15 Shows Like Slow Horses Fans Can Binge-Watch Now

Already regarded as one of the best series streaming on Apple TV+, "Slow Horses" has picked up quite the pace since its debut in 2022. Created and executive produced by Will Smith (no, not the blockbuster star– the British comedy writer), it has run for five critically acclaimed seasons thus far, earning countless awards including two Primetime Emmys. Apple has already given the greenlight for seasons 6 and 7, with Smith only returning for one more adventure at Slough House.

This is the first sign we've seen that the series could be slowing down, though the combination of its runaway success and the sheer amount of source material from Mick Herron's novels bodes well for a long post-Smith run. Even so, whether in preparation for the series' inevitable end or to provide something to tide readers over between seasons, we've combed through a wide variety of streamers to help you find your next watch. Whether because of their paranoid, spy thriller tones, dark sense of humor, or comfortingly British storytelling sensibilities, these series should be the prime targets for fans of "Slow Horses."

Here are the best shows like "Slow Horses" that you should beck checking out.

Now streaming on: Hulu / Disney+

Though it takes itself a bit more seriously than "Slow Horses," FX's "The Americans" will satisfy fans of the former series with its careful plotting and emphasis on character-driven drama and relationships. Keri Russell (the star of another series that we'll discuss further down) and Matthew Rhys star as a seemingly perfect, American married couple who are secretly KGB agents spying on the U.S. at the height of the Cold War. Paranoia and conspiracy remarkably give way to a profound deconstruction and interrogation of the "ideal" Reagan-era nuclear family — in order to maintain their cover, the couple are forced to hide their true nationality and mission from their two children, both born and raised in America.

From the release of its 2nd season onward, "The Americans" received near-universal critical acclaim. It was nominated for 18 Primetime Emmy Awards in total — Matthew Rhys in particular was nominated multiple times for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and won the award in 2018. Streaming services like Netflix and now Hulu and Disney+ continue to help build the show's audience, as its unique, mature, and nuanced exploration of marriage remains as timeless as it is thrilling.

Now streaming on: HBO Max

Just before he developed "Slow Horses" into a TV series for Apple TV, Will Smith was working on a program with a very different setting (and, yet, nearly identical comedic tone) for HBO. "Avenue 5" is a science fiction black comedy that takes Smith's skewering of bureaucratic dysfunction and institutional decay to outer space, as well as a future where the wealthiest people of Earth are able to venture into the final frontier on cruise-like excursions. When the space vessel's sole engineer-slash-pilot is suddenly killed, personality hire "Captain" Ryan Clark (a charming fraud, played by Hugh Laurie) must work against the selfish nature of his passengers and the short-sighted greed of his employers to get everyone back to Earth safely.

"Avenue 5" was created by Armando Iannucci, who had previously worked with Smith and several other members of the series' executive producing and writing team on another satire for HBO (which we'll actually discuss much further down). Though the sci-fi detour wasn't quite the critical darling they hoped it would be (the series was cancelled after two seasons in 2023), "Avenue 5" presents a solidly amusing and disturbingly canny vision of the future.

Now streaming on: Netflix

If "Slow Horses" has already sent you down the British crime drama rabbit hole, there's a decent chance you've already encountered the name Jed Mercurio. The writer-producer is a defining voice in the genre domestically, particularly for his subversive police procedural "Line of Duty." That series itself would be a follow-up to "Slow Horses" (similarly interrogating the ethics and potential corruption of law enforcement), though we'd argue Mercurio's more recent series strikes a much closer tone.

Released to critical acclaim on Netflix in 2018, "Bodyguard" blends the political and spy thriller subgenres to tell a story that's equally action-packed, suspenseful, and intellectually challenging. "Game of Thrones" alum Richard Madden returns to prestige television as David Budd, a protection officer charged with Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keely Hawes). Though his experiences in the Afghanistan war and subsequent battle with PTSD (refreshingly depicted through Madden's performance) put him at odds with Montague's unrepentantly hawkish agenda, he becomes the one body standing between her and a violent conspiracy in Britain's government. "Bodyguard" was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2019 Emmy Awards. The status of a potential 2nd season is unclear.

Now streaming on: Hulu

If "Slow Horses" thrills you with its tense and witty stories about struggling government agents recovering from various falls from grace, you might want to venture to the sun-soaked danger of "Burn Notice." The USA Network series centers on deep-cover CIA agent Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan, who readers might recognize from his recent stint in the "Law and Order" franchise). Though he is, for all intents and purposes, a model operative when the series begins, Michael's world is turned upside down when he unexpectedly receives a burn notice — a formal change in status that marks him as disavowed from the agency.

The series thereafter follows Michael as he attempts to uncover the mystery of his burning, at times forcing him into conflict with his former peers. The only allies in his mission are Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar), an ex-IRA munitions expert (and Michael's ex-lover), and the washed-up but well-meaning agency retiree Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell). While it may be a significant tonal shift in many aspects — particularly its American sense of humor and action — "Burn Notice" is a gem of late-aughts television that won't disappoint.

