Industry cast and creators talk "darker, funnier" season 4 and the secrets of the show's success - "Everyone who's joined is a fan"

At the top of their game and living the lives they set out to have as Pierpoint grads, Harper (Myha’la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) are drawn into a high stakes, globetrotting cat-and-mouse game when a splashy fintech darling bursts onto the London scene.

As Yasmin navigates her relationship with tech founder Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington) and Harper is pulled into the orbit of enigmatic executive Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella), their twisted friendship begins to warp and ignite under the pressure of money, power, and the desire to be on top.

Industry is created, written, and executive produced by Mickey Down & Konrad Kay. It’s a Bad Wolf Production for the BBC and HBO and is executive produced by Jane Tranter, Kate Crowther, and Ryan Rasmussen for Bad Wolf; Kathleen McCaffrey for Little Gems; and Rebecca Ferguson for BBC. Directors include Mickey Down & Konrad Kay, Michelle Savill, and Luke Snellin.

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Cast Interviews

Myha’la (Harper Stern)

Where do we find Harper at the start of Industry season four?

Harper is working at Otto Mostyn’s fund, and she has a separate account that she is meant to be doing short only work for, however there is a lot of oversight. Otto is in someone's ear at the company to always keep eyes on Harper and he is trying to take control of her fund. She's feeling squeezed out and managed in a way that she believes was not the expectation of the job. So, she is anxious and eager to find a way out of that.

How was it saying goodbye to Pierpoint as we know it?

Well, Harper said goodbye to Pierpoint as we know it in season three, so I've been in mourning for a long time! But it felt so bizarre to go back to set this season and for the Pierpoint set to not be there anymore.

Eric and Harper's relationship has evolved dramatically since season one and they're now in a place where they could be classed as equals. Can you talk a bit about that?

It's interesting to call them equals as I don't know that they would each ever see the other as an equal. Not in a nasty way, but one can't exist without the other and they therefore have to be at lengths from each other to survive. In this season, Harper and Eric both acknowledge that way of being is obviously not working and whilst they are individually powerful, the question of joining forces in a purely professional way with no ulterior motives comes up. If that venture were to go the right way, the return would be insane, and we know they both like insane returns!

What can you tell us about SternTao and Harper’s place within that?

Harper loves control. It’s all she's ever wanted, and she's given it. Obviously, Eric and Harper trying to work together is tough in the beginning and it all feels a little claustrophobic. But Harper sees it as an opportunity to build a team that she really trusts with no ulterior motives this time and that makes it possible for her to behave from both a place of care and responsibility as a leader.

Where is Yasmin and Harper's relationship this season?

Yasmin and Harper are at the opposite ends of a big line and one's success is the other's imminent failure. It feels like a race to the end for them both whilst they still somehow attempt to maintain a semblance of a friendship.

How's it been welcoming the new cast into such an established show that you've been part of from the beginning?

Every time new people join Industry it's really amazing. I think this has to do with Mickey and Konrad's vision. We've yet to have anyone join the show who doesn't find their step with us really quickly and I think that has to do with the fact that everyone who's joined is a fan of Industry, which is pretty cool and when you are all working on something that you care about, it makes everything really easy. As the Industry world expands, it only makes sense that new characters join, and it gives us all so much more to play with.

And finally, what do you think the secret is to Industry's success?

It's such good television, with great acting, exceptional, unmatched writing and producers and partners that are all really passionate about the show. We all want to make it. We all want to be there. We all want it to do well. A singular focused vision of making genuinely good TV. That makes it undeniable.

Marisa Abela (Yasmin Kara-Hanani)

Congratulations on your BAFTA for your portrayal of Yasmin in Season three of Industry. How did that recognition make you feel going into season four?

It made me feel incredibly proud. It was an unbelievable thing, and it felt like such a great achievement not only for me, obviously, but for the show as a whole and everyone that's worked on it.

Where do we find Yasmin at the start of season four?

Yasmin is married to Henry Muck and their relationship is spinning out of control. She is not only a wife, but essentially a caregiver to someone who resents her for needing her care. At the beginning of this season, it's like she doesn't really have much to lose if she were to walk away from Henry, other than an estate, a title and the money obviously but I mean emotionally. But Yasmin is pretty miserable, and could probably do with walking away if he doesn’t get his act together...

We see a different side to Yasmin this season as she forges a path ahead for herself in Henry's new company. How does it feel to be playing Yasmin in this era of her life?

