Industry Season 3 - Post Season Awards
- Luke Loew
- Mar 14
- 18 min read
Original written-date: 10/2/24
As the credits rolled Sunday night following the Season 3 finale of Industry -- a finale that cemented this series in the conversation for best modern television show with the likes of Succession, Better Call Saul, and The Bear -- I had this shocking feeling of disappointment. Not because the finale wasn't satisfying, not because I was sad the season concluded, but because of how many people still don't know about this show. I don't remember seeing Industry in the #1 spot of "Top 10 Series Today" section on Max one single time during the 8-week run of its 3rd season. Shows like The Penguin (which has been solid through 2 eps), The Other Way, Last Week Tonight w/ John Oliver, and My Brilliant Friend ranked ahead of it at varying times. No disrespect to those shows and their creators, but Industry should not be competing for views with any of these programs. It's comparing a Ferrari to a lot full of Volvos. Mickey Down and Konrad Kay are visionaries with something to say about the world of banking and power -- which if you're unfamiliar like I was when I began the journey, is just as cutthroat as life at Waystar Royco or in Westeros. I loved seasons 1 and 2 of Industry, but to say they kicked it up a notch in S3 would be an understatement. The confidence Mickey and Konrad have now is so apparent, and they're able to take swings now that they weren't able to in their opening seasons. After a quick breakdown of the cast, I'll list out some of the major plots of season 3 before handing out our awards for this groundbreaking season of television.
Cast:
Harper - Myha'la
Yasmin - Marisa Abela
Robert - Harry Lawtey
Eric - Ken Leung
Rishi - Sagar Radia
Henry Muck - Kit Harrington
Petra - Sarah Goldberg
Sweetpea - Miriam Petche
Bill Adler - Trevor White
Kenny - Conor MacNeill
Anraj - Irfan Shamji
Otto - Roger Barclay
Key Plots:
Lumi IPO - Henry Muck is the CEO of Lumi, an "ESG company" (Environmental, Social, Governance) that Pierpoint has taken on for the launch of their IPO. Robert is working directly with Henry and Lumi, while Yasmin, Eric and company work it on the other end. It becomes clear the company is not as much of a sure bet as they had hoped, with Muck's eccentric personality and the overvaluation of Lumi itself.
Eric's Promotion - Eric is made partner by colleague Bill Adler, propelling him to the big kids table in a sense and leading to more unpredictable behavior and him building a closer relationship with Yasmin (following the firing of Kenny)
Rob's Trauma - Rough season for our King Robert. We see him struggling to keep Henry from tanking Lumi, his lover/mother figure Nicole Craig quite literally dies at his side, is the Pierpoint sacrificial lamb in the court hearings, and one more BIG one that I'll touch on later (At least he seems happy in the finale outro)
Harper's Rise - After being kicked down to the bottom of the totem pole in Season 2's finale, we see Harper first as an assistant on Anna Gearing's desk, the FutureDawn CEO. When she meets Petra, the portfolio manager, the two have similar investment thoughts and they eventually break off to start their own firm. Harper seeks out vengeance on Pierpoint and Eric, regardless of who it may hurt in the end.
Yasmin's Father - Charles Hanani is a piece of shit. Throughout the season we cut to flashbacks to Charles' yacht where Yasmin caught him in the act with a yacht worker. His abusive and predatory nature is revealed, and we see the effects that has on Yasmin. We see that his death was him jumping into the ocean and Yas refusing to call out for help.
Yasmin, Rob, and Henry Love Triangle - You could argue the biggest plot/theme of the entire season are the toxic men of Yasmin's life and how they affect her. Eric -- Boss with marital issues sexualizing her, Henry -- man-child bipolar sociopath, Charles -- predatory abusive rapist (and Father!). The one man in her life that can make her truly happy is Rob. But a life with Rob is not the life she chose, or better yet, is not the life she thinks she deserves. At the end of the day, she'll always see herself as above Rob, too good for him and too good for a life outside the 1%.
