Apple TV Needs To Turn This Slow Horses Connected Story Into A Movie

Apple TV's "Slow Horses" is based on the Slough House novel series from author Mick Herron. What some fans might not know, however, is that Herron has also written several other novels set in the same universe. 2015's "Nobody Walks" is one example, and provides the perfect opportunity for Apple to give us the first movie set in the on-screen version of the "Slow Horses"-verse.

There are many things that make "Slow Horses" so good but one aspect fans surely appreciate is the fact that Apple TV has committed to an intense shooting schedule that means the company can rack up seasons ahead of their debut. Season 5 and 6, for instance, were shot back to back, which means viewers shouldn't have to wait long for the latter to arrive. But even with such a consistent schedule, fans are always going to want more. "Slow Horses" is, after all, the best spy show on TV and if we can't get more of the show proper, Apple could at least give us a spin-off or two.

In 2025, we got the next best thing when Apple delivered Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson's must-watch series "Down Cemetery Road." Like "Slow Horses," the show was based on a book series by Herron. But as good as it was, it didn't quite meet the standard of "Slow Horses" (even if season 5's tonal shift wasn't the series' finest hour). Luckily, Herron has plenty of other books that would make for fine "Slow Horses" spin-offs. "Nobody Walks" in particular provides the perfect source material for a movie set in the universe of the Apple TV show.

There are nine novels in Mick Herron's "Slough House" series. Thus far, the Apple TV show has made its way through five of them, but there's plenty more to come. What's more, if the show's writers run out of source material, there's also Herron's four "Slough House" novellas: "The List" (2015), "The Marylebone Drop" (2018), "The Catch" (2020) and "Standing by the Wall" (2022). Fans can therefore rest assured that Apple TV has plenty to draw from — especially when you consider there are three separate novels that also take place in the same universe.

2008's "Reconstruction" was Herron's first "Slough House" novel set in the same timeline as the main series that didn't actually belong to that series. It was followed by 2015's "Nobody Walks" before a third book, "The Secret Hours," debuted in 2023. While all these stories focused on characters that weren't part of the main novels, several characters from the series proper would crop up — which is partly why "Nobody Walks" would make for the perfect film.

The story follows ex-MI5 agent Tom Bettany, who after enduring multiple tragedies is now working at a French meat processing plant. Bettany left the service after his wife died and seemingly has nothing left to lose — especially after he learns of the death of his estranged son, Liam, back in England. Liam fell from a balcony but something seems off to Bettany, who quickly returns to Blighty to investigate. Of course, word soon spreads that Bettany is back, and everyone from the mob to MI5 higher-ups want to reconnect. If you can't imagine this film as part of the old man Liam Neeson action oeuvre, then I don't know what to tell you.

"Nobody Walks" isn't just notable for being one of a few Slough House-adjacent novels. Dame Ingrid Tearney actually makes her first real appearance in the book, which, aside from telling a taught revenge tale, simultaneously acts as a way to showcase the cunning MI5 head's devious ways. How a film adaptation might handle that remains to be seen, as in the "Slow Horses" show, the on-screen Tearney (played by Sophie Okonedo) departed the service at the end of season 3.

"Nobody Walks" also features J.K. Coe, who first appeared in the 2015 novella "The List" and is played by Tom Brooke in the Apple TV series. That provides an ideal cameo opportunity for the movie, though everyone would surely be hoping to see Gary Oldman's irascible, jaded sleuth Jackson Lamb show up at some point. Interestingly enough, the events of "Nobody Walks" provide some insight into how Coe wound up at Slough House itself, which again would make a film adaptation all the more intriguing for fans of the show.

So, could Apple make a "Nobody Walks" film? In 2022, author Mick Herron spoke to the Radio Times about the possibility of adapting his spin-off novels, saying, "There haven't been discussions about filming them, but it certainly remains a possibility." Elsewhere, before he departed "Slow Horses" after season 5, showrunner Will Smith told Collider that he thought the third spin-off novel, "The Secret Hours" would make for a great film. "There's a great book [Herron] wrote, the last book that came out, which is in the Slough House universe [...] That could be a movie or a more limited number [of episodes] just because of the nature of that story." Otherwise, there are no official plans for adapting the spin-off books.