First, let’s address the elephant in the room - I let you down last week. Full disclosure, I would have delivered you a Stream if it weren’t for the fact I was beating back death at 40,000 ft on an 11-hour flight home from London after an absolute ripper of a wedding (shout out to newly-minted Loves), and in my hungover stupor I couldn’t get the Wi-Fi to work. Lessons were learned, and now when traveling I’ll knock this out ahead of time so you’re never left in the lurch again.
Now that my mea culpa is out of the way, let’s get to our solo rec this week.
Slow Horses
What It’s About: A bitter, washed-up spy (Gary Oldman), heads up a team of British intelligence agents who serve in the dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes.
Why You Should Watch: For spy games, next-level British cheekiness, and Gary Oldman
Between Severance, Pachinko, and now Slow Horses, it’s safe to say Apple TV+ is finally starting to hit its stride (and it was only a matter of time before they did so with all the money they have to throw around). Much like Severance, Slow Horses is a bleak workplace comedy at its core, paying homage to the Jean le Carre/spy thriller genre with similar twists, turns, and old school spy games. Action happens intermittently, but when it does, it’s quick and brutally efficient, and it will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Gary Oldman is a real treat in this as a total dirtbag (you can practically smell him through the screen). You’ll want to watch this one with subtitles so you can not only keep up with the topsy turvy plot, but also the accents (COM OFF, AR YU TAKIN THE PISS?).
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Gary Oldman - Another “where to begin this guy has done so much,” you probably know this legend as either Commissioner Gordon in Christoper Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, or as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter Franchise. Honestly, you probably don’t even realize the extent of how many movies he’s done because he’s such a chameleon - see below:
Jack Lowden - As one of the many young, facey, British solders in Dunkirk.
Kristin Scott Thomas - The English Patient, Fleabag, Mission: Impossible, Four Weddings and a Funeral
Olivia Cooke - Me and Earl and The Dying Girl, Ready Player One, Sound of Metal, and the upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done:
Most of the episodes are directed by James Hawes, who is probably best known for his work on Black Mirror, and written by Will Smith (no, not that one), best known for his work on Veep.
Where You Can Watch: Apple TV+