The Shady Bunch, Otto and his goons - Otto is revealed as an uber-influential financier who, along with his cohorts, are the main backers of Harper and Petra's hedge fund. He has an affiliation with Henry Muck and his powerful uncle Lord Norton, giving him access to very prestigious circles. He's a powerful man who's able to influence not just companies, but markets, and is no stranger to a threat as Harper learns.
Rishi Ratner, Surprise of the Series - One of the benefits of creating a near-perfect 2 seasons of TV, is you get a lot more rope to try new things. One of these swings was a Rishi-based episode a la Uncut Gems. They take a predominantly-background-character Rishi, the floor trader who all the sales reps go through for trades, and taking us through the chaos of what his life really is. Things like: ripping off your coworkers for thousands of dollars to fund you addictions, self-destructive gambling and substance abuse, and the occasional dripping-blood-on-your-newborn-baby-from-doing-too-much-coke, nothing too crazy.
And with that, lets hop in to some awards. This is where I merge my love of movies/TV with my love of sports (NBA in this case) to highlight my favorite things from this momentous season.
Most Improved Player:
Nominees:
Rishi Ramdani
Eric Tao
Harper Stern
I've got plenty more Rishi-glazing upcoming, so giving him the 3rd place finish in this category. There's a case to be made for Eric when comparing his standing at the conclusion of S2 and the onset of S3. However, where he ends up by season's end was not the arc of an MIP winner, and from a purely character-evaluated standpoint the power he gains directly correlates with his downfall. Harper, on the other-hand, is almost the inverse arc of Eric in this season. S2 she is at rock-bottom, S3 begins with her in her own personal hell keeping her boss's diary and picking up coffees. But as it progresses and she cozies up with Petra, her story begins gaining speed. Calling out Pierpoint in Switzerland, her standoffs with Eric, her plans being realized with Petra as they position themselves for their short. She continuously gains power (and lots of money surely) and by the end of it, her idea was right and it led to profit. But she wasn't born to be the ethical trader who has monthly team dinners with her girl boss queen co-workers. She needs more risk, more danger and temptation to get that high she once felt. This leads to her teaming up with Otto (again) and her plot going into S4 is top priority for all viewers. The writers did a great job backing themselves into a corner with Harper in S2, and finding creative ways to get her out of it.
Rookie of the Year:
Nominees:
Henry Muck
Otto Mostyn
Petra Koenig
For me, the most negative aspect of S3 of Industry is Kit Harrington's character Henry. I think the actor does a fine job portraying him, I just find the character too erratic and uninteresting. To the writer's credit, I'm sure it's very intentional so viewers have real reactions to the events of the finale, but to me Henry feels inconsistently-written. That being said, with not a huge pool of brand-new characters (mostly because I'm stealing 2 for my next award) and as the most A-list actor to join the cast, he's deserving of a nom. Otto Mostyn is a fascinating and vile character that I can't help but love seeing, despite the terrible things his presence ushers in. Very excited to see the direction of both Henry and Otto in S4. But my ROY pick goes to Petra Koenig in honor of LeviathanAlpha's Girl Power dismantling of Rishi in the finale. (Kidding, of course, as an avid women-respecter) ((Please read that last line Sweetpea)). Sarah Goldberg, of Barry Fame (the best show that you'll never hear a word about) portrays Petra, and she's great for lots of reasons, primarily because she unlocks Harper as a character. She also challenges Harper similarly to how Eric did in S2. Petra is ruthless and exploitative -- evidence by her getting Harper to set-up a meeting with Yasmin -- but not unethical. She has morals and a code that she won't defy, the key difference between her and Harper.
