I just watched all 17 episodes of ‘Industry’ in one week and I’m now addicted
Before last week, I had only given Industry a passing look, but with the third season premiere fast approaching, I decided to binge-watch the entire HBO drama in a single week on Max.
Well, after exactly seven days of binge-watching and 17 episodes later, I can confirm that this series is not only good, but addictive. It might even be as addictive as the many drugs consumed in the three new seasons of this popular workplace drama, which are all too familiar to fans of the series.
So this week I took some time to come down from the euphoria of my week of “Industry.” After some thought and reflection, I came up with three main reasons why I can’t get enough of the show—and why you absolutely should watch it.
3 reasons why I can’t stop watching “Industry”
First of all, this show is very simple at its core. You don’t need to do any homework to watch it, which is also what I really liked about Presumed Innocent earlier this year. This show is simply about how a group of people navigate their lives in the London financial world. That’s all. You don’t need to watch entire seasons or hours of movies to enjoy it. The characters in the show don’t even have a clear goal other than making money, doing enough drugs and having enough sex to stop thinking about their lives.
Honestly, you could jump into the series at the beginning of the third season without having seen the previous two seasons. I strongly recommend watching the whole series, of course, but you don’t have to need To.
And that’s because the show does the little things really well. In the season three premiere, the show’s writers do an excellent job of connecting the dots so that you know the relationships between the characters even without a “Previously in…” video at the beginning of the episode. Harper (Myha’la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela), arguably the show’s main characters — despite this being an ensemble series — have a conversation that tells you exactly what you need to know about their relationship. The same goes for the relationship between Rob (Harry Lawtey) and Nicole (Sarah Parish), and what several characters think of Kenny. It’s less satisfying than if you’d already gotten into the show, but you still wouldn’t feel lost when you left.
In conclusion, this show is a soap opera of the highest order. I know a lot of people compare it to Succession and Euphoria, but I think it would be more accurate to replace Succession with Suits. Yes, the absurd amounts of money in the show are technically relevant, but Industry explores real people’s relationships inside and outside the workplace. The end goal isn’t for one of these traders to become the king of London’s financial world, you just want to see what they’ll do next.
Ironically, because Industry is about their relationships, these characters are oddly interchangeable. The show has already cut one character with a particular point of view, and several key supporting roles have come and gone. In the season three premiere alone, the show casts aside two people we spent 17 episodes with, and you never worry for a second that the show would take a step forward without them. Kit Harrington also appears in the premiere as Sir Henry Muck, and despite his star presence, part of you already suspects he won’t be around forever.
“Industry” could be HBO’s best series this year
It’s hard to find a weak spot in Industry after following the series extensively over the past few days. Yes, there’s a lot of sex and drugs, even for HBO, but surprisingly it never feels unnecessary. Despite the sheer amount of it, you realize that every scene, every moment, is undoubtedly intentional. Even the choice of soundtrack or the conversations you overhear on the trading floor – mostly Rishi (Sagar Radia) – are carefully constructed.
In practice, that means this might be the best show currently running on HBO. There are still seven more episodes left this season, but if Industry can keep going like this, I see no reason why it shouldn’t overtake House of the Dragon, which has shown some signs of weakness this season.
And while I think Tokyo Vice’s second season was one of the best shows of 2024, it was canceled by HBO earlier this year. I still have Industry ranked close behind it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it climbed further up my rankings.
So go ahead and take the plunge. Press Industry now if you haven’t already and try to stop watching. Since I’m already counting down the days until the next episode, I bet you won’t.
