Why Zafar Jaffrey From Slow Horses Looks So Familiar

This article contains spoilers for "Slow Horses" season 5, episode 1: "Bad Dates"

One of the best shows on Apple TV+ makes its grand return with its signature mix of bombastic action and nihilistic bottom-floor spycraft. "Slow Horses" opens its fifth season with a dramatic but mysterious public shooting incident, which is heavily implied to have a connection to two politicians who are about to duke it out for the prestigious position: Mayor of London. 

While the even more dramatic discovery that Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) of all people seems to have a beautiful girlfriend (Hiba Bennani) hogs much of Slough House agents' attention at this stage of the season, previous story arcs have proven that matters of personal and national security often intersect in the world of "Slow Horses." Because of this, the mayoral candidates "Bad Dates" introduces are absolutely worth paying attention to. 

The challenger for the position, Dennis Kimball (Christopher Villiers), is the sort of uncomfortable populist, bestseller-writing firebrand figure everyone who's even cursorily familiar with politics knows all too well. The incumbent mayor, Zafar Jaffrey, plays his cards far closer to his chest at this point of the game — and the show has certainly managed to land the perfect actor to play the enigmatic figure. Let's take a look at where you know Nick Mohammed from.  

Nick Mohammed has a long and storied career in front of the camera. He's had roles in movies that range from Ridley Scott's "let's save Matt Damon from space" epic "The Martian" to director Sharon Maguire's 2016 installment in the "Bridget Jones" saga, "Bridget Jones's Baby." His résumé also has a long string of British TV shows, including one he personally created: the spy comedy "Intelligence," in which he starred alongside David Schwimmer of "Friends" fame.  

Apple TV+ viewers will almost certainly know Mohammed best from the comedy-drama smash hit "Ted Lasso" (which creator and Ted Lasso actor Jason Sudeikis confirmed in March will get a season 4). As Nathan "Nate the Great" Shelley, Mohammed has been a cast mainstay throughout the show's three seasons. His character arc is arguably the wildest on the show, proceeding from a humble Richmond F.C. kit man with an eye for tactics to the antagonistic manager of West Ham F.C.   

Incidentally, Nate's "Ted Lasso" arc makes it absolutely impossible to predict whether Mohammed's "Slow Horses" character is a good guy (insofar as those exist in the show) or a bad one, since the actor has demonstrated a mastery of both sides of the Force. What's more, Mohammed knew to handle Nate's dark side turn in "Ted Lasso" season 3 with caution, so it's easy to expect him to play Zafar Jaffrey with the requisite nuance, as well. In fact, he's already started the job in the premiere; just take a look at the barely perceptible way he perks up when he learns about some potential dirt on Kimball, and see if you don't find yourself wondering about the guy's true nature. 

"Slow Horses" season 5 is streaming on Apple TV+.