This Forgotten 5-Part Spy Thriller Is Too Good To Miss for Fans of 'Slow Horses'

Published Jul 21, 2026, 7:42 PM EDT

Erin Konrad’s love for everything entertainment dates back to elementary school when she became obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. When she’s not catching up on all her favorite television shows, she’s advising her friends and family on what they should binge watch next.

She has her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Creating content for Collider gives her the opportunity to combine her writing skills with her passion for television and movies. She spends her free time trying to beat her personal record of reading 137 books in a year and cuddling with her dog, Gracie.

Even though Apple TV’s Slow Horses has been on the air since 2022, it’s just now amassing a larger audience. With five seasons already out, and a sixth season set to premiere on September 16, the spy thriller has gained a devoted fanbase who are more than happy to share their love of the fast-paced, heart-pumping drama. It’s not just the viewers who praise the series — *Slow Horses *has also garnered rave reviews and 23 Emmy nominations and counting. But the problem with the series is that each season only consists of six episodes, which means once you’ve binged it, you’ll be racing to find a replacement. Luckily, there’s one British spy thriller that you’ve probably never even heard of that deserves a binge-watch.

***London Spy ***is a five-episode miniseries that originally aired on BBC Two all the way back in 2015. Available to watch now on Prime Video, the show was actually inspired by a real-life 2010 crime that took place in the UK. Gareth Williams was an MI6 agent whose dead body was found inside a sports bag that was padlocked from the outside. Creator Tom Rob Smith (American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace) read of the mysterious death and was given the spark of an idea for his own drama. *London Spy *starts with a budding romance between party boy Danny Holt (Ben Whishaw) and the brilliant, yet closed-off Alex Turner (Edward Holcroft). But their love story turns dark when Alex disappears, and Danny ends up finding his body. Danny soon learns that the man he was enamored with is not at all who he claimed to be. In fact, Alex’s real name is Alistair, and he was actually a spy for the Secret Intelligence Service. Drawn into a puzzling, terrifying world, Danny decides to search for the truth behind Alex/Alistair’s death.

Six actors. One role. Your answers point to the Bond who shares your presence, your method, and your particular way of carrying the weight of being the most dangerous person in the room.

You are the original — and you carry that fact without needing to announce it. There is an authority in the way you occupy a room that others spend careers trying to replicate.

You understand something that more serious people miss: that wit is its own form of intelligence, and that making people laugh is not a retreat from danger but a way of mastering it.

You took the role seriously when everyone wanted you to coast — and that refusal to take the easy version of anything is the most defining thing about you.

You are the complete package — and you know it, which is part of what makes you so effective and occasionally so infuriating to the people around you.

You stepped into something enormous with less preparation than anyone around you thought was sufficient — and you delivered something genuine anyway, which is the more impressive achievement.

You stripped everything back and found what was underneath — and what was underneath was harder, more honest, and more human than anyone expected.

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