Legacy of Spies: Slow Horses’ Perfect Spy Thriller Replacement?

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A new, thrilling spy series, based on popular books, has the potential to compete with Apple TV+’s hit show, Slow Horses.

Apple TV has produced many popular shows lately, but Slow Horses continues to be a standout success and its longest-running series. The show has been renewed for two more seasons and doesn’t appear to be losing momentum after five seasons. Plus, fans of spy dramas have another exciting series on the way while they wait for the next installments.

Similar to Slow Horses, this new show is also adapted from a popular book series and could be its biggest rival.

Upcoming British Spy Thriller, Legacy Of Spies, Will Be The Perfect Slow Horses Rival

Many viewers appreciate the show Slow Horses for turning traditional spy thriller expectations on their head, offering a gritty alternative to the glamorous world of James Bond. The new thriller, Legacy of Spies, promises to do the same. It’s based on John le Carré’s popular novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and will focus on a more realistic and grounded portrayal of espionage.

Similar to Slow Horses, Legacy of Spies features Graham Yost as an executive producer and delves into the world of espionage, focusing on the threats that come from within its own systems and procedures.

I’ve always loved le Carré’s work, and from what I understand, Legacy of Spies feels much more like his books – a lot more grounded and serious than Slow Horses. It seems like it won’t show spies as these exciting, glamorous figures, though. Instead, like the Slow Horses show does so well, it’s going to portray them as people who are just… worn down, stuck with the consequences of their choices, and bound by duty and a system that values following orders over doing what’s right.

Because it’s set during the Cold War, Legacy of Spies offers insight into the origins of the intelligence agency depicted in Apple TV’s Slow Horses. This helps explain why Mike Herron, the author of Slow Horses, has often mentioned John le Carré as a major inspiration for his work.

While le Carré often wrote about the prime years and eventual decline of British intelligence, Colin Herron’s novels show where that decline ultimately leads – a natural and grim conclusion to a long-standing corruption.

Legacy Of Spies Promises To Be As Good As Slow Horses (If Not Better)

Courtesy: Apple TV+

Stephen Cornwell and Clarissa Ingram are writing a new spy thriller called Legacy of Spies, and it features a talented cast including Matthew Macfadyen, Charlie Hunnam, and Daniel Brühl. Macfadyen, known for his work on Succession, is a great fit to play the famous spy George Smiley in this adaptation.

I just got a peek at what this new series is cooking up, and it sounds fantastic. They’re not adapting just one John le Carré novel, but pulling from several, including classics like The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and his more recent work, A Legacy of Spies. This means we’re going to be bouncing between the tense, shadowy world of the Cold War and the much more jaded, cynical political landscape of today. Honestly, it already has me hooked – it’s shaping up to be a really compelling crime thriller.

It’s still too early to say how good Legacy of Spies will be, but if it’s done right, it has the potential to be as compelling as Apple TV+’s Slow Horses.

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2026-01-03 07:28