It was really fun to get to play Yasmin being good at her job - whether we like her methods or not she's utilizing her skillset now professionally. I think that at least for a moment she is looked at as useful by those around her and that's probably the happiest that we ever get to see Yasmin, other than for a short period of time with either Harper or Robert in our earlier seasons. There’s a moment of glory around episodes three and four of this season where Yasmin proves herself to be very useful and there are specific characters that reflect back the version of herself that she's always wanted to see. One of those is Lord Norton and another is Whitney in. Whenever anyone says, “good job, Yasmin” you can see her tail wagging.

What do you think continues to drive Yasmin?

A life that she thinks is worthy of being proud of, but I don't think she knows exactly what that means. Like anyone, she ultimately has a goal of success and happiness. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't naturally gravitate towards a feeling of gratitude and calm so she's fighting an uphill battle really - I don't know that she knows exactly what that picture postcard looks like, but what she does know is that she's not comfortable being uncomfortable and she finds herself constantly uncomfortable, so she's focused and driven to make change in her circumstances.

How has it been welcoming new characters into such an established show that you've been in from the start?

It's been amazing to work with our new cast and the new scenarios they allow us to find our own characters in. I love to see how Yasmin interacts with the new characters and who puts her on the front or the back foot and how she reacts to that. The fact that the Yasmin, Harper, Eric relationship is still present to ground the show and what we know and love about Industry means that we can just be really playful with all the new characters that are allowing us to discover new sides to the people we think we understand by now.

What do you think is the secret to Industry's success?

The writing is the secret to the show’s success, and having those writers so involved in every step of turning the vision into a reality. Industry has such a clear voice and I think that's what resonates with people.

Ken Leung (Eric Tao)

Where do we find Eric at the start of season four?

Running from Bill’s shadow, across the pond, on a golf course, pretending that’s enough.

Dealing with a marriage breakdown, co-parenting and the end of Pierpoint as we know it - there is a lot of change going on in Eric’s life – how is he dealing with it?

Like a coward. Eric is hiding out in a conservative retirement enclave where the neighbours remind him of Newman. He finally has time for his daughters, and he couldn’t be further away...

Eric and Harper’s relationship has evolved a lot since season one - they are now in a place where they seem to be equals in the workplace - can you talk a bit about that?

On the surface they’re equals, but really it’s flipped. He needs her more than she needs him. It’s not called TaoStern.

So, what can you tell us about SternTao?

When you place two codependent alpha personalities in a fancy hotel room, stir in all your savings, and pour over dubious companies, you start to see where the cracks are.

How has it been welcoming new characters into this season?

Like passing a torch you didn’t know you’d get to pass, or meeting a child all grown up that you didn’t know you’d get to meet.

Max Minghella (Whitney Halberstram)

Without spoilers, what can you tell us about Whitney Halberstram?

Whitney enters the world of Industry brimming with ruthless ambition, a silver tongue and a mercurial past.

Whitney’s business, Tender, is the focal point for this season of Industry – what does Tender do?

Tender is central to the narrative of season four. Essentially, Whitney is keen to evolve the business from a standard payment app into an all in one “bank in your pocket”.

Were you a fan of Industry before joining the cast?

Absolutely. My closest friends are religious about Industry, so I felt a genuine pressure to deliver for them and not tarnish this season for the fans who are so passionate. There are a lot of new characters, so we all felt that responsibility, I think.

How did it feel for you personally, joining this season?

It’s been an honour to get to work with Mickey and Konrad, who are clearly generational talents. I was fully aware of how unique the opportunity was to collaborate with two filmmakers that are working at such a rarefied level. It’s an actor’s dream to get to dive into a character this complex and language this dense and melodic.

Miriam Petche (Sweetpea Golighty)

Where do we find Sweetpea at the start of Industry season four?

We pick up with Sweetpea where we left her at the end of season three, beginning a working relationship with Harper at Mostyn Asset Management. But this season she is in a much more unstable place professionally. Something from her past comes back into play and puts her in a far more compromising position than she is used to.

Having joined last in season three, how was it going into season four this time round?

Personally and professionally, it felt like moving up a gear. I felt more confident and more aware of the moving parts that go into making a season work, where I fit into it, and how best to apply myself. As an actor, I was pushed in ways any young person in this industry would be grateful for. Like Sweetpea, I had the space this season to be pushed, to flex, and to be challenged.

Sweetpea has a brilliant mind, but we learn that she is set back by her previous actions. How hard do you think that has been for her?

A huge part of who Sweetpea is stems from her background and her need for control, making the world work for her and shaping her relationships so they fit what she needs in any given moment. She has always been confident in her ability to bend situations to her advantage. So, when that agency is taken away from her, as it is this season, it shakes her far more than she would ever admit.

She has always been able to climb in the direction she needed in order to build the life she wanted. For the first time she is in a much more fragile position and her sense of self is being tested. So, the question becomes: who is she when she walks into work every day if she is no longer the one in control?

