Slow Horses writer Mick Herron says central characters’ deaths in the show were necessary to keep spy thriller grounded in reality
At a question and answer session to launch series five of the show, Slow Horses writer Mick Herron said the deaths of central characters in the show were necessary to keep the spy thriller grounded in reality.
Slow Horses writer Mick Herron says the deaths of central characters in the show were necessary to keep the spy thriller grounded in reality.
Speaking at a screening of the forthcoming season in London, the 62-year-old author – who created the Slough House novels on which the Apple TV+ series starring Gary Oldman is based – he was asked about why he had chosen to kill off several key figures, including Min Harper, played by Dustin Demri-Burns, who died in season two, and Marcus Longridge, portrayed by Kadiff Kirwan, who was killed off in season four.
Mick told an audience at the BFI Southbank during an An Evening With Radio Times Question and Answer for the launch of season five: “Apologies to the cast! That was something that I thought was going to be necessary if I were to write a series of thrillers about people doing what is essentially a dangerous job, even though they’re supposed to be sidelined.
“If I hadn’t killed any characters off, then it would have become more a sitcom, really.”
Mick added: “And also I wanted to write, particularly with the very first death of a major character, I wanted to write about grief. I wanted to write about the effect on the other characters of taking one of those characters away, and the responses they would have, ranging from being really heartbroken to Roddy (Christopher Chung) who didn’t give a toss.”
Season five picks up with the Slough House team still reeling from the loss of Marcus as they investigate a series of strange incidents across London.
Among the most surprising plotlines is that Roddy Ho, played by Christopher Chung, has acquired a girlfriend.
New cast members include Hiba Bennani as Tara, Roddy’s girlfriend, and Nick Mohammed as London mayor Zahar Jaffrey.
Saul Metzstein, who directs the season, said Zahar is portrayed in the middle of a political battle.
He added: “What we have is sort of two visions of Britain fighting against each other. And so it’s got a little bit of political resonance, both quite direct and quite subtle at the same time.
“There’s troubles in London and Nick Mohammed being the mayor, is deeply involved in some of this.”
Slow Horses season five will be released on 25 September 2025 on Apple TV+.
