If Finance is the Food of Power, Pay On: ‘Industry’s Slick Third Season Trades on Earned Currency

It’s been almost two years since the second season of HBO’s gripping coke-addled roller coaster about investment bankers in their cutthroat financial jungle, Industry debuted. Stylish and smart, Season 3 delivers fantastic plot twists and an ensemble of exquisitely talented actors and continues to confound its audience with near-incomprehensible financial jargon. The language is a barrier to reaching a wider audience which is unfortunate given how good this show is, this season particularly. I’m here to tell you it doesn’t matter if you understand what they’re saying about ESG, debt ratios, or shorting stocks; it’s the characters you’ll care about – how they perform under pressure, and to what lengths they’ll go (or not) for personal gain.

This season’s theme references a type of manipulation specifically applied to the finance world of Pierpoint & Co.: Perception is reality. Rishi (Sagar Radia) clarifies this even further: “Money is an illusion; it’s a social contract built on trust.” Much how in last season, a mega-investor spoke a canceled government inquiry back into existence, Season 3 explores how public perceptions can turn on a dime and how much the market is maneuvered by rumors, lies, and the risky machinations of greedy behind-the-scenes bankers (and politicians).

When we last saw our main characters, Eric (Ken Leung) got Harper (Myha'la) fired from Pierpoint after exposing that she never graduated; Yasmin’s (Marisa Abela) rejection of her father cut her off from the family’s money, and Robert (Harry Lawtey) accepted his submissive role with predatory client Nicole (Sarah Parish). (Regrettably, David Jonsson did not return as Gus this season.)

Surprisingly, Harper has landed on her feet, now working for a hedge fund investor but as a glorified secretary. Although she’s a bit cowed, we see her step into her confidence and wear poise like a bespoke suit. It is a significant transition for Harper. No longer the insecure newbie getting used due to her naïve ambition, she parlays her high-risk tactics into sharp positions and shrewd new alliances. Meanwhile, Harper has what feels like her first real moral quandary when weighing business versus friendship loyalties. Once again, we will see her on the precipice of facing consequences, only to out-maneuver danger. As the dark heart of the show, Harper manages to make you simultaneously cheer and cringe.

Eric’s having ethical crises as well. His personal life has fallen apart – he’s separated from his wife, and she’s attempting to get custody of their twin girls. He cut ties with Harper because she didn’t align with his values, and this season, he doubles down by saying she’s a bad person. But he wrestles with his ambition, need for job security and status, and towing the company line shortly after being made a Pierpoint partner, which sees him having to service Harper as a client.

Yasmin is now working for Eric and has her bank account for the first time, finally separate from her family’s money. She lives with Harper and Robert at their flat and feels the pressure of filling Harper’s work shoes. Despite her legally dubious market behavior, Harper made money for Pierpoint’s hand over fist, and Yasmin just doesn’t have the same energy or performance. Adding to her troubles are the sins of her missing father, Charles (Adam Levy). His embezzlement’s legal and social fallout besieges Yasmin in his absence; paparazzi hound her. A leaked photo of her on her father’s yacht turns up in a tabloid, causing speculation on her knowledge of her father’s crimes and giving her an image problem at work. The story of Yasmin on the yacht (named, tellingly, The Lady Yasmin) is knotty and scandalous, teased out over the length of the season.

Robert is perhaps the only character with a seemingly genuine heart. The show visits extensive trauma upon him in the first episode, compounding his already complex mommy issues. Separately, he spends most of his time with the new character, Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington), the aristocratic CEO of a startup green energy company whom Robert manages but cannot control. By the season’s end, Robert achieves proper character growth and poignancy. He’s come a long way from the empty, coked-out, and sad young man we met in Season 1.

Speaking of sad, Rishi gets a lot more exposure, and we learn he has a dangerous gambling addiction. Episode 4 (“White Mischief”) highlights Rishi almost exclusively, showing him for the gross and complicated person he is. He’s in debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands and panicking. Rishi pivots between alpha male behavior at work, status shifts in his personal life, and desperately stupid actions chasing gambling highs, which makes for great TV. In one revealing scene, he urinates while scrolling through porn, all the while wearing his own baby strapped to his chest.

Hat tip for the best-named new character so far: Sweetpea Golightly (Miriam Petche). She’s introduced to us by livestreaming on the trading floor. Initially annoying, Sweetpea figures out something massive on the horizon at Pierpoint and gets substantially more interesting as the season progresses.

With Warner Brothers Discovery's future uncertain and a certain CEO eager to cut anything high-end from HBO he can get his hands on, it’s unclear whether Casey Bloys, who is in charge of the premium network, will be able to greenlight co-producing another season of Industry with the BBC. The showrunners took this into consideration, and the last two episodes play out as a series finale, wrapping up the main threads and shifting the world dramatically in case we never return to Pierpoint. Support the show during its third season run, and we may just see it come back for a fourth!

The needle drops also betray a certain end-of-the-world mentality: the songs that perfectly punctuate the end credits aren’t playing around – from the Pet Shop Boys to Duran Duran to Rage Against the Machine, the music budget spent is worth every penny.

Industry Season 3 debuts Sunday, August 11, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO and will be simultaneously streamed on Max. New episodes will debut weekly through September.