Ro's Recz

Industry is a TV show that premiered on HBO Max on November 9th, 2020. So far, there has only been one episode released, and I think there is a new episode released every Monday. I was surprised to see that the show hasn’t gotten that strong of ratings, with a 5.8/10 on IMDb; however, it does have an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Industry is about 5 recent graduates who are competing for a position at a top investment bank in London (the show is fictional though, but based on the actual investment banking industry). I found it very interesting because I have heard a lot about the investment banking industry and how it operates; although the show is definitely exaggerated and dramatized for TV, the show was produced by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, who were actually former investment bankers. In a recent interview with GQ, Key said they wanted people watching the show to say “Yeah, they sensationalized it a little bit, but 80% of the dialogue coming out of these people’s mouth sounds a lot like the stuff I would have experienced.”

Industry is definitely targeted towards a specific audience, as it is darker and a little bit technical heavy. While you do not need to work in investment banking to enjoy the show, I do think Industry is targeted towards people who are at least familiar with business and the investment banking world. If you have never heard about investment banking before, you might get lost in some of the terminology and storylines.

I enjoyed watching the first episode, and I do plan on watching the episodes as they continue to come out. Also, after watching the show, I can say I definitely made the right choice not going into investment banking, even if there is a ton of money to be made going into it. The lifestyle and culture is not for everyone!