When Sweetpea sets herself a task and wants to see it through, what do you think drives her?

For Sweetpea, once something catches her attention, she has to follow it. When her curiosity is sparked, it becomes the one steady thing she can rely on. When everything else feels chaotic, her instinct and intelligence give her clarity.

This season, though, the drive comes from a much more emotional place. She is carrying a need to prove herself, a battle with perfectionism, and a great deal of anger. Anger at her circumstances, anger at herself, and anger at not being recognised for what she is capable of. All of that fuels the fire.

Before, her ambition had a fun, slightly cocky, youthful confidence to it. Now it has shifted. It is about reclaiming and challenging who she knows she is.

What do you think is the secret to Industry’s success?

I do not think there is a single secret. It comes from a combination of things. Mickey and Konrad are highly attuned to what is happening around them. They listen, they care, and they want the show to be sharp, challenging, and entertaining. Without that intention, the show would not work in the way it does.

The cast are a huge part of its success. Everyone wants to rise to what is on the page. The scripts have such depth that no character feels wasted and no storyline feels like filler.

The crew work unbelievably hard, the producers care deeply about the show and the people making it, and the audience are a massive part of it. They meet the show on its level. They are not talked down to, and that creates a really energising conversation around it. All of that together is what makes Industry what it is.

Sagar Radia (Rishi Ramdani)

With season three’s explosive ending for Rishi, had you spoken to Mickey and Konrad about where he was headed for season four?

Not in a great amount of detail. I think they wanted to get the conversation going in the writer’s room to see what came out. I imagine they had a general sense of the direction they wanted to take the character and once that was in locked in, we sat down to go through it all.

Where do we find Rishi at the start of season four?

We find him in a place where he’s still suffering with a large amount of guilt, deep shock, and potentially denial. The emotional fallout is something we explore as we go through the episodes. That being said, Rishi’s a grifter, a survivor. He’ll do what it takes to keep his head above water and keep moving forward.

Rishi went through something extremely traumatic at the end of last season – how has that affected him?

I think what happened to him in season three was a full psychological unravelling disguised as a finance story. From season one to three, Rishi was the embodiment of survivor energy – fast talking, cocky and outwardly bulletproof. He had the swagger of someone who survived by out-performing, out-bantering, and out-lasting. But by the end of season three that armour was stripped of him whether it was the debts, the death of his wife, or his lack of discipline with his losses at work. He became a man who was haunted by the consequence of his own momentum. The confidence that once defined him felt like a mask he couldn’t wear anymore.

Season three saw Yasmin at her rock bottom and now it’s safe to assume Rishi is at his. We see a very different side to him from previous years – how was that for you?

Emotionally demanding – it was great for me as an actor; I was playing someone seen as the comic relief initially, which then evolved to explore a more painful and human side to the character. We got to shift the tone of what Rishi’s previous rhythm was into something more real rather than sensational and that was gratifying for me.

What do you think is the secret to Industry’s success?

When you first enter the world of Industry, there’s an authentic feel to it knowing it’s written by people who’ve actually lived in that world. By putting a microscope on this world, it actually exposes and reaches universal truths that we can all relate to such as ambition, or class. I think the hypermodern dialogue is sharp and edgy, the complexity of all our characters keeps people guessing, and the way they explore representation feels baked in rather than tokenistic.

Toheeb Jimoh (Kwabena Bannerman)

You are new to Industry; how would you describe Kwabena?

Kwabena is a trader, but he presents as a lot more relaxed than Harper or some of the other chaotic players we’ve met in previous seasons. From a private school background, he’s got the kind of innate confidence that only lifelong financial stability can give you. Tension brews between Kwabena and Harper as this conflicting approach to life rears its head.

Were you a fan of Industry before joining?

Of course. Season Three was such a standout but this season is genuinely unpredictable. Not only are the stakes higher but the pressure builds and builds as both the characters and the audience confront how they really feel about people they thought they knew.

How did it feel joining such a successful show?

Luckily, I didn’t have the opportunity to be nervous! My very first day on set was a sex scene which I’ve been joking is the most ‘Industry’ welcome to the show I could have received. The OG cast know these characters so intimately, it made stepping into this enigmatic world, and becoming part of the team, feel natural from day one.

Amy James-Kelly (Jennifer Bevan)

What can you tell us about Jennifer Bevan?

We meet MP Jennifer Bevan as her and Henry go head-to-head in a local election. Yasmin and Jenni become useful to one another, so this storyline is a dance between these two women as they try to get the best possible outcome for themselves in a world and industry that is not designed for them to have any place at the table. Jenni is young, keen and has that naive determination to drive change that we'll see be constantly tested throughout.

Were you a fan of Industry before joining season four?

