Slow Horses is one of the most successful and long-running television shows on the Apple TV+ streaming platform. The series has built a fan base in no small part thanks to its incredibly efficient production schedule, which has allowed for a new season to be released on Apple like clockwork since its initial premiere in 2022. Based on author Mick Herron’s “Slough House” novel series, each season of Slow Horses has adapted one of the books, brought to life by a talented production crew. However, the latest report on the production of the spy series has revealed that one critical creative is stepping away from the show. According to a new report from Deadline, Slow Horses executive producer and writer Will Smith will be departing from the show after the fifth season, which is set to premiere in September on Apple TV+. While the title of showrunner doesn’t exist in productions that take place in the United Kingdom (as the report notes), Smith essentially served as showrunner on Slow Horses and helped to bring the novels to life so well. Herron’s signature wit and dark humor were brought to life excellently by Smith, who shepherded the adaptation in the earliest days of its pre-production.

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Smith told Deadline that “there were certainly some private tears” as the executive producer’s time on the show came to an end as Season 5 wrapped production. Slow Horses has moved at a breakneck pace, adapting the novels in Herron’s series, with production on future seasons usually already happening during the airing of the previous season. It’s a sudden announcement that also comes as Season 7 is set to begin filming in September.
The Change in Creative Leadership Has Already Impacted ‘Slow Horses’

Apple TV+

Smith also told Deadline that, while he may be departing the series, this isn’t the end for Slow Horses by any means. Instead, Season 5 is more like an end of Smith’s tenure, as he felt that the story of this upcoming season was a good stopping point for his involvement, saying: “Series 5, it doesn’t end things by any means, but it concludes certain story arcs that started in Season 1, so it felt like a good moment to hand over the show.” Moving forward, two new executive producers are handling the production of Slow Horses. Will Smith and Apple have handed Slow Horses over to Gaby Chiappe for Season 6, which has already completed filming, and Ben Vanstone for Season 7, which will start filming soon (as mentioned above). Gary Oldman had previously mentioned Slow Horses Season 6 being filmed six months ago, making it even more interesting that news hadn’t been revealed at that point that Smith was no longer involved creatively. Overall, it will be interesting to see if the tone, style, or structure of the seasons feature any sort of dramatic change. One significant change that has already been revealed (and, in retrospect, now seems to have been made without Smith’s involvement) is that Season 6 will adapt two of Herron’s books instead of one, a substantial shift in how the show is traditionally made. At this pace, the Apple TV+ series will have adapted the entirety of the novels that have been released thus far. With all these changes, one can only hope that Slow Horses will maintain the quality and quirky charm that have helped make it so popular in the first place. Source: Deadline

Peacemaker

Release Date

January 13, 2022

Network

HBO Max, Max

Directors

James Gunn, Brad Anderson, Rosemary Rodriguez

Christopher Smith / Peacemaker

Danielle Brooks

Leota Adebayo