6th Man of the Year:
Nominees:
Sweetpea Golightly
Kenny Kilblane
Anraj Chabra
Let's just get something straight right from the jump: the actor that plays Kenny has the greatest voice of all time. Was more sad when he got fired about losing his voice than the character. All-time voice guy. His run this season was short-lived but we will always appreciate our short king (good to see him pop in again with Daria late season). Sweetpea is the obvious choice here, the most influential and prominent of the supporting characters hanging around our stars at Pierpoint. The character is appealing and modern -- social media influencer showing her fans the business world she works in (and showing her OnlyFans a hole lot more, pun intended) -- and she has lots of great moments throughout. But damnit if I can't quit you Anraj. The trading Prince that was promised. He does such a great job portraying the anxiety of the workplace on a much larger scale. It's very relatable seeing someone try to report problems to their boss (not sure Rishi actually qualifies as his boss, but superior if nothing else) and get absolutely no assurance in return. He's a character that I'm happy to see, but makes me feel his emotions during the difficult scenes, and he was amazing in the Uncut Rishi episode. (He and Eric's pure terror when Rishi goes into buy mode while Anraj explains how deep Rishi has gotten them into this position; fantastic).
Comeback Player of the Year:
Nominees:
Daria Greenock
Kenny Kilbane
Charles Hanani
This award was included simply to make a comeback joke at the expense of Charles Hanani a la Chris Pratt in that Parks and Rec blooper, but it is bad taste to mock the dead. So instead this award goes to Daria because I simply forgot the existence of her character and then BANG she was back (and, hot). Did I mention how great Kenny's voice is?
Funniest Moment of the Season:
Robert v Henry at Lumi HQ
I didn't even bother doing nominees for this one because, outside of compiling a big list of Rishi's best one-liners, nothing's going to come close. I loved the tension between these two all season, but seeing the early culmination of them fighting (in a fucking ball pit, mind you) was the hardest I laughed all season. The actors did such a good job being completely genuine and serious in a setting that was so off-the-wall, I really enjoyed it.
Most Shocking Moment of the Season:
Nominees:
Nicole's Death
Final scene of Rishi, his wife, and Vinay
Harper v Pierpoint in Switzerland
This was a tough one because the final scene with Rishi, Vinay, and his wife was utterly shocking. It felt like the culmination of all his sins built up to one moment, and though I didn't see it coming, it made sense for his arc to pile on the trauma at the end. Similarly with Harper in Switzerland, I didn't expect it to happen nor did I expect the events to follow, but it made sense for the story. (The writers on this show are great writing themselves into a corner and finding their way out. Write Harper out of Pierpoint, takes an assistant job elsewhere, cozies up with the right person, BANG she's back in the thick of things.) But the reason neither of these take the cake is because when you really think about where the show is going on an episode to episode basis, you could reasonably come up with both of these outcomes. I can't think of a world where someone could predict Rob waking up outside next to Nicole and her dying of hypothermia in the rain. A true sicko came up with that in the writer's room, and damnit does it work. It was a legit jump scare, and the way it affects Rob throughout the season and, ultimately, leads him to where he ends up by season's end. Pound for pound the best, "Holy fucking shit" moment of S3.
Greatest Scene of the Season:
Nominees:
Harper v Yasmin in the house
Eric v Harper at Leviathan Alpha
Rishi's win on Sterling
I could've gone Best-Picture at the Oscars mode on this and picked 10+ nominees for this award because the season was that good. But after including some potential noms in other categories, this is my final three. Watching a drunk, compulsive Eric storm into the Leviathan Alpha office to tell Harper off was heart-racing. The actors did a great job portraying the betrayal Eric feels, the smugness of Harper, their past emotions toward each other boiling over into their current feelings. "Everything you think about yourself, I want you to know from the bottom of my heart, is true." Intense stuff guys. Speaking of, after an episode chock full of betrayal and life-changing decisions culminates in the kitchen with Harper and Yas -- Yas furious that Harper exploited their relationship to take down Pierpoint, Harper knowing she has to stand on her decision. Two "friends" (relationships are like autism in this show, everything is on a spectrum) finally clearing the air and letting out their pent-up emotions toward each other. It's especially heart-breaking knowing how much shit those two have gone through together, often being the only ones who can bring the other out of their dark place. This scene also felt like it was 45 minutes -- they both said soooooo much and it just kept going and going until the slap fight broke out. Both of these moments were incredible, but nothing brought the fucking juice like Uncut Rishi (not a penis joke, reference to Uncut Gems) going God-mode on the trading floor.
