Season 3 of HBO's "Industry" dives right into the ESG debate
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HBO's finance workplace drama "Industry" is back with a third season, this time around grappling with the merits of ESG investing.
Why it matters: It's perfectly timed with the current real-world discourse on the topic, as skeptics and opponents ratchet up attacks to discredit the investment approach, which prioritizes environmental, social and governance concerns.
The big picture: The show follows a group of twentysomethings and their bosses working in London high-finance at the fictional Pierpoint & Co. investment bank.
- Protagonist Harper Stern (played by Myha'la Herrold) has a new job after getting fired at the end of the last season, though her professional path doesn't take long to cross with her old coworkers.
Zoom in: This season brings a slew of new characters from the controversial — but very buzzy — world of green energy and ESG-based investing.
- "We wanted to bring that lens to something that in some respects could be considered quite altruistic, but in other respects could be motivated totally by avarice and by people's own self-advancement," show co-creator Mickey Down tells Axios.
- Pierpoint also goes through turmoil, a reminder that even an elite bank can lose control over its destiny.
Between the lines: The season grapples, among other things, with whether motivations to do good for the world can coexist with personal ambitions.
- Henry Muck (played by Kit Harington) the CEO of renewable energy company Lumi in the show "believes that he's doing something good for the world but...he has this really privileged background…. He doesn't wear any of his failures," said Down.
- When the fate of his company is up in the air (we won't spoil it!), "for him it's just a bit 'eh… yeah it's bad but it's a distraction almost, and I don't have to think about that because I can move on to the next thing," he adds.
Our thought bubble: So far, the show is putting out a new season every two years, which feels slow — but its ability to feel current and interpret the big topics of the day, even via some caricatures and stereotypes, is entertaining.
What's next: Season 3 premieres on Aug. 11, on HBO.
Go deeper: "Industry" returns, with finance, drama and COVID
