Slow Horses season five concludes today, and fans already have reason to anticipate what’s next—season six is officially on the way. A teaser for the upcoming season aired at the end of season five, offering a glimpse of what’s ahead.
However, there will be one significant change behind the scenes. Executive producer and writer Will Smith not the Men in Black actor, but the Emmy-winning British screenwriter will not be returning for season six.
In an interview with The Wrap, Smith opened up about his decision to step away. While UK productions don’t typically use the term “showrunner,” fans have long viewed Smith as the creative lead on Slow Horses. He explained that the overlapping production schedules made continuing unsustainable.
“As the deadlines for Season 6 approached, it was clear I was never going to be able to get the scripts done, because it’s kind of a juggling act working on this show. When we were doing the writers’ room for Season 5, it was at the same time we were editing Season 3 and [shooting] Season 4,” he said.
Smith added, “As a writer, I’m not in the edit all the time. The director runs the edit, but I do watch cuts. I come in and I’m present for a fair bit of it, and similarly, I try to be on set as much as I can, partly because I love watching it. Watching those actors work, you get ideas and it all just feeds into itself. It’s absolutely brilliant, but it just hit a point where it was like, ‘I’m not going to be able to do [Season 6]’ and they couldn’t move the schedule around.”
Writers Gabby Chiappe and Ben Vanstone will take over for seasons six and seven.
“It was with great sadness on both sides, but I sadly couldn’t keep going. It’s an amazing team. It’s an amazing cast. It’s an amazing production. It will [keep going], and Mick is still writing amazing books, so it will continue to fly and keep getting better and better,” he said.
No premiere date for Slow Horses season six has been announced yet. Seasons 1–5 are currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Source: Just Jared
