13 Best TV Shows Like Slow Horses

In 2022, Gary Oldman made the move from film to television for "Slow Horses," an Apple TV+ spy drama about a special division of the British intelligence agency known as MI5. He leads a talented ensemble cast that includes Jack Lowden, Sophie Okonedo, Jonathan Pryce, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Hugo Weaving. Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the head of a group of misfit operatives who've been cobbled together to tackle the cases no other agent wants.

Despite Lamb's penchant for berating his team and handing them assignments that could kill them through boredom, they somehow find themselves involved in missions that are vital to national security. It's a show that sucks you in and has you hooked before you know it. If you're all caught up on this prestige spy thriller and you're looking for something new to sink your teeth into, we've got you covered — here's a list of similar shows that you should check out.

Though it's set in the United States, "The Assets" features an almost all-British cast, just like "Slow Horses." It's also a similar story about a group of misfit agents working for their nation's top intelligence agency in a special division who have been tasked with a critical mission. This time, rather than MI5, it's the CIA, and their job is to track down and expose a mole within their own agency.

Divisive "Doctor Who" star Jodie Whittaker leads the line as CIA agent Sandra Grimes, heading up an ensemble cast that also includes Paul Rhys and Harriet Walter. The miniseries begins with the death of a CIA Russian counter-intelligence operative, and Grimes fears that someone within the agency is feeding information to the enemy. Together with a small group of carefully selected agents, Grimes investigates, but the mole may be closer than anyone realizes. 

A taut spy thriller, "The Assets" is a gripping cat-and-mouse story full of twists and turns. But here's the kicker: "The Assets" is based on the true story of a CIA mole who was arrested in 1994 for leaking classified files to the Russians. Though the series wasn't a big hit in the ratings, the majority of critics gave it a thumbs up and it might just be one of the most under-appreciated spy shows around.

The French series "The Bureau" is a must-watch for fans of TV spy thrillers. Revolving around the men and women of the French intelligence agency known as the DGSE (the Directorate-General for External Security), the series is heavily inspired by real stories of the nation's bravest undercover agents. The eclectic group is led by Colonel Marc Lauré (Gilles Cohen), Director of Intelligence. Working beneath him is Guillaume Debailly (Mathieu Kassovitz), who has recently returned to the agency after a lengthy assignment under deep cover; Sara Giraudeau (Marina Loiseau), a fresh-faced operative who must undergo training for a new mission; and Behavioral psychologist Dr. Laurène Balmes (Léa Drucker). Meanwhile, Henri Duflot (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), the director of the so-called Bureau of Legends, helps train new agents for particularly dangerous assignments. 

Popular in its home country, where it scooped several awards, "The Bureau" ran for five years and 50 episodes between 2015 and 2020. If you don't mind subtitles, it's a great watch for fans of "Slow Horses." The story came to American shores in 2024, adapted for English-speaking audiences and retitled "The Agency," with Michael Fassbender leading the cast.

You might expect that two versions of the same show would be somewhat superfluous, but the reality is that the American version of "The Bureau" is different from its French counterpart, mainly due to it being set in the United States. Starring Michael Fassbender, "The Agency" centers the action on the CIA and is more focused on the character of Guillaume Debailly — here named Brandon Colby, codename Martian.

Like Debailly, Colby has recently returned home after a lengthy mission undercover and is having a hard time readjusting after many years away living under a different identity. His difficulties are further complicated when he has an unexpected encounter with old flame Sami Zahir (Jodie Turner-Smith). Jeffrey Wright, meanwhile, takes on the role of Henry Ogletree, Colby's boss.

A bit darker than the French original, "The Agency" debuted on Showtime in 2024. Its biggest strength is its incredible cast, with Fassbender delivering some of his best work. "The Agency" may be a bit more palatable to Stateside viewers as an English language production, even if it's not quite as good as its predecessor. It's been renewed for a second season which reportedly may be even more timely and political.

"Slow Horses" is all about a group of unlikely intelligence agents. When it comes to unorthodox spies, few are as eyebrow-raising as Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), the manager of a London hotel featured in the John le Carré novel "The Night Manager," which became a TV series in 2015. Once you learn a bit more about Pine, you begin to realize that there's more to him than meets the eye: He may manage a luxury hotel in Cairo, but he was once a military officer, and one with a dark history fighting in the Middle East.

Now back home, Pine is struggling with normal life and is living in a kind of self-imposed exile. His life is forever altered when he becomes involved with a young guest at the hotel who suddenly turns up dead — and Pine may be inadvertently responsible. Feeling tremendous guilt, he finds penance when he is recruited by intelligence director Angela Burr (Olivia Colman), who wants to use Pine's position at the hotel to gather information on a ruthless arms dealer named Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie).

