Hot to trot
Novelist Mick Herron and showrunner Will Smith on bringing Slow Horses’ misfit antiheroes to life…
Apple TV+
- James Hibbs
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To the outside world, Apple TV+ thriller Slow Horses may seem like an overnight phenomenon. An adaptation of Mick Herron’s spy novels, the first series quickly became a hit after airing in 2022; there are now four series in the bag, a fifth soon to air and a sixth on the way. But behind the scenes, there was nothing overnight about it. Herron and Will Smith, the British writer, actor and comedian who would go on to adapt the series, first met about the project in 2014, and have been working to make it a reality ever since…
DARK HORSES
MICK HERRON I had meetings with three different production companies in one day – I mostly remember the weather. I got absolutely drenched and spent the first two meetings of the day dripping on the floor. The third meeting of the day was with [Slow Horses production company] See-Saw Films; I was dry by then, so I was in a good mood and I went with them.
Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas in Slow Horses Apple TV+
WILL SMITH Getting drenched on the way to a meeting feels very Slow Horses. Around that time, I’d sent our exec producer, Jamie Laurenson, a spec script that was similar tonally – a drama with funny moments – and he really liked it. Because of my background working for Armando Iannucci on The Thick of It and Veep, it seemed like I’d be a good fit. If you wanted to do a condensed pitch for Slow Horses, you could say it’s The Thick of It meets Smiley’s People. I read the books and was blown away.
MICK Then, for around five years, nothing happened. We had meetings and iterations of the scripts were drawn up, but it was all about finding a broadcaster. One of the first things you said to me, Will, was, “This is all going to go very, very slowly, and then it’ll start going incredibly fast”. You were absolutely bang on.
WILL When I started there were two books, and by the time the series came out you were on seven. It was a second job when I first met you.
MICK It was. I was commuting into London and writing when I got home in the evening.
Fidelity to the characters is crucial to me – not the plots
Mick Herron
SPOOKS SECURED
MICK When Apple came on board, one of the first things that happened was that executive producer Graham Yost joined. Then Gary Oldman was very quick to follow, and after that it was definitely going to happen. It was just a matter of when.
WILL Gary was such a coup. He unlocks all the other cast. It becomes, “Well, if Gary Oldman’s in it, it’s got to look amazing, so we’ve got to have Oscar-nominated director of photography Danny Cohen; we’ve got to have an amazing director, James Hawes, then Kristin Scott Thomas will come on board, and Jonathan Pryce”. It feels bigger.
Will Smith. Getty
MICK For me, the biggest difference between the adaptation and the novels is purely the medium. Obviously, there have to be changes. But it’s done with such fidelity to the characters – not to the plots, which is not crucial to me – but to the characters, which is important. Will and the other writers totally get the mood and tone of the books.
WILL We always bring Mick into the writers’ room at the beginning, middle and end, and walk him through any changes. But, as he says, we want to be totally true to the essence of the characters, even when they’re cast slightly differently from how they’re physically described. Roddy Ho is a good example, because Chris Chung is pretty ripped. I don’t even know if you describe Roddy physically, Mick, but I know he thinks he’s in good shape.
MICK Roddy is a lot weedier than he thinks he is. Chris, to me, is how Roddy would like to be. But I don’t have pictures in my head of the characters. I work with vocabulary, with sentences. I provide some kind of physical description of the characters, but that’s a convention, I have to do that.
WILL Roddy was a hard part to cast, to be able to play him without him being completely loathed. He is objectionable, but you forgive him because he’s in his own world. And once you’ve got Chris, looking like that, you think, ‘Ah, that makes sense’. So you add weights to his office, and then you see him doing pull-ups. You build from the actors. I feel my role is putting your characters through the filter of the actors.
Jack Lowden in Slow Horses. Apple TV+
MICK All of the cast have gone into the characters. A lot of lesser actors always play themselves, regardless of their role. That isn’t happening in this show. So, it wouldn’t worry me if I did find that I was thinking about Saskia [Reeves] when I’m writing Catherine, for instance. The show hasn’t interrupted me in any way, which I’m very grateful for.
LIGHTS, CAMERA… ACTION!
WILL There are always specific moments in the books when you rub your hands and go, “Oh, my God, thank you”. The big shootout at the end of Real Tigers [series three] I thought, “Oh, great, we get to make the end of a Bond film”. And then, the attack on Slough House in Spook Street [series four] was such a genius stroke of setting up this precinct where nothing ever happens, and then bringing death to the door. In London Rules [series five, due in September], there are several key moments where I was like, “I’m so happy we get to do this”.
MICK The thing is, I can spend ten minutes conjuring up a scene which is going to cost literally hundreds of thousands of pounds. “Why don’t I have Roddy drive a bus through the front door?” I write it in a sentence, and then on the TV show it creates a whole situation where everyone’s like, “We have to buy a bus!”
WILL That was an expensive stunt and what I love about it is you don’t need it at all – it makes no difference to the story. Roddy says, “I’m taking out bad guys, did I get any?” and Lamb says, “No, we already did that”. It’s a completely pointless scene, but my argument was, “We need it for the show”.
Mick Herron. David Levenson/Getty Images
BEST OF THE BEST
MICK I think my favourite novel is probably Spook Street, the fourth, and that’s my favourite season of the show so far too.
WILL I absolutely love that book. When I read it I thought, “I hope we get to do that one”. I love all the seasons for different reasons, but I always feel with TV, it’s just so hard, each season has to get bigger and better, you can’t go back. The most recent one or the one that’s about to happen is always my favourite.
MICK I haven’t seen season five yet, I’ll be seeing it very soon.
WILL I’m proud of all of them, but I’m really proud of five.
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Mick Herron and Will Smith are appearing at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (17–20 July) at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate
Authors
James HibbsDrama Writer
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
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