'Industry' Episode 1: Death, drugs and fraud are a given in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'-inspired HBO show
Since time immemorial... or more like the advent of 'The Wolf of Wall Street', a plot set within the world of investment banking has always led to sex, drugs, fraud among other things. There is salacious excitement in watching these young men and women compete to reach the top as they bring in clients, make money and reach the top of the corporate rung. All of this comes at a cost. What the cost will be, however, is something that is decided by the individuals themselves and it is this journey that the new HBO show 'Industry' centers on.
In its premiere episode, we are introduced to five young executives who are hired by a celebrated investment banking firm Pierpoint. Augustus Sackey aka Gus (David Jonsson), Harper Stern (Myha'la Herrold), Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela), Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey), and Hari (Nabhaan Rizwan). Each of them has different reasons to enter Pierpoint and all of them have an intriguing story that deserves attention. However, the fate of one of them is cut short. Hari begins his time at Pierpoint by showing up at work and never leaving. He takes on other people's work, stays in the office overnight, and all of this with an intention of making a lasting impression on the senior employees. He believes that being present at the office is the best way to ensure that he is hired by the firm permanently. To be honest, Hari's plotline at this point panders to the stereotype of how Asians have an unhealthy commitment towards work.
Then we see Hari fall prey to the pressure of working at a firm such as Pierpoint and the expectations are mounted so high that one simple mistake — that of a misplaced font on one page of his proposal — leads to a mental breakdown and death. Turns out, all this while, Hari had survived on no sleep by guzzling down on red bull. At least that is what it is made to seem in the first episode. With all of this pressure building up, the other employees do not get time to grieve but what does happen instead is that each of their resolves strengthens.
For instance, Harper has from the beginning been very hesitant about feeling comfortable around everyone making calls, sales, and meeting clients. She writes up emails, makes pitches, but doesn't get in touch with clients. Even when it comes to calling out her coworkers and making things happen, she is hesitant. Turns out, she doesn't have a university transcript either and so she reaches out to her contact in the US for a fake transcript. Even uploading that is something she hesitates to do. However, all of this changes. The moment news of Hari's death begins to be around, Harper hears how it is usually the ones who are desperate for their jobs that make things difficult for others. When Harper overhears one such conversation, she decides that she wants none of this. That moment pushes her to make her first call to the client, make the pitch, and work out a deal — all of this exhilarates her. Something that her boss Eric Tao (Ken Leung) tells her to hold on to.
In one's fall, we see another's rise. This is also true for Robert who at the moment has tried his best to distance himself from the label of being poor or belonging to a class that cannot even afford a branded suit. However, when that doesn't work, he uses drugs to feel good about himself and all that does is make him woozy at morning meetings. However, one such morning, after Hari's death, he gathers courage to open up to his boss to get him to talk and he succeeds. From the get-go, it is clear that these executives will do anything necessary to make things happen. What about Gus and Yasmin though? That we will see you next week!
New episodes of 'Industry' will air every Monday at 10 pm ET on HBO.