With a strong cast that also includes David Harewood, Tom Hollander, Antonio de la Torre, and Elizabeth Debicki (best known for playing Princess Diana in "The Crown"), "The Night Manager" was nominated for a slew of awards including one Emmy nod each for Hiddleston, Laurie, and Colman. The series returns in 2025 with a long-awaited second season.

Plenty of spy thrillers are based on popular novels, including a few on this list. "Berlin Station" is something different: An original story crafted by a spy novelist ("The Tourist" writer Olen Steinhauer). His foray into original television came at the behest of Epix, who called upon Steinhauer to spearhead the creation of one of the network's first two scripted TV series.

"Berlin Station" stars Richard Armitage as CIA agent Danny Miller. His latest mission is to track down and apprehend a source who the agency believes is leaking classified information to a widely-known whistleblower. Miller is sent to Berlin after the leaker is found to be feeding CIA intelligence to the German media. Once there, he learns that the person giving the leaker his intel may be a mole working right beside him. 

A story that explores the morally grey nature of intelligence work, not to mention the complicated ethics of whistleblowers, "Berlin Station" is more than a thriller. This show also has the courage to pose important questions about spy agencies and the power they wield. Armitage is joined in the series by an all-star cast that includes Ashley Judd, Rhys Ifans, Michelle Forbes, Keke Palmer, and James Cromwell.

Keira Knightley is no stranger to the spy genre, having appeared as codebreaker Joan Clarke in "The Imitation Game" and later as government translator and whistleblower Katharine Gun in "Official Secrets," both of which are based on true stories. Knightley finally got to play the spy herself in "Black Doves," a Netflix original series about a dangerous group who don't work for any nation. Instead, these mercenary information dealers sell their services to the highest bidder.

Knightley stars as Helen Webb, the wife of a politician who moonlights as a spy-for-hire with a secret group called the Black Doves. Following the unexpected murder of her manstress, an ordinary civil servant, Webb finds her double life at risk. While Webb doesn't believe that the killing was related to her spycraft, the Black Doves send her a protector, a deadly enforcer named Sam Young (Ben Whishaw). Sam reveals that her lover's death may indeed have been a targeted assassination.

Set around the holidays, "Black Doves" makes for a unique tale, and it may end up being debated among the likes of "Die Hard" as to whether or not it qualifies as a Christmas story. Released at the tail end of 2025, the show was renewed for a second season even before its release on Netflix. 

"Three Days of the Condor," the 1975 Oscar-nominated thriller starring Robert Redford and directed by Sydney Pollack, is one of the best spy movies of all time. It's based on a novel by James Grady, which more recently served as the source material for the Audience Network show "Condor." It stars Max Irons as up-and-coming CIA analyst Joe Turner, whose colleagues are all killed not long after he discovers a terrorist plot that could kill millions.

The action kicks off when Turner comes back from a lunch break to find everyone in his office has been murdered. He suddenly finds himself on the run from shadowy assassins, dodging betrayals and double agents at every turn. When he realizes that he might have been the real target all along, and that the perpetrators may be powerful men within the CIA itself, Turner must find a way to expose a government conspiracy without winding up dead in the process.

"Three Days of the Condor" was one of several '70s movies that dared to question the ways of the United States government's intelligence agencies. It went down well with critics at the time and is remembered fondly to this day, so the TV version had big boots to fill. Fortunately, the series is up to the task: "Condor" has a solid 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it's a great watch for fans of "Slow Horses."

Before he was co-starring with Keira Knightley in "Black Doves," actor Ben Whishaw led his own spy series in 2018, an American-British co-production between NBC and the BBC that subsequently aired on Netflix. Titled "London Spy," the series put Whishaw in the role of Danny Holt, a club-going social butterfly who falls in love with the enigmatic Alistair "Alex" Turner (Edward Holcroft). 

While Holt is euphoric at having found his soulmate, things quickly go wrong when Alex turns up dead. Authorities don't seem very interested in investigating, so Holt takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of his lover's apparent murder. But when he learns that Alex was actually an intelligence agent at MI6, he's suddenly thrust into the high-stakes world of international espionage.

"London Spy" is a series about an ordinary man who is in over his head but is determined to root out the truth. It's an engrossing miniseries that comes from the mind of Tom Rob Smith, a screenwriter and author who is perhaps best known for penning the "Child 44" trilogy. With just five episodes, it makes for brisk, binge-worthy viewing; ideal for fans of "Slow Horses" looking to kill a short period of time.

Despite not receiving a second season and getting mixed reviews from critics, the spy thriller series "The Enemy Within" is worth your time for one major reason: The presence of star Jennifer Carpenter. The "Dexter" alum delivers one of her best performances, boosting an otherwise average espionage story. The series hails from producer Ken Woodruff, who cut his teeth on shows like "The Mentalist" and "Gotham."

