Jack Lowden On The Surprising Connection Between Slow Horses And The Office - Exclusive

The new series "Slow Horses" focuses on a far-flung department of Britain's MI5 domestic counter-intelligence and security agency where misfit agents are sent in exile to primarily push papers. One of those outsiders inhabiting the division known as Slough House, whose workers are referred to as "slow horses," is River Cartwright, played by Jack Lowden. Gary Oldman plays a curmudgeonly boss named Jackson Lamb on the quick-witted spy drama, which streams on Apple TV+.

In an interesting television twist, the "Slow Horses" department referred to as Slough House shares the name of the setting of the original BBC version of "The Office," starring Ricky Gervais. Slough is a large industrial town 20 miles outside of central London, competing with the famed city for the highest concentration of global headquarters in the United Kingdom.

In both instances, Slough is depicted as a relatively dreary place, with Gervais' "Office" character, David Brent, often putting it down (In a nod to the BBC series, the U.S. version of "The Office" placed Dunder Mifflin on Slough Avenue in Scranton, Pennsylvania).

When asked by Looper during an exclusive interview about the connection, Lowden — who has previously appeared in "Dunkirk" and "Fighting With My Family" — had this to say about the surprising link between the two shows.

In the British version of "The Office," from which the groundbreaking U.S. series sprung, the town of Slough is just as much of a character as anyone else. What is it about the name "Slough" that makes it the perfect description for "The Office" setting and the place where Lowden's character ends up in "Slow Horse"?

"I don't want to ever speak against Slough but, you know the way that Ricky Gervais as David Brent in 'The Office' rates Slough ... It's considered a very gray place," says Lowden. "It was one of the new towns that sprung up just outside London, but the reason that Slough House is called 'Slough House' is because it's ... so far out of the service, it may as well be in Slough. It is the perfect name for it because of the perception of Slough, which David Brent certainly gave the world ... I don't want to speak too down on Slough, though."

Aside from the setting, Lowden also sees similarities between the two shows because "Slow Horses" can be viewed as an office drama/comedy. However, in the end, it all comes back to them both relying on Slough being its own character.

"I'm a massive 'Office' fan," admits Lowden, adding, "There's a brilliant David Brent song [named 'Slough'] where he says it has 'Europe's biggest trading estate.' That's a lyric in one of his songs, and I think that perfectly sums it up. It's the perfect name for it."

The first season of "Slow Horses" is now streaming on Apple TV+. New episodes are available every Friday.