‘Industry’ Is Really a Show About Mommy and Daddy Issues
“When you’re born with a silver spoon in your mouth, people are going to assume you’re an idiot,” says Henry Muck, as he nurses a glass of wine in one of London’s most exclusive, dimly-lit dinner spots. His father used to tell him this all the time, apparently.
Henry, played by Kit Harrington, is a new character in HBO’s Industry—a drama that follows the messy lives of financiers at London-based bank, Pierpoint. After two episodes of the third season, we’ve learned that Henry is an old-money nepo baby. (Or as he said himself: a “posh c–t.”) But as the CEO of green energy startup Lumi, he is also desperate to fill his late father’s shoes.
Henry’s arrival in Industry feels like a purposeful move toward dissecting the show’s central theme of strained parent-child relationships. Most of the characters are dealing with a parental figure who has disappointed, abandoned, or abused them. (And some are doing that to their own kids, too.) On the face of things, it might seem that the HBO drama is all about money and dodgy dealings—or even kinky, drug-fuelled sex. But it's also a compelling study of mommy and daddy issues. (Or, for the majority-British cast, “mummy” and daddy issues.)