Apple TV isn't waiting to see how Season 6 lands before greenlighting more disgraced spies. The streamer has renewed Slow Horses for an eighth season, confirming it will adapt Clown Town, the ninth book in Mick Herron's Slough House series, according to Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

The timing is deliberate. Season 6 premieres Wednesday on Apple TV, and the renewal lands a day before that, with a seventh season based on Herron's Bad Actors already locked in from last year though still without a release date. Gary Oldman's Jackson Lamb, it seems, isn't going anywhere for a while.

The announcement comes fresh off the show's Emmy night. Slow Horses picked up one win, best directing in a drama series for Saul Metzstein, out of nine nominations, per THR. Oldman himself was up for lead actor. Apple had a strong night at the Emmys, with Widow's Bay reportedly setting a record for most comedy wins in a single season, Deadline noted.

Season 8's six episodes will see Lamb face off against Kristin Scott Thomas's Diana Taverner in what the official synopsis calls their most explosive confrontation yet, after a botched blackmail attempt on the Park forces Taverner onto the offensive and Lamb into unravelling one of MI5's darkest secrets. Adam Randall, who directed Season 6 and won an Emmy for his Season 4 work, returns behind the camera. Ben Vanstone is adapting and executive producing.

"We don't kill anyone Mick hasn't killed," Randall told THR of the new season, adding that reading Clown Town left him wondering, in his words, who actually survives it.

Apple's Jay Hunt, creative director for international content, framed the renewal as a vote of confidence in the show's tone. "Slow Horses continues to charm audiences all around the world and I'm delighted that Jackson Lamb and his gang of lovable misfits will be back for an eighth season," Hunt said. "Their acerbic take on the high-octane world of espionage is completely unique."

Oldman said last month that keeping the gaps between seasons short has been, in his words, a struggle and a fight, so back-to-back renewals will be a relief for fans who've watched other prestige dramas vanish for years between runs.

One subplot is drawing separate attention. THR reports Oldman has floated co-star Jack Lowden as a contender for the next James Bond, though the outlet says no casting decision on Ian Fleming's spy has actually been made. Nothing official there yet, but expect that rumour to run alongside every Slow Horses headline until someone confirms or kills it.

For now, the immediate date that matters is Wednesday, when Season 6 starts rolling out one episode a week through October 21, adapting both Joe Country and Slough House. Season 8, and whatever body count Clown Town brings, will follow once production wraps.