Slow Horses season 4: Gary Oldman on grounded story
Let’s go ahead and make one thing about Slow Horses clear, in the event that it was not already: Making this show is tough. You only have six episodes a season, and there is a lot of material that does have to be thrown into just about every one of them.
Also, there are a lot of genres being thrown at you at once here. This show has a lot of humor and plenty of action — yet, in the end, this is still a spy thriller where there has to be a certain amount of realism. Given that the concept of Slough House alone can at times stretch reality (would MI5 really want to work with all these rejects?), pretty much everything else has to be on point. Luckily, this is something that everyone involved is acutely aware of already, and that includes star Gary Oldman.
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Speaking to Forbes, star Gary Oldman talks a lot about what the show is really emphasizing when it comes to accuracy and such things behind the scenes here:
“It’s a mandate … The scripts go through a process; we know we walk this tightrope. It’s action, yeah, but it’s also this dark comedy, which we initially discussed most going into the first season. What is the frequency of the humor in the drama? It’s down to how you break it down and look at it. That was the concern going in. The books capture it brilliantly, but a show is very different from a book when you have these people moving, breathing, and living as these believable characters.
“…That was a big discussion, and we are very observant that we don’t jump the shark and go towards parody. We have a very watchful eye on that and know we have a responsibility to the audience. They invest in these people. How often have you watched a show that you like, and then season three, four, or five comes along, and you go, ‘This is silly now. That person wouldn’t do that.’ It’s infuriating because you give your time to these people, and they come along and do something like that. It’s like a betrayal. So, we’re very conscious of that as a creative team.”
For those fourth season in particular, we know that there is more of an emphasis than ever before on characters and keeping them grounded. After all, there has to be when you consider that this may be the most emotional story that we’ve seen for these characters so far.
Related – Be sure to get some more news on Slow Horses right now, including what is ahead next week
What do you most want to see moving into the rest of Slow Horses season 4 for Gary Oldman?
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