The Industry Season 3 finale ends with near-climactic shifts in the multiple facets of the narrative. These changes are so definitive and jarring that it seems fair to question Pierpoint’s future and how the series will continue beyond this. Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, the two creators of Industry, recently addressed everything that happened in the explosive Season 3 finale and what the show would deal with in Season 4.
In the Season 3 finale, Pierpoint & Co., the fictional investment bank that serves as the primary setting in Industry, is sold to Al-Mi’raj Holdings. The latter is a private equity firm that is actually a sovereign wealth fund. They shut down sales and trading divisions in the London and Zürich branches of Pierpoint, shifting their focus to the private wealth and assets of the partners of Al-Mi’raj.
In a recent interview, Down and Kay spoke about how the narrative decision on Pierpoint was made. “I mean, we were debating it right up until the last moment of the writers’ room,” Down told Variety. “I can’t remember how it first came about, the idea of actually exploding Pierpoint, but definitely at the initial stages of it, we thought, God, are we doing the right thing? We had this back and forth with our producers, with HBO. They were like, ‘This is the precinct of the show.”’
Down continued, “As Konrad said, we get excited by the fact that we can just blow everything up in general. We write ourselves into corners. We write ourselves out of them. We love the idea that the show can be totally different season to season. This was us putting a gun to our heads and saying, ‘If we were to come back, what would we do?’ When we explained it like that. HBO was like, ‘OK, go for it.’
In the Season 3 finale, Eric (Ken Leung) plays a critical role in Pierpoint’s sale. He also betrays his terminally ill friend Bill Adler and receives a 20-million-dollar buyout. On the other hand, Yasmin (Marisa Abela) leaves the finance sector. She also becomes engaged to Henry Muck (Kit Harington), a member of the British peerage who intends to join politics. Moreover, Harper (Myha’la Herrold) decides to go back to New York to run an all-shorts fund. Also, Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey) starts accumulating funding for a start-up and Vinay kills Rishi’s wife.
Kay explained that they wanted to tell “a most complete story” in Season 3 and not think about Seasons 4 and 5. Notably, HBO renewed Industry for the fourth season earlier this month. (via Deadline) Kay also hinted at what the viewers could potentially expect in the fourth season.
“And then it was like, f*** — if we do do this and come back for Season 4, we’re gonna have to go and play in a different sand pit,” Kay said. “Now that the show has been renewed, we can talk about how we’re working on the first two episodes. It feels freeing to us. We don’t feel that compulsion to go back to the trading floor. It feels like the show can operate at a totally different level,” he added.