Now streaming on: MGM+ and Fubo TV

For an even more breathless tale of exile and conspiracy, we'd invite you to hunt down the criminally underrated spy thriller "Condor." Based on the 1975 Academy Award-nominated Robert Redford film "Three Days of the Condor" (the fingerprints of which Marvel fans may recognize on "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"), this lesser-known series premiered on the now-defunct Audience Network in 2018 before being quietly picked up by Epix for a 2nd and potentially final season.

Even with a cliffhanger awaiting new viewers, "Condor" is more than worth a watch for fans of "Slow Horses." It follows Joe Turner (Max Irons), a young CIA analyst who is surprised — and at times horrified — to learn that a terrorist screening algorithm he developed is now being used by the agency to take out suspected attackers before they actually attack. Before he can fully process the implications of his work, he is framed for a mass shooting and forced to go on the run from the CIA. Even when it gets too twisty for its own good, "Condor" keeps audiences engaged with smart pacing and a chilling examination of state surveillance.

Now streaming on: Netflix

For readers who have already seen "The Americans" and still want more of Keri Russell navigating a complicated, contentious marriage in the midst of an international crisis, you're strangely in luck. In 2023, Netflix released the 1st season of "The Diplomat," a political thriller that stars Russell as a fresh-faced U.S. ambassador named Kate Wyler.

With the potential of a vice presidential promotion lingering over her head, Kate is sent to the United Kingdom to manage the fallout of a possible attack by the Iranian government. At the same time, she must also manage the ego of her soon-to-be-ex-husband Hal (Rufus Sewell of "The Man in High Castle"), a former ambassador himself, now unemployed, rudderless, and reckless.

"The Diplomat" was created by "The West Wing" and "Homeland" veteran writer-producer Debora Cahn, her role evident through the series' deft balance of political intrigue, romance, and humor. Netflix has produced two subsequent seasons that dramatically expand the show's initial narrative, though the Wylers remain its anchor. Russell has earned further acclaim and two Emmy nominations for her work. As of writing, a 4th season is in production.

Now streaming on: Netflix and Hulu

Speaking of "Homeland," the wildly popular Showtime drama is a fine choice for fans of "Slow Horses" as well. Even in spite of noticeable fluctuations in quality season to season and its often hysterical and reductive depiction of the Middle East and the War on Terror (questionable at best in its seeming laundering of the worst U.S. foreign policy mistakes of the past two decades), the best episodes of "Homeland" still make it worthy of consideration based on its performances and storytelling merit alone.

The story begins in earnest with the almost miraculous rescue of Sergeant Nicholas Brody ("Band of Brothers" and "Billions" star Damien Lewis), a U.S. Marine who has been held by al-Qaeda for nearly a decade. While the rest of the CIA rejoices in his return, recently relegated officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) suspects — based on risky intelligence — that he might have been recruited by the terrorist organization as a sleeper agent. The tension of the series revolves not only around the progress of her investigation and Brody's potential conspiratorial motives but around the ethics and personal and professional fallout it continuously incurs.

Now streaming on: Netflix, Paramount+, BritBox, Sling TV, and Fubo TV

On the subject of fluctuating quality, we have to recommend "Killing Eve" with a similar (and less severe) asterisk. When the black comedy spy thriller first premiered on the BBC in 2018, it was rightfully hailed as one of the best new series of the decade. The subsequent two seasons built on the thrilling and surprisingly psychosexual cat-and-mouse narrative that made it an international hit — only for the 4th and final season to crash and burn with a finale so universally reviled even the author of the source material had to disown it.

Like Jack Lowden's River Cartwright in "Slow Horses," "Killing Eve" is catalyzed by the firing of MI5 analyst Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh). She is shortly thereafter recruited to a covert MI6 taskforce attempting to track down a dangerous and terrifyingly effective assassin known as "Villanelle" (Jodie Comer). As Eve continues her investigation — and Villanelle counters with her maneuvers and surveillance — the two become obsessed with one another in a way that blurs the lines of their roles on either side of the law.

Now streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" might be the most crowd-pleasing option on this list. That's by no means a backhanded complement — it's a series so excellently written, cast, performed, and directed, with such an incredible blend of action, comedy, and drama to boot, that we'd defy any reader not to have at least a little fun with its 1st season. Using the premise of the 2005 Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie starrer as a jumping-off point, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" follows two complete strangers — played by co-creator Donald Glover and "PEN15" breakout Maya Erskine — who are united by a covert organization to perform dangerous acts of espionage while acting as a married couple.

With each completed mission (the series, despite its prestige credibility, takes a refreshingly episodic approach to its spy narrative) their dysfunctional working relationship becomes increasingly intimate, only further complicating the lives they've chosen. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" received a bundle of Emmy nominations in 2024, as accolades were heaped upon Glover, Erskine, and the rest of the star-studded cast (which includes the likes of Emmy-winner Michaela Coel, Paul Dano, and several others we'd rather not spoil).

