'Industry' Episode 1 will show us dangers of work-life that looks glossy but is rotten from within
'Industry', the new original from HBO centers on the employees of London investment bank Pierpoint & Co. Over the course of the show, we will meet young employees at the investment firm grappling with decisions about work-life balance, superiors at the firm disrespecting younger employees, doing everything possible to keep their position at the firm while doing as much as needed to reach the top of the rung at the firm. It is going to be a fight to the finish and the ones who reach the finish line may not be necessarily happy, but their journey is what we would be privy to. Each character's description gives us a fair idea of what to expect of the show.
For instance, we know that Harper (Myha'la Herrold) has recently moved to London to take up a job that she had always wanted. Her official bio reads, "Harper has come to London from New York to join the world’s most prestigious bank. Surrounded by people born into privilege, she will stop at nothing to prove herself the best hire in her graduate class."
Then we have Augustus Sackey aka Gus (David Jonsson) who will fit right in at Pierpoint and he knows it. His official bio reads, "From Eton to Oxford, Augustus ‘Gus’ Sackey is built for institutions like Pierpoint and sees it as another tick on a checklist that will lead him straight to Number 10." Hari (Nabhaan Rizwan) is expected to shock his peers in the first episode itself if we go by the episode synopsis. He has "doe-eyed naivety but tries to dress like a modern 'master of the universe'. Hari dreamt of working in banking his whole life and is determined to succeed, no matter the cost."
Even if this cost comes at bringing up red flags everywhere. The official synopsis of Episode 1 titled 'Induction' reads, "Five young graduates do whatever it takes to make themselves indispensable at preeminent London investment bank Pierpoint & Co. As hungry outsider Harper grapples with a decision that will gravely affect her future at the bank, she and party-boy Robert (Harry Lawtey) take very different approaches to their first few weeks in the bank. Meanwhile, Yasmin (Marisa Abela) braves the unchecked disrespect of her superiors, and Hari’s (Nabhaan Rizwan) unhealthy work habits raise companywide red flags."
Each and every employee is struggling in a different way and the show hopes to depict their struggles accurately and its portrayal is expected to have audiences empathize. Take Yasmin for instance. Yasmin has had expectations placed on her since childhood and is tired of being underestimated. She chose Pierpoint because she wanted to prove her naysayers wrong and show the world what she was made of. Can she really succeed though? You see we know aspiring to break the glass ceiling and doing it, in reality, are two different things.
You see, Yasmin's direct superior at work, A VP on the FX desk is Kenny and his prejudices cloud his judgment of her merit. This will definitely come in the way of her ambitions and her work. However, we hope that Daria, a VP on the CPS desk will set the right example of what an ideal VP should be like as her bio reads that she "is a great counterpoint to Eric’s aggressive sales strategy who can show Harper that there’s more than one way to be a saleswoman."
Finally, we have Harry Lawtey play the role of Robert Spearing, who joins Pierpoint with a belief that background and connection matter less than merit. He believes that the fact that he is from a working-class background will not matter the moment he enters Pierpoint, and the stench of mediocrity can be erased. With this belief, he attempts to distance himself from his past. Can he, though? Or would he get trapped into the surface level gloss and shine that he sees when he looks at Pierpoint. We will have to wait and see!
New episodes of 'Industry' will air every Monday night on HBO.
