Industry, HBO/ BBC
Season Two of Industry picks up where the first season left off. In the hyper modern world of Pierpoint Bank. It’s an effortlessly cool TV setting where an effortlessly and authentically diverse cast of characters attempt to scale the perilous career hierarchy of a London city bank.
London and cast diversity are things that UK television struggle to get right, but that’s not the case with Industry. London as a backdrop to a TV show isn’t inherently cool (despite what commissioners seem to think), but the attention to detail here and the way the elitist depiction of the capital informs the story, really earns it as a setting.
Forced cast diversity in UK shows is something else that can often cause you to cringe, but in Industry it is effortlessly authentic, real and effective. Central character Harper’s (Myha'la Herrold) black American roots inform who she is and why she needs a job at a London bank. Rishi (Sagar Radia) is a three-dimensional South Asian Londoner - a character that we all recognise from real life but find difficult to recall a TV counterpart.
For its coolness and authenticity, Industry is so watchable and easily manages to sustain audience interest. The one questionable aspect of its allure is the use of sex. Whenever any two characters meet, it is a matter of time before they are naked – a trope that borders on the indefensibly pornographic at times.
Aside from that though, Industry’s ability to make banking and finance cool and dramatic add to its list of triumphs. Harper’s sale at the end of Episode Two is insatiably theatrical, adrenaline fueled and gripping. The end of Season Two builds to a lively fever pitch when Harper, Eric and Rishi look for a way out, leaving you desperate to know how it will work out.
The season finale expands the scope of Industry by bringing the political and media sphere into play. True to form, it does this seamlessly and in a televisual way reminding you of the best of House of Cards.
For all of the above reasons, Season Two of Industry picks up where Season One left off and elevates this show further. Genius lines litter the eight episodes (“During the gold rush, all the gold miners actually went bust…I’m interested in the picks and the shovels”) and you leave the series wanting more rather than less. The shocking cliffhanger at the end of Season Two evidences the fact we will get more and it will be interesting to see how far this show can go.
