Could Season 8 be the end of Slow Horses? Irish actor Michael McElhatton, best known for playing Roose Bolton on Game of Thrones, is reportedly boarding the hit Apple TV thriller’s eighth season, according to The Sunday Times Ireland. The publication reports that McElhatton hinted that the series might be “reaching its natural conclusion.”
Michael McElhatton on ‘Slow Horses’ Season 8
In an interview with the publication, McElhatton shared that Slow Horses Season 8 is currently filming in London and Oxford. Season 8 is adapting Clown Town, the ninth book in Mick Herron‘s award-winning Slough House series.
Per Apple, “Season 8 sees Jackson Lamb and Diana Taverner face off in their most explosive confrontation yet. When a botched attempt to blackmail the Park puts Taverner on the offensive, it is up to Lamb to unravel one of MI5’s darkest secrets and put an end to it once and for all.”
McElhatton told Julieanne Corr of The Sunday Times Ireland that “Season 8 would probably bring the series to a natural close.” “It’s a fantastic show, but it’s had its time, too,” he said.
The actor compared it to the end of Game of Thrones, noting that “there’s only so much you can get out of a story, even though the books will keep coming. Most series kind of fold after maybe three or four seasons. To go beyond that, I think generally they have to be based on books.”
He also gushed about working with Kristin Scott Thomas. “She’s absolutely extraordinary. I’ve been an enormous fan of hers for a long time. The real joy is to get a really good script and be surprised by a character. I’ve no ambitions to play particular parts, but I like being offered something that is a challenge and that excites me. If you get a chance to work on a really good script with some really talented actors, as I have done on so many shows and on Slow Horses at the moment, that’s the real joy.”
‘Clown Town’ Is Not the End
Herron told The Observer that “there will be a 10th Slough House book.” However, whether that’s the end of the road for our favorite disgraced MI5 agents, “he cannot say.” He also knows how Jackson Lamb’s story concludes.
Regardless, we at least have two more seasons to look forward to. Slow Horses Season 7 will premiere sometime in 2027 (presumably in the fall), with Season 8 potentially airing in 2028, based on past release schedule patterns.
