Apple TV's 97% RT Spy Thriller Officially Proves Its Star Never Needed James Bond

Published Sep 12, 2026, 7:52 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.

Recently, rumors have been swirling about who will be cast as the next James Bond. The iconic spy has been played by everyone from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan, and now that Daniel Craig has set aside his martini after 2021's No Time to Die, a replacement is needed. This has set off a frenzy, with several names thrown into the ring. Recently, Jacob Elordi and Callum Turner have been floated as possibilities — as well as an actor who has been showing off his talents in another brilliant spy thriller series.

Jack Lowden Is Already Playing the Perfect Spy in Apple TV's 'Slow Horses'

Since 2022, Jack Lowden has shown he has what it takes to play a convincing spy in Apple TV's Slow Horses, demonstrating over five seasons that he can truly tackle anything. Lowden's character, River Cartwright, has just been hired by MI5, but his introduction to the job is rocky. In a disastrous training exercise, River makes a blunder that gets him relegated to a group of rejects, nicknamed the "Slow Horses" in tribute to the Slough House branch they've been assigned to. This ragtag bunch of agents doesn't have the glory that often comes along with being in MI5, and are more often tasked with paperwork than legitimate cases. Each season, River and his fellow Slow Horses are pulled into bigger investigations involving serious national security threats, all in the name of protecting Great Britain.

River's personal life is often no better than his professional one. His beloved grandfather and former head of MI5, David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce), is slowly losing his memory to Alzheimer's, and Season 4 drops a major revelation about the identity of River's birth father. River's love life is a bit of a mess, too, between a missed opportunity to turn his connection with Sid Baker (Olivia Cooke) into something more and a misguided attempt to kiss his best friend and fellow Slow Horse, Louisa Guy, (Rosalind Eleazar), in Season 5. Yet all of these traits work in tandem to make River a lovable and well-rounded character. Even though he's far from perfect, River is relatable, honest, and always tries his best to do the right thing.

Jack Lowden Doesn't Need 007 To Have a Flourishing Career

Although Lowden would be fantastic as James Bond, he's already depicting the perfect spy in Slow Horses. Bond is slick, glamorous, and rarely makes a misstep, while Lowden's River is a much more authentic protagonist who's easy to root for. He's often forced to chase or outrun suspects, depending on the episode, and each scrape he finds himself in is typically humiliating, but still always fun to watch. It's not that River is altogether incapable of saving the day, but rather that he seems to have terrible luck, and Lowden strikes the perfect balance between deadpan charm and long-suffering annoyance.

Of course, Lowden would still make an exceptional James Bond, having already demonstrated that he can pull off complex stunts with ease and is right at home in the spy world. But there's no way the actor could top his two-time Emmy-nominated performance as River, which continues with the Season 6 premiere of Slow Horses this month. He's also starring as the celebrated Mr. Darcy in Netflix's upcoming miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. At the end of the day, we're happy to see Lowden onscreen in any role, but we're just as satisfied with him playing a Slow Horse as we would be with him stepping into that famous tuxedo.

Seasons 1–5 of Slow Horses are available to stream on Apple TV in the U.S. Season 6 drops on Wednesday, September 16.

Slow Horses