Gripping new Apple TV+ show is incredible – and it's free to watch

I don't know about you, but there's a gap in my TV viewing now Line of Duty is on another break. So I'm delighted to have discovered my new favourite cops-and-robbers drama in which the good guys aren't necessarily good guys. It's called Slow Horses, it focuses on a bunch of washed-up MI5 agents and it's on Apple TV+ now.

If you aren't already an Apple TV+ subscriber there are tons of ways to watch for free: you can get a free trial not just on Apple devices but on the PS4 and PS5 too, and you get three months free if you buy a new Apple device such as an iPad. You can also get it as part of a free trial of the Apple One bundle, which also includes Apple Music.

Whichever way you get to watch it, I think you're going to love this one.

Is Slow Horses worth watching?

Yes, with a capital yes.

Let's start with the cast. Gary Oldman is Jackson Lamb, the lovable/hateable boss of the unit MI5 agents go to when they've really screwed up, and he has great fun chewing the scenery at every opportunity. Kristin Scott Thomas is the very model of icy efficiency as his superior, Diana Taverner, and his squad is a great mix of well-drawn characters who don't feel they've come from central casting. Although the subject matter is deadly serious a lot of this is very funny: there's a warmth between the characters and the dialogue is nicely done.

But of course there's more to a good drama than the cast. You need the drama to be, well, dramatic – and three episodes in (Apple's releasing Slow Horses weekly) I've lost track of the times I've been right on the edge of my seat, and on one occasion out of it shouting at the TV. Without giving any spoilers away, it gets really murky really quickly.

The other thing I like is that the bad guys aren't the usual suspects either. Slow Horses doesn't take the lazy route with its villains. There's so much about that I want to say already but I can't do it without dropping some serious spoilers, so you'll just have to trust me.

What I really like about Slow Horses is that it's based on a whole bunch of books, so if this is a hit – and it deserves to be – then author Mick Herron already has eight books of material the screenwriters can raid for more stories. But for now there's just a single season to enjoy, so get watching so that Apple will commission more.

For even more great Apple TV+ shows to catch this year, be sure to check out T3's January to May roundup.