‘I’ll be upstairs… making bad life choices…’
Despite being a joint production between the BBC and HBO, Industry has received plenty of plaudits without ever fully breaking through into the public consciousness. I’ve never understood why this isn’t the most talked about show on television right now. For my money, it’s the natural precursor to Succession without ever feeling like a pastiche or cheap fugazi of that show. One of the main issues with modern television is that TV shows struggle to retain momentum from season to season. So many shows start with a bang then eventually bow out with a whimper a couple of seasons later. Well, as Industry powers into its third season, it shows no sign of slowing down…
We begin season three with financial powerhouse Pierpoint investing in trendy green technology in the form of Lumi – a pseudo-green energy company helmed by the outrageously rich member of the landed gentry Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harrington). Elsewhere, Yasmin (Marisa Abela) struggles to cope with the disappearance of her father and Rishi (Sagar Radia) finds his life spiralling out of control. This all means that Harper (Myha’la Herrold) and Robert (Harry Lawtey) are sidelined somewhat in the early episodes of season three but they both have a big part to play come the end.
I’ve never been a fan of Kit Harrington. It turns out all that was needed to coax a performance out of him was to allow him to play the posh boy that he so clearly is in real life. He was terminally unconvincing as a northern-coded bastard in Game of Thrones but he is excellent here as the smarmy and volatile yin to Abela’s ruthless and cutthroat yang. And boy, does Yasmin cut some throats here. Her volte face in the final episode is one of the most achingly sad moments of Industry so far and her will-they-won’t-they romance with Robert is concluded in unforgettable fashion.
As alluded to, Industry is a critical darling but it is definitely underseen by the public at large. As someone who watches way way too much television, if I were to recommend one new show from the last five years that you absolutely have to watch then Industry would be right up there – gripping and essential television.
