Key Points
Slow Horses star Christopher Chung and director Saul Metzstein preview what to expect from the Roddy Ho-centered season 5. (Spoiler alert: he gets a real girfriend!)
Metzstein teases fans can expect more farting from Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, unlike any they’ve seen before: “We have a scene of, I would like to say, weaponized flatulence.”
Plus, what to expect from Ted Lasso star and series newcomer Nick Mohammed, whose Mayor of London is seeking reelection.
In Slow Horses season 5, Roddy Ho — yes, that Roddy Ho — has a girlfriend.
“He gets a girlfriend this season, a real girlfriend, a physical one, not a bot, so that’s very exciting for him,” Christopher Chung, who plays the obnoxiously cocky MI5 agent we all love to hate, tells Entertainment Weekly. “But,” he adds, “it also makes all the other slow horses question why he has a girlfriend and why she’s so stunningly beautiful. I think for him it’s a no brainer, but for everyone else, it starts to cause a bit of concern and makes them ask questions. Then obviously mayhem and chaos ensues.”
Based on the book London Rules from Mick Herron’s Slough House series, season 5 of Slow Horses — which as always follows Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and his dysfunctional team of misfit MI5 agents — picks up immediately with a healthy dose of this chaos, says director Saul Metzstein.
“The whole thing starts with something unpleasant going on that is not connected to the slow horses. At the same time, Ho mysteriously has a girlfriend, and of course if anyone’s watched a spy program before, you’ll start to think maybe these two things are connected,” he teases, adding that the new episodes are “very funny” while also “getting a little deeper into some of the characters.”
Apple TV+
Nick Mohammed as Zafar Jaffrey on ‘Slow Horses’
“I would say it goes to places more emotional in a way than you’ve seen before,” Metzstein says. “And I think because Roddy Ho is front and foremost in a way, it is very, very funny really.”
Ho being so central to this season’s plot doesn’t just allow Chung to show off his comedic chops, it also means we get to see him interact with characters he’s had little or no interaction with before. Metzstein teases that there are many pivotal scenes between Ho and Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), which feature “fantastic, great chemistry between the two of them, mysteriously.”
For his part, as a fan of the book series, Chung was ecstatic to eventually get to adapt London Rules because he knew it meant he’d be playing up against Thomas, whom he describes as “such a legend.” Apparently, the feeling was mutual: Chung recalls a moment at the start of production where Thomas approached him and said she was looking forward to working with him.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Kristin Scott Thomas is looking forward to working with me,'” Chung gushes. “I think what’s really great about the show is that you end up having these complete polar opposites of characters put into these situations where they have to either spar with one another or have some kind of repartee, and it’s completely everything that you think that it would be and more. I mean, imagine having Roddy Ho with Dame Diana in a holding cell — it’s very exciting.”
There’s also entirely new characters to look forward to, like Ho’s girlfriend, Tara (Hiba Bennani), the usual baddies, and Zafar Jaffrey (Ted Lasso‘s Nick Mohammed). The latter is the Mayor of London, who is in the middle of a re-election campaign against “a right wing provocateur character.” Says Metzstein, “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.”
The director, who helms every episode this season, can’t say much more than that, but does tease: “There’s murder and there’s mayhem and there’s terrorist activity and security problems. And of course these things affect not only the slow horses, but what happens at MI5 at the Park.”
Apple TV+
Jack Lowden, Chris Chung, and Gary Oldman on ‘Slow Horses’
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Speaking of mayhem, Oldman’s Jackson Lamb introduces a new weapon to his arsenal this season. “Lamb is famous for his flatulence, and we have a scene of, I would like to say, weaponized flatulence,” Metzstein says, laughing. “So it’s not flatulence as a side effect or as a character detail. It’s actually more or less plot driven. So that’s something to look forward to — if you like that kind of thing.”
In other words, says Metzstein, fans can expect season 5 to really lean into the workplace comedy, spy thriller fusion that the show has nailed since season 1, and one could argue is central to its success (season 6 is already in the can, and a seventh season has already been greenlit).
“There’s plenty of spy shows, there’s plenty of workplace comedies, but somehow when you fuse these things, and I think we’re getting better and better at that — there’s one particular moment which will be very obvious to you when you see it,” Metzstein says. “Something very extreme happens, but it still manages to be comedic, and I just love it because that’s some special tone that we’ve hit. That to me, makes the show stand out as something a little bit special.”
And does this moment have something to do with a slow horse f— up? Well, you bet your arse it does. “Guess what?” Metzstein says when EW asks, laughing ominously at the suggestion. “You have seen this show before.”
Slow Horses season 5 starts streaming on Apple TV+ on Sept. 24, with new episodes dropping weekly thereafter.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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