It’s becoming increasingly rare for a scripted series to make it to its fourth season in the streaming era. The bean counters and data crunchers have divined that the fresh subscribers a show can bring to a platform have been exhausted after three seasons, so it’s better to put the production budget into a new title and start the cycle once more. Mercantile to the point of mercenary, this outlook gets shows, at best, wrapped up, or simply cancelled.
Given those cold calculations, we should absolutely celebrate two shows that are currently not only airing their fourth season via weekly episodes, they’re flourishing while they build a lasting body of work. Defying both expectations and their genres, Apple TV+’s Slow Horses and Disney+’s Only Murders in the Building are television’s four-to-the-floor series. The British espionage thriller and the American murder-mystery comedy are a reminder that a great series can get even better when it finds its groove.
What do the shows have in common? For a start, each was a smart bet that the star of their ensemble was being put in a role that was right in their wheelhouse. Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, the sardonic spy master of Slow Horses , is a cholesterol test’s worst nightmare who emits strange odours and dismissive quips. His gut instinct is considerable in worryingly different ways.
“Bringing you up to speed is like trying to explain Norway to a dog,” is a typical kiss-off. Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley) and Jackson La.
