Although Apple TV is relatively new among the big streaming services on the market, it’s already built up a few relatively long-running programs. For All Mankind and The Morning Show, for instance, have been around since the platform’s launch in 2019 and are both heading into their final runs, ending at six and five seasons, respectively. On the comedy end, Trying is also in the middle of its fifth season and has been one of the most consistent, if underrated hits offered by the streamer. However, the current title of longest-tenured program belongs not to any of them, but the ever-popular spy thriller Slow Horses, which has defied streaming conventions to return with new episodes at a lightning-fast rate relative to its competitors.

Led by Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, Slow Horses is set to enter its sixth season next month, primarily adapting the events of the sixth book in Mick Herron‘s award-winning Slough House novel series, Joe Country, as well as the seventh, simply titled Slough House. The story has thus far revolved around the misfit team of agents who occupy Slough House and their cantankerous old leader, Jackson Lamb, as they overcome their bumbling and defy their reputation as the dregs of Mi5 to occasionally come in handy in wrapping up cases of national importance. Despite navigating some high-stakes missions in the world of espionage, the motley crew of burnouts and screw-ups is about to face their greatest danger yet. In Season 6, Mi5 now operates under its new First Desk, Diana Taverner (Kirstin Scott Thomas), but it isn’t long until she lands the Slow Horses, both current and past, in a game of retaliation and revenge that sees them dropping like flies.

Before the premiere, Apple TV shared the official trailer, which keeps the darkly comedic, high-stakes tone alive in Season 6. It opens on Jackson paying a visit to Taverner at night in the way only he can — by sneaking through her house and plopping himself in her garden, getting her attention with a cheeky wave. Once she comes down, he grills her about why his Slow Horses keep dying, yet she insists none of her business has angered anyone enough to fry former members alive in a shipping container. The remnants of Slough House beg to differ, though, as they coordinate a plan to keep each other from being the next victim, even if they’re quite bad about following Jackson’s advice about “going dark.” All signs are pointing to River (Jack Lowden) as the next target, kicking off a high-octane chase involving Jackson’s favorite punching bag that may finally do him in.

‘Slow Horses’ Season 6 Marks the Return of a Fan-Favorite

Also featured in the trailer is the return of River’s biological father, played by The Matrix villain Hugo Weaving. He trusts the “business” dear old dad is on about as far as he can throw him, but he may be the least of the spy’s worries. The rest of the ensemble remains intact, with Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Rosalind Eleazar, Joanna Scanlan, Samuel West, Ruth Bradley, Tom Brooke, and The Two Popes Oscar nominee Jonathan Pryce on board alongside one prominent newcomer in A Woman of Substance‘s Lenny Rush. Last but not least, fresh off the ongoing Targaryen war in House of the Dragon Season 3, Olivia Cooke finally returns to her role as Sidonie “Sid” Baker for the first time since the character was shot in the head in Season 1.

Expectations are high for this high-stakes return of Slow Horses. So far, the series has yet to debut a season that wasn’t Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s been a ratings juggernaut for Apple TV. The streamer is so confident in its continued success that it’s already renewed the series for Season 7, bringing it close to adapting all nine novels under Herron‘s Slough House series. Gaby Chiappe adapted Season 6 for television while Adam Randall returned behind the camera.

Slow Horses Season 6 premieres on Apple TV on Wednesday, September 16. Check out the trailer in the player above.

via Collider