Mick Herron's novels Joe Country and Slough House, the sixth and seventh books in the series.
- Director: Adam Randall, who directed all six episodes.
- Reviews: 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from 36 reviews and 85 on Metacritic.
Episode schedule
- "Circle of Life", September 16
- "Daddy Issues", September 23
- "Resurrection", September 30
- "Lost and Found", October 7
- "Sayonara", October 14
- "Judgment Day", October 21 (finale)
What season 6 is about
Apple's synopsis has the Slough House agents on the run, with Diana Taverner, now First Desk at MI5, drawing them into what it calls a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge. Folding two novels into six episodes makes this a faster, busier season than most: Joe Country sends the team out of London to rescue one of their own, and Slough House turns MI5's own politics against them.
If you're mid-season, be careful searching cast names online: this season has had some of the show's biggest twists, and spoilers are everywhere.
Who's in it
- Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, head of Slough House.
- Jack Lowden as River Cartwright and Jonathan Pryce as his grandfather, David.
- Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner.
- Saskia Reeves (Catherine Standish), Rosalind Eleazar (Louisa Guy), Christopher Chung (Roddy Ho), Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Shirley Dander), Tom Brooke (J.K. Coe) and Joanna Scanlan (Moira Tregorian).
- Returning: Olivia Cooke as Sid Baker, last seen in season 1, and Hugo Weaving as Frank Harkness from season 4.
- New: Lucian Msamati as Oliver Nash, with Harry Lloyd, Kyle Soller and Lenny Rush.
Do you need to watch the earlier seasons?
Ideally, yes. Each season adapts one or two books and has its own case, so you could follow the plot of season 6 cold. But the characters' histories carry over, and season 6 in particular pays off threads from seasons 1 and 4. Each season is six episodes of about 45 minutes to an hour, so catching up is quicker than it sounds.
What comes next
- Season 7, adapting Bad Actors, was renewed in July 2025 and has already been made, directed by Robert McKillop.
- Season 8, adapting Clown Town, was announced on September 15, 2026, the day before season 6 began.
Apple hasn't dated season 7. The show has usually returned about a year after each season, which points to late 2027.
If you like Slow Horses
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): the same shabby, paranoid British intelligence world, with Gary Oldman as George Smiley.
- The Day of the Jackal (2024): a stylish assassin-and-hunter thriller.
- The Night Manager: John le Carré on television, glossier and more romantic.
- The Gentlemen: British crime with jokes; see whether you need season 1 before season 2.
Frequently asked questions
How many episodes are in Slow Horses season 6? Six, released one a week on Wednesdays from September 16 to October 21, 2026.
Will there be a Slow Horses season 7? Yes. Apple renewed it in July 2025, adapting Mick Herron's Bad Actors, and renewed an eighth season, based on Clown Town, the day before season 6 premiered.
Want another series like this?
Our series quiz can find one to match your mood. See also our guide to conspiracy thriller series.