'Industry' Season 4 review: HBO's criminally underrated drama thrills in most ambitious season yet
In its Season 3 finale, Industry blew itself up entirely.
The episode saw the shutdown of Pierpoint & Co.'s trading floor, eliminating the offices that had been the show's home since Season 1. It was the boldest move yet from a series that's never met a stake it couldn't raise.
So how do Industry co-creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay follow up that explosive Season 3 move? With a jaw-dropping Season 4 that's just as ambitious as the young traders at Industry's core.
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What does Industry look like without Pierpoint?
Letting go of Pierpoint gives Industry the freedom to truly scatter its characters to the winds. Harper Stern (Myha'la) remains firmly rooted in the world of finance, running her own fund with backing from billionaire Otto Mostyn (Roger Barclay). Most of her Industry compatriots, however, have left the financial world behind. Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela), now married to Henry Muck (Kit Harington), has embraced aristocratic life. Eric Tao (Ken Leung) spends his time on the golf links in cushy quasi-retirement following his firing from Pierpoint. Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey) is gone from the show entirely after his Season 3 departure to California.
Yet despite their seeming successes, Harper, Yasmin, and Eric are all itching for something new. Harper chafes against Otto and her clients' demands, Yasmin feels stifled in her marriage to an increasingly aimless Henry, and Eric is rudderless without work to attack.
Enter Tender, a buzzy payment processor with plans to become a "bank killer." This promising fintech company catches Harper and Yasmin's eyes in very different ways. For Yasmin, it's a path back into power, for both her and Henry. For Harper, it's her next target.
As Harper and Yasmin play different sides of Tender's rise, they ally themselves with new members of Industry's sprawling ensemble: Yasmin with Tender CFO Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella), his personal assistant Haley Clay (Kiernan Shipka), and Labour Minister Jennifer Bevan (Amy James-Kelly); Harper with FinDigest journalist Jim Dycker (Charlie Heaton) and her network of traders, including Sweetpea Golightly (Miriam Petche), Rishi Ramdani (Sagar Radia), and newcomer Kwabena Bannerman (Toheeb Jimoh). With these battle lines drawn, Harper and Yasmin hurtle towards a showdown that takes Industry to new heights.
Industry Season 4 is the show at its most ambitious.
As Industry's young cast of characters has grown and made larger career leaps, the show has grown with them. Initially a close look at the competitive inner workings of Pierpoint, Industry has since spiraled into a wider examination of global politics and economics. That's especially true of Season 4, which features more trips abroad and more involvement from the UK government. A particularly prescient storyline revolves around the UK's age-verification laws, continuing Industry's trend of grounding itself in current events.
Industry's evolution is not just one of scale, but of form, too. Season 3 incorporated new stylistic elements, breaking up its trading floor chaos with extended flashbacks, drug trips, and lavish riffs on Uncut Gems. Season 4 keeps the momentum going, from a spectacular costume ball crash out at Henry and Yasmin's manor to a globe-trotting conspiracy that allows Sweetpea to unleash her inner Erin Brockovich. It's exhilarating to see these big swings in action, as Industry taps into Harper's "high risk, high reward" mindset with great success. Not every risk pays off, with some late-season developments verging on the ridiculous, but it's still fun to watch a show decide to go big or go home.
Spectacle alone doesn't make a great show, though, and thankfully, Industry doesn't fall into that trap. The series remains a deep dive into the wants and ambitions that fuel us, even to our detriment. Often, these characters will destroy everything, even themselves, if it means they can get what they want. Their desires warp their sense of self, until all that's left are stomach-churning downfalls and choices that will leave your head spinning. These nightmarish cycles turn the (few) moments when Industry's characters come to their senses into stark miracles.
But whether Industry's ensemble is hurtling towards destruction or realization, one thing remains the same across the board: Even without Pierpoint, Industry is undeniably intoxicating.
Industry Season 4 premieres Jan. 11 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
