Industry

Having fun watching not one decent person in a very large, but OK cast. I once thought I could be a broker, so I took and passed my Series 3 and 7. I was the worst salesman in the world, so I quit before I got fired. That being said, nearly all the men---and they were in those days, all men...I met at my firm (a small regional) and at other firms were decent human beings; most of them did like to drink, but always behaved themselves.

But the people in this amusing series are utterly despicable, devoid of any sense of shame, loyalty, compassion, ethics, or common decency, Even the best person depicted, Gus, is untrustworthy. Everybody degrades everybody, including themselves. Still, horrible people are fun to watch.

I'm currently watching Industry with my brother as I write this review and the first thing that comes to mind when watching this show is...addicting. HBO is known for having great shows and Industry is no different. It really is a good show that feels fresh and thrilling. It shows the cutthroat world that is banking. It's a fascinating look inside their world of greed, sex, drugs, back stabbing and every other bad thing these people do to each other. You don't have to know much about this world to enjoy the show, I think most people watching don't and that's a testament to how good the writing is. You really do get pulled into that world and can't wait to see what happens next. I'm fully invested in this show and I think you will be to if you give it a chance.

Industry is not so much a drama as it is a masterclass in how to populate a show with the most detestable characters imaginable. Every episode is a parade of egotism, emotional immaturity, and moral bankruptcy. And not in a thought-provoking or satirical way-just pure, unfiltered unpleasantness.

Yasmine and Harper, in particular, deserve special mention. Yasmine is a painfully self-involved narcissist masquerading as someone emotionally fragile. Her presence is a constant reminder that privilege without self-awareness is a recipe for disaster. Then there's Harper, whose entire personality seems to be built around being emotionally unavailable and self-sabotaging. The show wants us to believe she's deep, complicated, and brilliant. In reality, she's just cold, reckless, and exhausting to watch.

I kept watching for one reason only: the hope that one day, finally, these two would face the consequences of their actions. Every episode feels like a waiting game to see if karma will catch up with them. So far, it hasn't-but I live in hope.

The writing lacks any real critique of the toxic corporate culture it claims to depict. Instead, it indulges in it. The result is a hollow, joyless slog through the worst people doing the worst things for the worst reasons.

If you're looking for nuanced characters or meaningful insight, look elsewhere. If you're watching out of pure schadenfreude, welcome to the club.

The first season of Industry begins right away in an intense atmosphere, marked by competitiveness, in a world where you have to be a predator. You immediately sense that these are young climbers ready to do whatever it takes to make money. The series paints varied portraits, but ones that, deep down, are quite similar.

I'll start with the negative point before moving on to the many positives. The main flaw is this tendency to repeat the same pattern from one episode to the next, as we've seen in other series before it, such as Euphoria, Elite, or, more long ago, that series SKINS.

It's this inclination to portray characters who are completely desperate, trapped in addiction, moving from party to excess. There are also completely unnecessary sex scenes, included only to provoke, without adding anything to the main storyline. They're there to keep the attention of an audience unfortunately drawn to what is trashy, to what is "dirty." This point hurts the series, which could have been perfect without these excesses.

One very important thing about the series is its ability to develop these characters within a similar routine - because it's the same day, their workday, the same main activity of the company. So the challenge is: how do you make characters engaging in such a strict, closed setting, with particular rules? This is a challenge the series succeeds in brilliantly, because these characters have a certain fragility that we can perceive just through a look, through suggestion, through the weight the character carries behind them, and the pressure they endure day after day. We can quickly identify with these characters, especially if we are part of an entrepreneurial world or work for a multinational.

From there come the positive points, which are numerous. First, the realism of the characters and a certain honesty, whether in their sensitivity, fragility, illusions, emptiness, or cruelty. Some move through this universe like pawns, aware of their status, yet still striving to become kings and prove their place within the company. The series perfectly addresses this addiction to work, this constant tension, this universe of modern slavery, in a world still largely dominated by men. (Either we accept it or refuse)

That's why Harper, in a way, has to "become a man" - and she does, which is remarkable - while the other characters remain incomplete.

This is a really good show, but it took time to find its footing. You have to get through the first season and then it gets better and better for the second and third. I honestly wasn't motivated to watch some episodes early on, but I knew there were seeds of a great show. Writing is excellent in the third season and acting is fantastic throughout. Ken Leung for the win.

That said, you have to like antiheroes and shows about horrible people doing bad things as a commentary on social structures, ego, and past trauma. The show asks what you would do for power, ambition, and money. It's also a classic HBO show with slightly excessive sex and drugs. But it fits into the character, narratives and traumas.