From "Slow Horses" to "La Mesias": this week’s TV series, featuring disgraced spies, ghosts and possessed mothers

By Mick Herron, based on his novels of the same title, starring Gary Oldman (6 seasons on Apple TV+).

Spies in disgrace. Or for having committed catastrophic errors, ruining delicate operations. They cannot be left at large in the world; they know too many secrets. They are sent to a sort of limbo – a ‘slough house’, as the British say. They are the ‘slow horses’ of the title. Cogs in the machine, they wander amongst ‘smoke and mirrors’ – a novice’s translation, let’s say tricks and deceptions – of espionage. Our agents must be careful if they want to return to the upper echelons. Jackson Lamb—a consistently spot-on, yet listless, Gary Oldman—is supposed to lead them. Season after season. For series 8, Mike Herron’s Clown House will be adapted. Series 6 began on 16 September. There is still plenty to enjoy; the refuge for the ‘slow horses’ never closes.

By Zoe Kazan, starring Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbot and Mike Faist (Netflix miniseries)

Zoe Kazan – who appeared in ‘Ruby Sparks’ by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the acclaimed duo behind ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ – is the granddaughter of Elia Kazan. She is now adapting John Steinbeck’s novel “East of Eden” for Netflix – it had already been made into a film directed by her grandfather back in 1955, with James Dean playing one of the warring brothers, like Cain and Abel. The story begins in the early 1900s in California, featuring one rebellious brother and one devout brother. Their mother is not dead – as both believe her to be. She left her husband to set up a brothel in Monterey. Other business matters: a consignment of lettuce is due to arrive fresh at the markets in New York. A second attempt, with a consignment of beans. By now, the war is looming.

By Félix Viscarret, starring José Coronado, Maria Valverde and Marino Rivas (on Netflix)

Arturo Pérez-Reverte is a Spanish war correspondent turned novelist (Roman Polanski adapted "Il club Dumas" into the film "La nona porta", starring Johnny Depp). This series, based on another novel, takes the viewer to the almost deserted island of Santa Águeda. Connections to the mainland have been cut off and there is only one hotel. Set in the 1950s, the narrative features Basil, an actor who has frequently portrayed Sherlock Holmes. Out of professional habit, he attempts to solve the case of Elisa Mander, a German tourist found dead. It is not a suicide, as the actor—who, in the role of Holmes, has learnt not to be deceived by appearances—realises immediately. One must observe the details.

By Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, with Roger Casamajor and Macarena García (on My Movies One)

We need to be ready. On 14 January, ‘La bola negra’ will be released in Italian cinemas; the film has already won an award for best director at Cannes 2026 and is Spain’s Oscar nominee. The two directors – both named Javier, who go by the name Los Javis – had already demonstrated their visionary talent in this series. The story centres on a fanatical mother and her children, who have grown up under her wing with no contact with the outside world. All they can do is sing. They improvise musicals, write songs and make homemade films. Two of them, now adults, are trying to make sense of it all – and, above all, to heal from the trauma. Not even the mother is portrayed as a monster: she believes that God has called her, and that this confinement is the only way to protect her children.