What Slow Horses season 5’s “cliffhanger” means for season 6

Jackson Lamb may have a battle on his hands.

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As the fifth instalment of Slow Horses draws to a close, actor Christopher Chung – aka Roddy Ho – has weighed in on Diana Taverner’s (Kristin Scott Thomas) rise to power as first desk, and what it could mean for series six.

Speaking with Radio Times, Chung said: “Going into the next season with Taverner in first desk, you’ve kind of got her in a position now where she’s got everything that she’s wanted, everything that she’s plotted and schemed for

“So it’ll be interesting to see if absolute power corrupts. I think that’s a really good cliffhanger for the audience to see, now that she’s got her hands on the steering wheel, where’s she gonna steer it?”

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Diana’s long-awaited promotion came to fruition in the season five finale, as a result of Jackson Lamb’s (Gary Oldman) actions. After blackmailing Diana’s boss, Claude Whelan (James Callis), into resigning, Jackson promised Diana that he’d stay out of her way at the Park, as long as she stayed out of his at Slough House.

Following the season five finale, the sixth instalment of Slow Horses will be based on the next two books in Mick Herron’s series: Joe Country (2019) and Slough House (2021).

While Diana and Jackson struck up a deal to leave one another alone, however, it looks like Diana is the first to break that promise.

“Season six sees the Slow Horses on the run as Diana Taverner embroils them all in a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge,” teases a brief synopsis. While it’s unknown when the next chapter will premiere, Apple TV+ included a trailer for season six, which is already in post-production, before the finale’s credits rolled.

In a major shakeup, season six has been adapted by Gaby Chiappe, after showrunner Will Smith confirmed his exit from Slow Horses after season five. Meanwhile, Ben Vanstone has taken the reins for season seven, which is now officially in production.

“Series 5, it doesn’t end things by any means,” Smith told Deadline, “but it concludes certain story arcs that started in season one, so it felt like a good moment to hand over the show.”