The HBO banking drama Industry has returned for a fourth series, with critics and viewers noting a significant shift towards darker, more traumatic storytelling. The show, which initially struggled to find an audience in 2020, has seen a 40% ratings increase between seasons two and three and now occupies a prime Sunday night slot on HBO.
From its opening episode, series four establishes a pitch-black tone, with scenes depicting sexual coercion and a character suffering a stroke in front of a banker who had just dismissed his health concerns. Critics have described the new season as operating at 'optimal bleakness', with 'nightmarish cycles' and 'stomach-churning downfalls'. Variety TV critic Alison Herman notes that while the show has always been bleak, it has 'gotten darker over time' as it has refined and expanded.
The series follows a group of bankers in London's high-finance world, and the new season explores the intersections of finance, politics, media, and the aristocracy. Central to the plot is the co-dependent relationship between heiress Yasmin and ruthless trader Harper, which is pushed to further extremes. The season also delves into mental health crises, suicidal ideation, and shock deaths, with a standout performance from Kit Harington as Yasmin's husband Sir Henry Muck.
Creators Konrad Kay and Mickey Down have described series four as a departure from the previous three seasons, which they view as a trilogy. They aimed to tell a story with the narrative propulsion of a great conspiracy thriller, a risk that has paid off according to early reviews. The show's protagonists, once young graduates starting their first jobs, have now matured into perpetrators of the toxic culture they once endured.