Needed a fresh line to organize some thoughts. This show is very strange compared to other media I gravitate toward because I have alarmingly little knowledge about the world of banking/trading. 99% of the things people say go straight over my head. Rishi is the prime example of this because he talks like an auctioneer from Liverpool, is constantly on full tilt, and is always the center of the action on the trading floor. But this lack of knowledge has almost ignited my interest in the show. It's the urge to know the unknown perhaps. But the early seasons especially let things digest on the trading floor, drawing me closer in. In S3, they veer off a little further to explore arcs and the world they've built, but I've always been most locked in when they're in the offices of Pierpoint. And in the first two seasons, I -- like many others I'm sure -- found myself wanting more Rishi. His interactions with Harper/Yas/Robert/Eric were always so fascinating and funny, I just wanted to see more of his world. And boy did we fucking get it in Uncut Rishi.
I've talked about the episode a lot already, but I'll set the scene and break it down. The lead-up to this scene was getting a BTS look at a day in the life of Rishi. From over-intrusive neighbors to cocaine-fueled baby rocking, Rishi's life outside the office is as toxic as it is in the office. At Pierpoint, we learn Rishi's put himself in a very risky position in which he's long on Sterling -- meaning he owned a lot of British pounds and was betting on its value vs the American Dollar. The position looked to be tanking at first despite an announcement that gave him hope, and pairing his losing position with Vinay looking to collect debts, Rishi went around to his coworkers collecting for a "horse-betting collective" which further fuels his addiction. After lying to Vinay that he didn't have the money, he goes to the Casino (naturally). He goes on a massive heater multiplying his winnings 10x over, so like any rational man, he takes that to the stirp club and orders bottles. After getting the shit kicked out of him, he goes back to the casino, loses everything he had won, and walks outside to see it's the next morning. He slumps into work sporting a black eye and plenty of blood. Mondays am I right?
Walking into Pierpoint the next morning, his Sterling position is even further down the shitter. They have an HR meeting where Rishi's actions are laid out in front of him (Our sweet Prince Anraj, "sometimes, I'm scared to come in to work, because of what you might say to me" you are a king don't let anyone tell you different). Shortly after Rishi gets a call from Harper, who all of a sudden is interested in buying some of his Sterling position. This sets off Rishi's radar and he hangs up and announces to the entire trading floor that he is a buyer of Sterling. The problem with that is Eric knows he's over his risk limit (by over fucking double, might I add) and Rishi told Eric he had them out of this hole. Now Eric is seeing him try to dig himself deeper into a position that, by all the information that they have, is in the toilet. Eric is screaming at him to stop as he buys more from Yasmin, Anraj announces that Rishi overtook Anraj's book and is even more siloed in Sterling. "MINE MINE MINE". Eric calls security, Rishi keeps getting deeper, then all of a sudden, the U.K. government releases a report of a rollback of top-rate tax cuts and the position turns to green. Rishi finds a buyer for his full position, and the desk winds up with an $18-million profit all in all. "You're not even a good trader, you're just lucky," "Yeah, tell me, what's the difference?"
This scene, and really the whole episode, is everything I love about Industry. The chaos, the self-destruction, the rollercoaster of emotions, the high-level industry dialogue, the back-and-forth between characters. It really is a perfect scene to me.