In "The Enemy Within," we meet former CIA codebreaker and one-time Deputy Director of Operations Erica Shepherd (Carpenter). Fallen from grace, Shepherd has been serving a lengthy prison sentence for treason when she's brought back into the fold on a deal to help hunt down a terrorist named Mikhail Tal. The Russian agent, who is behind a series of deadly attacks, has been able to evade capture for years. Instead of the CIA, she's recruited by Morris Chestnut's FBI agent Will Keaton (the same man who brought her down years earlier) after his wife is killed in one of the attacks. The unlikely duo must put aside their differences to stop another terrorist attack and get justice for Keaton's wife.

Known as "Shadow Lines" in English, "Nyrkki" is a Finnish spy drama from 2019 set amid the global tensions of the Cold War. The action takes place in the capital city of Helsinki, where, in the 1950s, the country's intelligence agency finds that their small, neutral nation is coming under increased pressure from outside superpowers. As the United States and the Soviet Union begin ratcheting up tensions on the world stage, agents in Finland must decide how to react. It's a series that's hardly black and white, with more shades of grey as the conflict shines a light on the ethics of wartime espionage, particularly in a country that doesn't hold the same political or military might as its bigger neighbors.

The atmosphere and the authenticity of "Nyrkki" are what really set the series apart from so many others in the genre. In fact, it's not really a straight-up spy thriller — there may be plenty of action, including car chases and gun fights, but there are also more abstract (almost surreal) elements that elevate the story into a work of art. If you're a fan of "Slow Horses" and you're looking for something a little out-there to get stuck into, we recommend giving "Nyrkki" a try. It may seem a little impenetrable at first, but if you stick with it, you'll be glad that you did.

Based on a series of novels by Anthony Horowitz, the British spy series "Alex Rider" tells the story of the eponymous agent, who works for MI6. What's unusual about this series is that Alex isn't some veteran law enforcer or career spy — he's an otherwise ordinary teenager. What sets him apart from most, however, is that his uncle is a spy himself, and when he turns up dead, Alex (Otto Farrant) takes it upon himself to find out what really happened to him.

When he crosses paths with his uncle's former boss, the head of the Department of Special Operations, Alex finds himself being recruited by the agency. Because of his age and unsuspecting nature, MI6 believes he can be used to infiltrate Point Blanc, a secretive boys school for troubled youth. MI6 believes that something truly sinister is going on at the school, but only by getting an agent inside can they find out the truth.

At first, "Alex Rider" seems like it's a simple spy thriller with a teen hero and some cool James Bond-style gadgets, but as the adventure unfolds, it becomes so much more, with dark twists and turns you probably won't see coming. If you're looking for something similar to "Slow Horses" that young adults and teens can also enjoy (it's rated TV-14), then this show is definitely worth a shot.

"Slow Horses" is not the only spy thriller led by an Oscar-nominated actor that you can stream on Apple TV+. The same can be said about "A Spy Among Friends," which stars Guy Pearce (who was nominated for best supporting actor for his role in "The Brutalist") and Damian Lewis (who is also no slouch in the awards department, having scooped an Emmy for his work on "Homeland"). Set in Britain during the 1960s and revolving around MI6 agents, "A Spy Among Friends" shows what happens when a double agent is discovered

Lewis plays Nicholas Elliott, an MI6 agent who is shocked to discover that his friend, confidante, and fellow agent Kim Philby (Pearce) is really a double agent. He's part of a group known as the Cambridge Five, a collection of British agents who are gathering inside intelligence and feeding it to their counterparts in the Soviet Union. When Philby fully defects to the Russians, it sets off a chain of events that leaves British intelligence seriously compromised. This is all based on a true story, which makes it even more compelling.

"Slow Horses" is all about agents in England, but Hugo Weaving plays a former CIA agent who has a crucial role in the story. The same is true of Walton Goggins in "Deep State," a British spy series starring Mark Strong. Strong plays Max Easton, an ex-MI6 operative, while Season 2 adds Goggins as former CIA agent Nathan Miller, who must work beside him. The show begins with Easton being forced back into MI6 against his better judgment. He's been promised that this will be his last mission, after which he will finally be able to retire with his family in France. His mission is to eliminate the source of some leaks that are coming out of a Middle Eastern intelligence operation intended to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions. 

Like the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, the series boasts plenty of slick action sequences and some exotic locations, but with elements of "24" and "Homeland" mixed in. It has a faster pace than "Slow Horses," but it's the perfect follow-up for those who enjoy the flashier elements of the Apple TV+ show. While the general reception was mixed, "Deep State" got a thumbs up from several big outlets, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Forbes.