Colin From Accounts; Slow Horses

“Clearly, we can trust in Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall (who play Ash and Gordon), as well as everyone else involved here, because it’s every bit as good as the first series. Once again the dilemmas manage to be tetchy, anxious, crude, ribald and sweary while also being oddly sweet. Unlike certain more phoney rom-coms, there’s always the feeling that this couple are believable people, even when the plot line includes a (potential) kidnapping by a ‘sex couple’.”
James Jackson, The Times

“Dyer and Brammall remain the perfect foils for each other – they have different energies but are equally compelling. Equally matched in the ability to deliver sarcastic one-liners or bruising truths, they are obviously united as creators, with a clear understanding of all their characters, where they want them to go and why. The result, as before, is a masterclass in writing and an absolute joy to watch.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The opening episode is fun and farcical while merely hinting that, to charm its way through seven more, the script may have bitten off more than it can chew. Why does it work? Yes, the comedy of embarrassment is supremely well-oiled. More than that, you simply root for the protagonists as they ironise their anxieties and awkwardness.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“If you missed the first series last year, you’ve got a treat waiting for you on iPlayer. This romantic comedy, created by its husband-and-wife stars Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall, started strongly and just gets funnier.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Like the first series, the humour paves the way for some emotional heft, but even the darker elements come accompanied by a running joke about somebody wearing a really bad hat. Colin From Accounts may be named after a dog, but it is primarily concerned with the inescapable awkwardness of human interaction. Success may change some people but – one admirably restrained celebrity cameo aside – this show still feels like the gem it did the first time around.”
Rachel Sigee, The i

“Look past the deceptively expensive shabby chic and the faultless direction, and Slow Horses is, often, sticking closely to genre tropes. But it never lets itself go stale, and the new episodes benefit from new blood in what is already a luxuriously fine cast.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“The two opening episodes are wonderful and not far short of perfect, dovetailing the icy froideur of Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) over at the slick Park with the shambolic shithole of Slough House now being tidied up by the newcomer Moira (Joanna Scanlan packing a terrifically bad perm and a nosegay round her neck to fend off the smell of Lamb). As ever, though, it is Oldman you want to watch the most, contaminating the screen beautifully and weaponising how greasily disgusting he looks.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“We’re into series four now and there is no drop in quality. If anything, each series improves slightly on the last. Watching it is pure pleasure. There isn’t a wasted scene or a duff piece of dialogue. Every performance is perfectly calibrated, with Kristin Scott Thomas’s crisp MI5 deputy and Jack Lowden’s dynamic agent as counterbalance to the slovenly Lamb.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Each series of Slow Horses gamely delivers on twisty plotting and thrilling set pieces. There are proper jokes (as to be expected from creator and Veep alum Will Smith) and not a weak link in the cast, which this time adds Joanna Scanlan and Hugo Weaving. But the real genius of Slow Horses is its characters: loveable and occasionally loathable losers that, four series in, are proving themselves to be more than just misfits. As a witty, gritty spy caper, Slow Horses is up there with the very best of TV drama.”
Rachel Sigee, The i

“On the face of it, there is little revolutionary about Slow Horses. And yet, over the course of four hastily assembled seasons, it has become something truly distinctive. The temptation to celebrate the show for Oldman’s central performance – as corpulent and corrupt as ever – belies its evolution into one of the most consistent, and consistently enjoyable, shows on TV.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent