Industry premieres on BBC Two and iPlayer on 10th November
If you like TV drama to be bold, daring and thoroughly addictive, then we have an electrifying treat for you with the BBC, HBO, and Bad Wolf production Industry preparing to hit screens this Autumn. If, like me, you’re tired of TV drama that dwells on crime and family melodrama, Industry may be the tonic you need. After all, it is not only energetic and risqué but also the dramatic equivalent of The Apprentice on steroids.
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Set post the financial crash of 2008, Industry follows a group of graduate interns through their first placement at a fictional ‘big bank’ in London – their future careers, dependant on their performance, competitive streak and ruthless ambition. However, far beyond the trading room drama, Industry also explores the pressures of work, sex, friendships and drugs as the adult world invades the once protected bubble of youth. Here the partying years of university are not yet complete, despite the pressure of work-life surrounding them. While at the same time, the realities of class-based oppression, racism, sexism and rumour dovetail with the need to earn big and play big or go home.
With an opening episode placed in the directorial hands of Lena Dunham (Girls), Industry launches with a mighty bang, as the bright lights of London dovetail with a much darker exploration of personal pressure. Meanwhile, the 80s inspired soundtrack reflects and acknowledges the ghosts that led to the 2008 crash and their continued presence. Here Industry provides us with a fascinating mix of post-crash politics and pre-crash greed – the city’s need for profit, risk and partying dominant in the lives of young trainees.
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Of course, Industry is pure fiction and drama, and it never attempts to be anything but this. But, that does not mean its intoxicating mix of Wall Street meets Skins does not have bolder messages at its heart. Look through the haze of drugs, booze and sex, and there are much bigger demons at play, from greed and corruption to the need to pursue money and status at any personal cost. So get ready for a wild, unrestrained and bumpy ride through the bright lights of the London financial powerhouse – your next binge watch is here, and it’s bold, abrasive and utterly compelling.
Cast: Myha’la Herrold, Marisa Abela, Conor MacNeill, David Jonsson, Harry Lawtey, Ken Leung, Freya Mavor, Priyanga Burford, Will Tudor, Sagar Radia, Nabhaan Rizwan