Most Valuable Player:
Nominees:
Harper Stern
Robert Spearing
Yasmin Kara-Hanani
Eric Tao
Rishi Ramdani
I've done more than enough Rishi glazing throughout this blog, so I'm going to give it a rest in the MVP race. But it would be an extraordinarily tight vote between him and my winner if he garnered full consideration. Robert is my guy, favorite character since season 1, and I thought the character had a great arc in S3. He went through legit trauma with Nicole, was made to hate his job through working with Lumi and being Pierpoint's scapegoat in the court hearings. Yasmin and him finally made the connection and were seemingly on their way to falling in love, just for it to fall apart at the end. But through it all, Robert kept looking for his next opportunity. He's refreshing because he's not doing what he does for others, or for how others may perceive his choices, he's making decisions for himself. That was the biggest difference between him and Yasmin to me. Speaking of Yas, she went through a lot this season. I'm sure she'd top a lot of lists because she was probably the most involved character from her involvement in the Lumi IPO, getting close to Henry, being a pawn in Harper's plans, side quests with Robert, the development of her and Eric's working relationship, and the seemingly endless drama with her father complete with flashbacks. There was a lot on Yasmin's plate this season, and the actress does exceptional work, but there's too much going on and her character is too bad of a decision-maker for me to get fully on board.
The top 2 candidates here for me are Harper and Eric - which is fitting as its former mentor versus protégé. And the scenes that catapult these two are their scenes together. I find these equally entertaining and exciting as they are heart-breaking. These two had a good relationship in the first two seasons, and I honestly loved seeing them work together with Eric kind of "taking her under his wing." But the events of S2 obviously end that relationship, and Harper has to find her footing after Eric's betrayal. One of my favorite scenes of the season was in Switzerland when Eric meets with Petra and Harper and he won't even look at her (until she taunts him to, of course. Ericcccccc, look at me :-) Harper be crazy). Their scenes together were very limited, but god damnit were they an electric factory every time they got together. Harper also had a really interesting arc because at the end of S2, she hit rock-bottom. Insider trading, could've been arrested, should be a wake-up call. But instead it almost just makes her want to do it more, makes her more open to being shady and doing illegal things to get ahead. (nothing more evident than her and Otto's discussions in the finale). But I don't really see this as her MVP season. I think she was a more interesting character last season, and that S3 is almost a transition into her final boss stage. I think the show will go as Harper goes next season, so I'm saving her for S4.
But more so than wanting to save her shot for next season, Eric Tao fucking took the award this season. He's always been extremely interesting to me: Asian-American guy working high up in a British bank, seems to be the only person in the company with a functional family life, is unbelievably smart and reliable on the job. And the season begins with his promotion, so the writing was on the wall for a big Eric season. The writers take us deeper into Eric's psyche, and they show us his family life has been leveled in part due to the promotion. He's a troubled man who needs affirmation from those around him, he struggles to believe in himself at times and looks for others to confirm. Throughout the season we see him often showing up to work still drunk from the night before, drinking on the job, using drugs -- all things we had not seen from his character to this point. We see his erratic nature at times, and we see him panic on multiple occasions showing chinks in his armor. Little by little, the writer's break down the perception of Eric being perfect at this job, which is kind of what they portray to viewers through how Harper, Robert, Yas, and others view him. There's a plethora of elite scenes involving Eric: every scene with Harper, the lunch with Yas (and subsequent bathroom trip), the conference in Switzerland, the speech to Pierpoint in the finale, betraying Bill Adler, I AM A MAN - AND I AM RELENTLESS, his conversations with Rishi in his bottle episode were all so fucking good. Too many to count to truly. But the real reason I think he's the MVP of the season is because I don’t think this show works with any other actor playing this character, and it sure as shit wouldn't work without his character entirely. He's the straw that stirs the drink. The decisions he makes have the biggest effect on the plot, his scenes are the most exciting and impactful, and he makes Industry the chaotic, amazing show it is.