I'm famously slow at starting shows because there's so much in the queue - Industry had already gained international acclaim before I FINALLY caught on to how addictive it is and then that was it, I devoured it all. I think my hook with Industry was that you don't have to understand a single technical term from the high finance world to feel the tension and the stakes because it's ultimately about the very broken and vulnerable - and sometimes twisted - people inside the suits. You watch them make terrible choices and you still somehow want them to be okay... Even if on some occasions you absolutely pray for them to get a taste of their own medicine...

How did it feel joining Industry?

With something like Industry, you're in danger of feeling like a very little fish in a very big pond, but the warmth that the entire cast and crew just... RADIATED... made it all so so wonderful.

Kiernan Shipka (Hayley Clay)

What can you tell us about Hayley Clay without giving any spoilers away?

Hayley is a really fun new addition to the world of Industry. She's tenacious, feisty, mysterious, and down to play ball.

Were you a fan of Industry before joining season four?

Once the opportunity came up to be a part of the Industry, I dived right in. I watched a few episodes before auditioning and was completely hooked. Once I got the part, I binged the whole thing and became an overnight fan, so arriving on set two weeks after spending every night with these characters on my couch was absolutely wild.

How did it feel joining Industry after the success of the last three seasons?

To join something that's already made such a splash is really exciting. It was also great because Konrad and Mickey are such ambitious show runners. They're always aiming to build the show into a newer, even more elevated version of itself, so even though I was stepping into season four, the energy was so alive and so fresh.

Jack Farthing (Edward Smith)

You are new to Industry this season – what can you tell us about your role without giving away spoilers?

I play an old friend of Henry Muck’s, who shows up out of the blue on Henry’s birthday to surprise him.

Were you a fan of Industry before joining?

I was absolutely a fan of the show, particularly season three. I love how far it’s grown and how big it swings. This season pushes that even further.

How did it feel joining such a successful show?

It’s a huge pleasure to be part of it – there are extraordinarily talented and hardworking people in every corner.

Interview with Creators, Writers and Executive Producers Mickey Down and Konrad Kay

Congratulations on Industry’s awards success. How was that for you both to see Marisa awarded such high industry recognition for her role?

It was very gratifying to get the BAFTA recognition alongside the RTS award for Best Drama. Marisa is a megawatt star, and we’ve known that since we first met her, so for her to have her moment and to beat out a very competitive field in the category felt like beautiful validation of her excellence over three seasons.

When you were writing season three and the end of Pierpoint, did you already know where you wanted to take the show for season four?

We had a very strong central idea for season four just as we were wrapping season three. It was bittersweet to close the chapter on Pierpoint. It was a fantastic and experiential precinct and gave the show it’s velocity and immersive feel, but we felt we could take that energy out into the world and broaden the canvas to deepen what the show was saying about capitalism and the feedback loop of finance, politics and media, while also introducing us to a broader array of characters. We wanted the show to centre on a global story with more stakeholders.

Now that Pierpoint is no more, what else can you tell us about season four?

Broader scope. Higher stakes. Deeper, more intricate storytelling. More entertainment. Darker. Funnier.

The core themes of this season are who owns the truth, the intersection of identity, storytelling and entrepreneurship, and the interdependence of fascism and capitalism.

Where do we find Yasmin and Harper’s relationship at the start of this season?

They have a practical tolerance of each other, which develops in an unexpected way under new pressures from new forces...

What can you tell us about the new cast we’re welcoming to this season of Industry?

There are so many great new faces. We had over a hundred speaking parts this season since we expanded the Industry universe. We're particularly excited for everyone to see Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella) - the CFO of Tender, the payment processor - a large, charismatic new planet for all of our known faces to orbit.

You’ve both stepped back into directing this season. What do you enjoy most about that aspect of the job, and how do you approach it together?

Being able to direct your own writing means you can close the gap between your mind’s eye and the final version of the episode. With all of our tandem work we don’t really litigate who does what, it just happens naturally.

What do you think is the secret to Industry’s success?

People like watching people work - but also the calibre of the acting, its capacity to surprise people season upon season and the contradictory humanity embodied by the characters. It’s an act of creation without the precedent of IP to follow or rules prescribed by the archetypes of genre storytelling. The show can evolve and re-spawn according to what we feel creatively inclined to do and we’re very supported in that evolution.

People don’t want slop - even if they are increasingly fed it. Audiences are very smart and they want rigour and to feel like creators are fully engaged in what they’re making and not wasting a viewer’s time. Part of that is not drawing out an hour’s worth of story into eight hours. We’d almost always side on doing eight hours of story in an hour if it was a binary choice. Ultimately, we entertain ourselves hugely as we write it and we think that sense of fun, provocation and humour translates to screen.

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