Slow Horses season 3: Release date speculation, cast and latest news

The spy series follows a group of agents who have been exiled to MI5 dumping ground Slough House and has been a huge hit for Apple TV+.

Season 2 is based on Dead Lions, the second novel in Mick Herron’s Slough House series, and follows Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and his team as they grapple with a mystery and a plot surrounding long-buried Cold War secrets.

Season 3 will be based on the third book in Herron’s series, and will see Lamb and his colleagues place their lives at great risk once again in order to unravel another mystery when Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) goes missing.

A trailer debuted at the end of 2022, teasing plenty of guns, knives, blood, theories and more.

The footage also shows fans an injured River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) as an ominous voiceover says: "Secrets will always come out, there will always be a reckoning."

So, without further ado, read on for everything you need to know about Slow Horses season 3, including when we can expect it to land and which cast members will be returning.

Will there be a third season of Slow Horses?

Yes. It was announced back in June 2022 that the series would be returning for at least a third and a fourth season, which would be shot back-to-back just as seasons 1 and 2 were.

The new seasons will be based on the novels Real Tigers and Spook Street, meaning the drama will have got through half of Mick Herron's eight-part book series (although there is a ninth on the way).

Speaking exclusively with RadioTimes.com ahead of the second season's release, Lowden said that he would want to continue playing River and adapting Herron's novels beyond the current confirmed third and fourth seasons.

Asked whether he would like to play the character for eight seasons, to adapt each of Herron's eight novels, Lowden said: "I mean, I want to see them – as a fan. I want to see all eight seasons, of course, and I think Mick’s writing another [novel]. And so as a fan, I'd love to watch it.

"And obviously as the actor in it, I would love to just keep going with where River is heading because we're shooting season 3 just now and it's really exciting where he's going.

"There's definitely a bigger story with River that I would definitely love to see to its conclusion, which I can't say anything about, but if it's going the way I think it's going – because I've not read the books – then I'd love to see it, yeah."

Slow Horses season 3 release date speculation

It's hard to say exactly when season 3 of Slow Horses will be released. While seasons 1 and 2 were released in quick succession, both in 2022, this was because they were shot back-to-back. Seasons 3 and 4 have subsequently been shot back-to-back, but this does mean we might expect a longer break between seasons 2 and 3.

However, with the seasons announced in Summer 2022 and started shooting soon after, we'd hope that we could see new episodes start airing on Apple TV+ by late 2023. We'll keep this page updated as soon as any more firm information becomes available.

What will Slow Horses season 3 be about?

Slow Horses season 3 will be based on the third novel in Mick Herron's book series, called Real Tigers. The blurb for the book reads as follows: "Catherine Standish knows that chance encounters never happen to spooks. She's worked in the Intelligence Service long enough to understand treachery, double-dealing and stabbing in the back.

"What she doesn't know is why anyone would target her: a recovering drunk pushing paper with the other lost causes in Jackson Lamb's kingdom of exiles at Slough House.

"Whoever it is holding her hostage, it can't be personal. It must be about Slough House. Most likely, it is about Jackson Lamb. And say what you like about Lamb, he'll never leave a joe in the lurch. He might even be someone you could trust with your life..."

Slow Horses season 3 cast

Here's a full list of all the major cast members we can expect to see back for Slow Horses season 3:

• Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
• Jack Lowden as River Cartwright
• Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner
• Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish
• Jonathan Pryce as David Cartwright
• Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho
• Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
• Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander
• Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus Longridge
• Samuel West as Peter Judd MP
• Freddie Fox as James 'Spider' Webb
• Chris Reilly as Nick Duffy

Stars Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden have both now confirmed their involvement in the show's upcoming third season, while we'd also expect the rest of the Slow Horses main cast back, including Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Jonathan Pryce and more.

One character from seasons 1 and 2 that would we wouldn't expect to see back is Min Harper, played by Dustin Demri-Burns, after he was killed off early in season 2. It appeared at one time as though Freddie Fox's Spider Webb might have met a similar fate, but Diana confirmed he had in fact survived, so he could be back for more next season.

Another character we're all waiting to see reappear is Olivia Cooke's Sid Baker, after Roddy confirmed she could still be alive somewhere at the end of season 1. As of now there's no telling if and when she will reappear, after she went unmentioned in season 2.

Slow Horses season 3 trailer

Yes, as detailed above, a trailer for season 3 has landed, teasing plenty of chaos. Watch below:

Slow Horses seasons 1-2 are available to watch now on Apple TV+. Sign up to Apple TV+ now.

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