Now streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

A thematically reverent reimagining of the 1993 book from legendary espionage novelist John le Carré, "The Night Manager" is quietly one of the best spy thrillers ever made. First released all the way back in 2016, this BBC series (released on AMC in the U.S.) was immediately and widely lauded for its sharp character writing, pulse-pounding plot and action, and leading performances by Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Colman (all of whom earned nods from the Emmys). Hiddleston plays Jonathan Pine, a British veteran and ex-patriot who is coaxed by the U.K. Foreign Office into using his new, unassuming role as an Egyptian hotel manager to infiltrate the criminal operations of arms trafficker Richard Roper (Laurie).

After lying dormant for a decade, a 2nd season of "The Night Manager" was released by Amazon Prime Video. Though it's too early as of writing to discern the 2nd season's worth as a follow-up to the peerless 1st season, the latter is nonetheless too immaculate to ignore on its own.

Now streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

Readers who were especially taken by the comedic elements of "Slow Horses" should consider assuaging their post-binge-watch blues with Amazon Prime Video's "Patriot." Offbeat to the extent that it might even veer on too stylized for some, the right audiences will be absolutely captured by it for the same reason.

Set in 2012 amidst notable and historical political unrest in Iran, the series follows John Tavner ("For All Mankind's" Michael Dorman), a CIA agent given the simple task of using a normal corporate job as cover to move funds to a U.S.-preferred candidate in the Iranian presidential election. The problem? John is immature, recklessly violent, and would rather be playing guitar and/or smoking pot. His mission thus goes haywire almost immediately, leaving himself and his family connections within the agency scrambling to prevent a national incident. Hilarious, dark, and unexpectedly moving at times, "Patriot" is a would-be cult classic that fans of "Slow Horses" should investigate ASAP.

Now streaming on: Amazon Prime Video, BritBox, The Roku Channel, and Pluto TV

Finally (in terms of our recommendations in the British spy thriller subgenre), we have the BBC series "Spooks," which may also be known to some readers as "MI5." Whatever you call it, this early-aughts hit is a defining entry in the subgenre, without which "Slow Horses" might not exist.

Running for 10 relatively long seasons (by British TV standards, at least) from 2002 to 2011, "Spooks" introduced British audiences to the dangerous world of government espionage in strikingly bombastic and stylish fashion. The 1st season features an ensemble that includes Peter Firth, future "Succession" breakout Matthew Macfadyen, "Bodyguard" star Keely Hawes, and "Selma" star David Oyelowo as members of the MI5 counterterrorism department. It mixes elements of episodic storytelling with some satisfying serialized elements, making it a nice change of pace for those left breathless by the seasonal format of "Slow Horses." Die-hard fans of the series can also check out "Spooks: The Greater Good," a feature film that stars "Game of Thrones" alum Kit Harington.

Now streaming on: HBO Max

While the rest of the entries on our list aren't political or spy thrillers by any means, they're tonal cousins of "Slow Horses" with enough acclaim and shared creative DNA to be decent options for anyone in need of a break from the conspiracy of it all. "Succession," for instance, was created and written in large part by Jesse Armstrong, who came up with Will Smith through writing on several Armando Iannucci films and TV shows.

For those unaware, "Succession" is a critically acclaimed tragicomedy that satirizes the fall of legacy media through the steady physical decline of fictional CEO Logan Roy (Brian Cox). When he suffers a medical emergency at his 80th birthday celebration, he unwittingly instigates several years of unbelievably entertaining psychological warfare between himself and his scheming, evil children, all of whom desire the top job. With countless awards to its name and a growing legacy as one of the greatest series of the past decade, "Succession" is top-shelf TV indisputably on par with "Slow Horses."

Now streaming on: Peacock and BritBox

Another earlier television show that was created by Armando Iannucci and included Will Smith (and Jesse Armstrong, for that matter) in the writers' room, "The Thick of It" is rightfully remembered as one of the best British TV shows of all time. Taking us back into the world of the political, it follows a variety of embattled, unextraordinary British politicians (and their even more embattled and unextraordinary staffers) who are subjected to the daily whims and tirades of government communications director Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi).

With its focus on political messaging, "The Thick of It" becomes more prescient and insightful as the information age continues to showcase how malleable and easily weaponized that messaging is. There are four short seasons of the series in total, as well as the tenuously canonical (yet equally brilliant) spin-off feature "In the Loop," which stars much of the cast and features new additions like Zach Woods and James Gandolfini.

Now streaming on: HBO Max

Initially something akin to an American adaptation of "The Thick of It," HBO's "Veep" quickly evolved into arguably the sharpest assessment of everything wrong with U.S. politics we've ever seen on TV. Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Selina Meyer, a narcissistic and perpetually scorned vice president. When she isn't tripping over her own ego, her aspirations of higher office are constantly hindered by her dysfunctional, incompetent, and self-serving staff.

The series ran for seven seasons, with Will Smith producing and writing several episodes for the first five. (In 2015, it earned him his first Emmy Award.) Several years after the finale in 2019, "Veep" is still talked about and praised for its eerie ability to forecast where America was headed in terms of general political chaos. There are even some light themes of international unrest and political conspiracy in later seasons, which might be enough to earn the vote of "Slow Horses" fans. Otherwise, if you still haven't found your next binge-watch, you might just have to wait until the latter series returns for its 6th season on Apple TV+.