Industry premieres on BBC Two and iPlayer on 10th November.
If you like your TV drama bold, daring and addictively different, then the BBC, HBO, and Bad Wolf show Industry may be the tonic you need after the seemingly endless COVID-19 lockdown. This new, energetic, risqué and addictive slice of TV feels like The Apprentice on steroids as we enter central London’s post ‘financial crash’ banking world. Industry follows a group of graduate interns through their first placement at a fictional ‘big bank,’ here, their future careers depend on their performance as they are encouraged to compete for attention. But there is also life beyond the trading room floor, as our young hopefuls deal with the pressures of work, sex, friendships and drugs in an almost Skin’s-like story of the fiery end of adolescence. Industry isn’t afraid to tackle some big themes, from class-based discrimination to racism, sexism and self-harm, in a show that unpicks the “go big or go home” mentality of the financial sector.
The opening episode sits in the directorial hands of Lena Dunham (Girls), and Dunham ensures the show launches with a mighty bang as the bright lights of London’s financial district merge with a much darker exploration of the gloss and glitz of the new skyscrapers. Here the 80s-inspired soundtrack reflects a bygone era that created the economic system that crashed in 2008 as Industry unpicks the post-crash politics and greed of a city rooted in unchangeable trading behaviours.
While Industry is fiction, that doesn’t mean this intoxicating mix of Wall Street and Skins does not reflect some uncomfortable home truths through a haze of drugs, booze and sex. From greed and corruption to the need for wealth and status at any cost, this show is willing to shine a light on the grubbiest of dark corners. So get ready for a wild, unrestrained and bumpy ride through the bright lights of London’s financial powerhouse – your next binge-watch is here, and it’s bold, abrasive and utterly compelling.
DOUBLE BILL
FREE FALL (SHORT FILM)
Karl Liebknecht once said, “For capitalism, war and peace are business and nothing but business.” Liebknecht was correct. We live in a society where money is made from everything and anything, even human misery, tragedy and disaster. Adapted from the best-selling novel Swimming with Sharks by Joris Luyendijk and inspired by actual events, Emmanual Tenenbaum’s Free Fall explores an uncomfortable truth at the heart of our capitalist system; profit, greed, and wealth come before people or ethics. When investment banker Tom arrives at work in London on the morning of 9/11, he has no idea of the tragedy about to unfold across the Atlantic. But as horrific reports of a plane hitting the World Trade Centre come in, Tom’s mind turns to the money that could be made if the event is not an accident as initially reported but an act of terror. With little thought for those trapped in the burning buildings, Tom encourages his boss to bet against the market. However, as the money flows in, Tom is about to receive a stark reminder of the human horror underway. Tenenbaum’s short film is an uncomfortable and powerful reminder of the power of greed and the absence of ethics.
