Gritty series based on best-selling books is 10/10 and new season is a 'masterpiece'

Slow Horses is finally returning to our screens, and fans can look forward to the series once again being back at its best. Season five follows shortly after the devastating death of Marcus, but as the members of Slough House try to work their way through their grief in their own dysfunctional way, there is more chaos afoot which needs to be dealt with.

The opening of Season 5 begins with several gritty threads, starting with the grief of Slough House for Marcus, meshed with a horrific attack which sparks a political nightmare, before leading to a greater focus on Roddy Ho and his new romantic involvement - which, as we quickly sense, is certainly more than meets the eye.

As it is based on Herron's book London Rules, there is a new plot that is eerily similar to the current political climate, with Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed taking on the role of Zafar Jaffrey, who is the Mayor of London. It feels a little on the nose, with Mohammed having to insist his character isn't based on current mayor Sadiq Khan, but the tension is off-set with the usual comedic touches, as the show manages to keep the classic blend of tension and absurdity, without making it too heavy-handed of right vs left.

Fans of the show know the hallmark of Slow Horses has always been its ability to mix dark espionage with sharp wit. The show avoids being a straight political thriller, instead threading in satire and slapstick humour to lighten the otherwise grim tone, but it also easily provides witty and observant commentary.

As he tucks into a Colin the Catapillar cake, a Chinese takeaway before drinking booze from the bottle, Jackson remains one of the show's greatest strengths, as his mix of irritability, cunning, and moral ambiguity keeps the audience on their toes, and he certainly brings in the most laughs.

However, with quips consistently thrown in throughout the episode, occasionally the humour undercuts tension so strongly that some scenes lose potential dramatic impact. It is a tough line to tread, but Slow Horses has always been good at getting the balance right, and episode one was a good example of it.

It is also a refreshing move to shift the balance to Roddy, who has always been more of a comedy background character than in the centre of the plot, and the first episode ends with plenty of intrigue of what is in store for him. But with MI5, Slough House dealing with Roddy and the divide between right and left politics all fighting for attention, there's a risk that some plots may get shortchanged.

For a first episode, I loved it, and thought Slow Horses is back and totally on form. For fans, it feels like what was promised - a season that will be both funny, tense, and messy, and I will be interested to see how the series deals with the political element.

I would honestly give the first episode a 10/10, and it seems Rotten Tomatoes agrees, with me, as Slow Horses has bagged itself a coveted 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating. As far as TV masterpieces go, Slow Horses is definitely up there.

Slow Horses is available to stream from September 24 on Apple TV.