Creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay wanted to start season 3 of HBO’s Industry on a lavish yacht in the Mediterranean. The duo would use the boat as a storytelling vessel for flashbacks featuring Yasmin (Marisa Abela) and her father. Charles (Adam Levy). The scenes would showcase their tumultuous relationship plagued by Charles’ affinity for sex, drugs, and power. How did the creators convince HBO to let them film the debauchery on the boat? They wrote an email to HBO titled “Coke and Boats.” If that doesn’t scream enticing television, what does?
Cocaine and boats elicit attention, but Industry is so much more than a salacious headline. Industry began as a drama about five graduates fighting for permanent jobs at an esteemed London investment bank, Pierpoint & Co. Think of season 1 as if the cast of Skins and Euphoria tried working in finance. It’s sex, drugs, and drama on the trading floor.
Down and Kay smartly knew that the premise would run its course, so they expanded their world in season 2 to include viewpoints on life outside Pierpoint. These two seasons were building to season 3, which catapulted Industry from very good to great and helped cement it as one of the best shows of 2024.
Stacked roster with a deep bench
Industry started with five graduates in season 1. That number has now dwindled to three: Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Abela), the rich girl trying to build her own legacy; Harper Stern (Myha’la), a brilliant trader with a killer instinct; and Robert Spearing (possible future James Bond star Harry Lawtey), the working-class Oxford graduate with deep-seated emotional issues.
Each character runs the gamut of emotions during season 3. Abela makes the “poor little rich girl” an empathetic character in the wake of her father’s death. Myha’la resurrects Harper from the dead as the self-starter rises from unemployment to the head of a new fund by the season 3 finale. Finally, Lawtey’s Robert goes from a lost puppy dog with no direction to a confident and relentless man.
Most shows would kill for one of those characters, let alone three. Yet, Industry is unafraid to bring its supporting cast into the light. Industry is like an NBA All-Star game — everyone can be the top player when the ball’s in their hands. First up is Eric, played by the brilliant Ken Leung, who gives one of the best supporting performances on television. Eric starts the season in a teacher-versus-student matchup against Harper and finishes it with the betrayal of his best friend, proving he’s still a shark when he smells blood in the water.
Rishi (Sagar Radia) is the dopamine addict who received an entire Uncut Gems-esque episode dedicated to his degeneracy. Even Kit Harington gets to have fun as Henry Muck, the cocky CEO who runs with the elites of society. The trust to shine a light on the stars’ teammates and let them cook paid dividends in season 3.
Industry became its own show in season 3
Whenever a great show emerges, it’s natural to try and make a comparison to other elite programs. Industry is constantly mentioned along with shows like Euphoria, Succession, and Mad Men. The amount of drugs and sex done by Pierpoint’s employees makes Euphoria’s characters look like saints. The dog-eat-dog and cutthroat nature in the financial sector of Industry rivals the Roy family in Succession, though Logan would never pick up his phone to speak with Harper like Jesse Bloom (Jay Duplass) did in season 2. Industry‘s best comparison is arguably Mad Men, an office drama with uneasy mentorships, political maneuvering, and an environment that breeds sexism and racism.
Industry clearly shares similarities with these three shows, but at the end of the day, this HBO drama became its own juggernaut in season 3. The show has transformed into a searing exploration of class and social status. Take Rob, for example. Rob, who comes from a rural upbringing, has been trying to rub elbows with the elite for three seasons.
Rob believes that hard work and merit will bring him to the top. However, he eventually realizes the financial world is not a meritocracy. The rich will say and do what they want. When the rich get into trouble, they’ll call wealthy friends to eradicate the damage. Rob has earned his spot on the CPS desk, and yet his season 3 job is to babysit a childish CEO.
Rob’s not the only one who deals with class issues. Harper, a Black American woman, and Eric, an Asian American man, constantly feel like outsiders who need to work twice as hard to prove their worth. Rishi, a foul-mouthed, money-hungry market maker, battles not-so-subtle racism while living in a predominantly white upper-class neighborhood.
Even Yasmin finds herself at the bottom of the social ladder this season because of her dad’s nefarious transgressions. Yas would love nothing more than to settle down with Robert, but she knows financial security and the ruling class are more important than happiness.
Industry writes itself into a corner and never holds back
Down and Kay are not afraid to write themselves into a corner. Every episode feels final. “Where will they go next?” is a question constantly muttered by viewers when the end credits roll. Down and Kay have a bravery that resembles their characters when the opening bell rings. It’s sink or swim at the trading desk and in the writers’ room.
Look at House of the Dragon, a show with a literal road map on how to get from the beginning to the end. While season 2 included a spectacular battle scene at Rook’s Rest, House of the Dragon felt incomplete by the finale.
Season 2 was building toward a battle between the Greens and the Blacks. Yet, when the finale came, the two rival factions were still preparing for battle. It’s like the creators said, “Hey, you know that battle we’ve been teasing in season 2? Well, we can’t wait to show it to you in season 3!” If Down and Kay wrote for House of the Dragon, the Battle Above the Gods Eye would have been the season 1 finale.
After three seasons, Down and Kay have earned the right to end each season with a seeming finality only to find a new path forward the next season. The season 3 finale could have been a series finale. Yasmin is getting married, Harper is moving to New York, Rob has a new job, and the London trading floor at Pierpoint is closing.
It’s a finite ending for an excellent show. But Down and Kay have more pitches in their arsenal. With plans for a Michael Clayton–inspired season 4, Industry’s fearlessness will continue.
Stream Industry on Max.
