Industry follows a group of banking graduates as they navigate the trials of making it big in finance.
While the concept of a banking drama might not sound immediately gripping, this is far from a humdrum serial of stocks and shares. It’s more scandal, schemes and sex.
The HBO drama is packed with cut-throat schemes, toxic masculinity, drug binges and nudity, earning comparisons to Succession, and while that’s a fair connection, Industry more than stands on its own merit with the murky world of London’s finance district.
For its third season, Industry turns the pressure up to maximum, with the young graduates now fully fledged in their career and willing to stop at nothing to get ahead.
Perhaps the best endorsement of all? Former PM and Goldman Sachs employee Rishi Sunak claimed the show was ‘too explicit’.
How can I watch Industry?
UK viewers can finally catch up on Industry, with all eight episodes of the third season arriving on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Tuesday, 1 October. It will also air on BBC One that evening at 10.40pm with weekly episodes.
The third season of Industry launched for American audiences on Sunday, August 11 on HBO and streaming service Max, with episodes airing weekly.
Check out the trailer below for a taste of what’s to come.
Who are the main characters of Industry season three?
Yasmin (Marisa Abela), one of the original graduates from the first season has risen up the ranks at Pierpoint, but a personal tragedy and the ensuing scandal completely takes over her career.
Harper (Myha’la) was brutally axed from Pierpoint at the end of season two, but now she’s making plans to get back on top at a rival company.
Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington) is the CEO of green tech energy company Lumi, who strikes up a relationship with Yasmin.
Rob (Harry Lawtey) is a Pierpoint employee who is tasked with overseeing the Lumi deal, but clashes with CEO Henry Muck.
Eric (Ken Leung) is the Pierpoint Bank managing director who took Harper under his wing in season one, only to stab her in the back in the second run. Needless to say their relationship is even more complex now they are rivals.
Nicole (Sarah Parish) is a wealthy client of Pierpoint, who crosses boundaries with the young graduates, with fatal results in the opening episode of season three.
Rishi (Sagar Radia) is a trader at Pierpoint, but his drug use and debt problems threaten to ruin his career.
Where was Industry filmed?
Mallorca
The biggest storyline of the season revolves around Yasmin’s fateful confrontation with her sleazebag father while on a luxury yacht, with filming taking place at Port dr Soller, off the coast of Mallorca.
Bookending the series, the full unfolding of events isn’t revealed until several episodes in, and is likely to have repercussions in future seasons.
Wales
Cardiff is the real home of Industry, with the production setting up camp there for the bulk of filming. The city’s streets and buildings stood in for London’s City district, home to the financial hub.
The London Stock Exchange scenes at the end of episode one were actually filmed at the Haydn Ellis Building on Cardiff’s Maindy Road, which is part of the city’s university.
Scenes where Yasmin and Sir Henry bond over dinner in episode two were filmed at Parkgate Hotel, Cardiff.
The third episode of the season sees the core characters travel abroad for a finance conference, but these scenes were filmed at the Celtic Manor Hotel and Resort.
The seaside town of Penarth was used in the penultimate episode of season three, with Rob and Yasmin taking a trip to the coast. Scenes were filmed on the Victorian-era pier and at Pickfords Hotel.
London
England’s capital does still appear on screen, mostly for exterior shots such as the very final scene of the season, taking place on Southwark Bridge as Harper clears the air with boss-turned-enemy Eric.
Previous seasons have included scenes at Greenwich Park and various streets around the Bank and City of London district, which becomes a seedy playground of vice and sin for the cutthroat bankers.
Bristol
Chic restaurant Brown’s was used to film scenes between Yasmin and boss Eric midway through the season.
A private residence in Bristol was also used as the London home of Pierpoint client Nicole, where she has a fateful rendezvous with Rob in the opening episode.
Who is in the cast of Industry?
Kit Harington joins the ensemble cast of season three, taking on the role of Sir Henry Muck, CEO of Lumi, a new energy company looking to shakeup the industry but with a less than green hidden ethos.
The Game of Thrones actor cuts a fine line between charming lothario and a toxic millionaire meddling in politics.
Marisa Abela – recently seen as Amy Winehouse in Back to Black – returns as Yasmin, stepping up to lead the third season as the character battles everything from family death, personal scandal, and unpredictable career moves.
Other returning cast members include Harry Lawtey (Harvey Dent in the upcoming Joker sequel) as Yasmin’s fellow graduate and occasional lover, Robert.
Myha’la (Leave the World Behind) is back as Harper Stern, finding her feet after a shock departure from Pierpoint Bank.
Ken Leung returns as Pierpoint manager Eric, as does Sarah Parish as inappropriate but very wealthy client Nicole Craig.
The best performance of the season is delivered by Sagar Radia (Unicorns) as Pierpoint trader Rishi, battling crippling debt problems that will bring his career and personal life into turmoil.
Is Industry based on a true story?
Sort of. Industry was inspired by show creators Konrad Kay and Mickey Down’s stint at a top American investment bank, fresh out of university, but there’s clearly creative licence involved in the more scandalous storylines.
That said, issues such as the banking crisis of 2008 and the potential privatisation of the NHS are referenced throughout the season.
Kay and Down even have their own insider, giving them the real current gossip and scandal in the sector.
‘We have a consultant,’ the pair told GQ. ‘And he loves the idea of being a sort of Zorro figure. He was very senior in the sell side and now he’s very senior in the buy side and he comes into our room once a week and just shoots the shit with us. He uses the show a little bit as I guess a way to fuck with people. And to get his own prejudices on stuff out.’
Will there be another season of Industry?
While the show creators have suggested a fourth season is going to happen, nothing is confirmed yet.
The finale episode of season three does have a sense of closure, but still leaves the door open enough for future instalments to see characters in new countries, new industries and new relationships.
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