NEW YORK – Jackson Lamb is an Englishman who solves mysteries, but he’s not your typically elegant, charming type. One clue is that he often passes gas, rather loudly.

Lamb — portrayed by Gary Oldman — is the beating heart of Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses,” a critical darling that seems to have gained traction in the U.S. only lately, now in its fourth season. Ignored at the Emmys for two seasons, it goes into Sunday’s telecast with nine nominations, including for best drama series.

“I think it’s been a slow burn,” says Oldman, who earned an Emmy nod for his Lamb. “More people are now coming up to me and saying, ‘I really like the show.’ I’ve become that guy on TV, which I kind of like, actually.”

Lamb is the comically unpleasant leader of a band of dejected British spies nicknamed the “Slow Horses” because they work at lowly Slough House, far from the gleaming center of power in London. They’ve messed up their careers in a variety of ways, including botching surveillance operations, gambling addictions, or leaving a top secret file on a train.

Lamb’s hair is unkempt and greasy. He wears a ratty, dirty raincoat, and his stocking feet are forever up on his desk. He smokes too much, drinks scotch on the job, is violently un-politically correct, and is blunt to the point of rude. His voicemail says: “This is Lamb. If I didn’t answer it’s because I don’t want to speak to you.”

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