Privilege of Perimeter
The post-Covid era of the entertainment industry has seen a concentrated attempt by traditional television networks and streaming services to replicate the one-of-a-kind phenomenon of Game of Thrones. Given that superhero blockbusters saved the film industry in the late-2010s, there was no reason to doubt that genre epics with established fanbases would be able to do the same for television. This was a significant move away from the foundation of what the “prestige television” era was based on, as a majority of the most successful shows of the previous decade fell into one of two categories. On one hand, there were the anti-hero dramas that centered around a darkly charismatic protagonist, with Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Shield as examples. Their counterparts were soapy melodramas that skewed towards young adults and teenagers, which consisted of everything from the romance of The O.C. or Dawson’s Creek to more graphic programming like Sex Education and Skins.
It seemed unlikely these sub-categories would intersect, as they’re skewed towards audiences that look to television for different purposes. Older viewers disappointed by the lack of non-superhero options at the cinema may have turned to character dramas like The Americans or Boardwalk Empire, whereas more youthful audiences may have appreciated the sincere, yet heightened pleasures of Riverdale or Gossip Girl. However, television has changed rapidly in the last few years, as tightened budgets in the post-strike era required that shows hit all expectations required to justify their prolonged production.
Cancellations have been fast, with even popular shows like Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty and Westworld gutted by HBO, the network that had once ushered in high quality television with The Sopranos and The Wire. The fact that HBO has now become a network centered on exploiting the Warner Brothers film assets (with Harry Potter and It shows coming soon) makes it more impressive that a series like Industry was able to make it to three seasons. Not every great show finds its footing in its first season, but it has become rare to see them given the opportunity to adjust with time. Industry may have stumbled out of the gate, but the phenomenal third season proved that the BBC Two co-production is the real deal.
Industry is a sharp examination of the world of stock trading at the fictional investment bank of Pierpoint & Co in London. Pierpoint’s process to determine its full-time employees is the mass induction of young graduates who compete for advancement. The cast of people that vie for permanent positions has dwindled over time, as the high-stress working environment isn’t for everyone. However, the opportunity to engage in the privileges of correspondence with wealthy clients had its own rewards; the extent to which Industry has indulged within the graphic sexual content and drug use allowed within a TV-MA rating has made Game of Thrones look restrained.
The most overt comparison that has aided the rise of Industry is to HBO’s Succession. Like Succession, Industry is set within a universe that’s indistinguishable from reality, and has dealt with topics such as Covid, Brexit, and the consolidation of major media outlets. Although Industry has its own wealthy CEOs and obnoxious disruptors, it’s not hard to see the parallels with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Both shows were able to provoke frank insight about recent events, even when unanticipated; an episode in Industry's third season centered around the ramifications of a controversial election cycle in America was eerily prescient, as it aired weeks before Donald Trump’s re-election in November.
The secret to the sustained success of Industry is due to its differences from the Roy family saga. Succession was an epic about the decline of the American Dream, and used the question of which child would inherit the throne to Waystar RoyCo as a means to generate anticipation for the eventual conclusion. Industry is more interested in the evolution of its youthful characters as they make sense of the precarious position that their generation is in. It’s easier to see Industry as the descendant of Euphoria, another popular HBO series acclaimed for its examination of modern youth culture.
The type of erratic, irrational decisions made by young people is what makes Industry so accessible, and why a workplace drama doesn’t feel antiquated in comparison to HBO’s other classics. This is a generation of messy, complicated young people who’ve been keen to burn down an establishment they perceive as predatory. If there was a fault within Industry’s first two seasons, it was that the series didn’t properly articulate that its characters were monsters, and that the hardships they suffered weren’t an excuse for the damage they’d cause to the economy. The stakes of Industry’s third season were more destructive, as the downfall of a cancelled CEO and the shortage of a major bank are only two of the most shocking moments.
Industry also benefits from its cast. Despite dipping out of Industry in its third season, David Jonsson was the standout of this summer’s Alien: Romulus; similarly, Marisa Abela delivered a terrific depiction of Amy Winehouse in the otherwise forgettable biopic Back to Black. As easy as it may be for these young stars to pick up other opportunities, it’s clear that Industry is where their future lies. If the series has managed to make such drastic jumps in quality thus far, then its future iterations could reshape television.