And there you have it! The Industry Season 3 awards are complete. This was the best season of the show so far and easily a top 2 or 3 show of 2024. If you haven't watched it yet, I don’t know why you just read this blog, but go watch it. Here's to hoping for a shorter hiatus before Season 4 returns.
Bonus
As an added bonus, I've compiled a little "Dreamcast" of actors I'd love to see join season 4. These aren't realistic at all, but I also never thought Kit Harrington of all people would join the cast, so I’m not ruling anything out. So I have a little list of actors and what their characters could be:
Kieran Culkin -- I want Roman Roy as the CEO of Robert's new company in the U.S. I feel like it has to be an eccentric, atypical personality running this company, something that's a totally different world than Pierpoint. Kieran Culkin is one of the best actors in the world right now and probably isn't itching to join another TV show, but he'd be fucking awesome in this world.
Glenn Powell -- Similar vein to the above, but turning it on its head. Make Glenn a southern boy with the mind of a computer who struck up a start-up and headed West. This would be such a massive 180 from all the characters the show has given us, especially from the Americans that are in the show (Harper, Eric, Petra, Jesse Bloom).
Margaret Qualley -- this is the part of the list where I fancast girlfriends for Robert that would make Yasmin jealous. Qualley is very popular right now (The Substance movie gaining tons of momentum) she'd be fun in a bimbo-girlfriend type of role that makes Yas feel really threatened
Mikey Madison -- speaking of hot young actors, Madison is starring in Anora which is getting rave reviews. She can play the harmless-presenting girlfriend who’s actually way stronger and smarter than you think. And think she'd play it with the confidence to go toe-to-toe with Yasmin
Keke Palmer -- left field choice but think Industry is the type of show that would take a swing like that. I'd prefer if she also worked at Robert's new company and was more of a work flirt playing into the sterotype that American women love British men.
Sabrina Carpenter -- obviously this one is fucking stupid but imagine Yas finding out Robert is dating an American pop star. She'd fucking combust.
Tom Holland -- similar to Kit Harrington's character compared to his other works, I've been dying to see Tom Holland with a more morally ambiguous character (I refuse to watch The Crowded Room because all I've heard about it is Holland hated his life working on it and it's a bad show, but I know that's the type of different role I want to see from him). Maybe he's a distant nephew of Otto Mostyn and gets lined up with Harper's plot next season.
Jacob Elordi -- I'm not someone who thinks Elordi is an other-worldly acting talent, but he's better than the hate he receives. And he's got every accent in the bag to be in any storyline. I think he'd be interesting as Henry's cousin/family member who Yasmin is attracted to.
Harris Dickinson -- one of my favorite Brits in Hollywood, I could see him being great in either of the roles I laid out for Holland and Elordi above.
Robert Pattinson -- can play American or British no problem, has the stature and reputation to play a CEO or big-wig in the finance world, has as wide a range as any actor going now so no shortage of possibilities. I'd really like him as a competing firm to Harper's where he is always one step-ahead and/or he's piecing together Harper's illegal actions.
Cillian Murphy -- has one of the most iconic TV characters of all time to his credits alongside the greats like Gandolfini, Cranston, etc. What if he turned out to be CEO of the company Daria and Kenny are at now? That company comes into the fold even more so now with the demise of Pierpoint, maybe Eric even lands there post-firing. Or he's an opposition force to Otto and Harper.
Andrew Garfield -- has done TV, is almost always playing the good guy/knight in shining armor, is British. I want to see him play a cruel, vindictive character opposite of the main cast. How would it be done? Not a clue. But would be SICK.
Miles Teller -- same vein as Glen Powell, a young American CEO who's not the status quo
Peter Sarsgaard -- I want him to play a detective/law enforcement agent trying to expose Harper's illegal trading. All-time weasel actor
Benedict Cumberbatch -- either in the same role as Sarsgaard or as Murphy's -- he'd be a great brit officer opposing Harper or he'd fucking rock as a rival CEO.
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