Industry Season 4 Review: HBO's Sharpest Season Yet

Industry has graduated. The HBO series, which began as a criminally underwatched drama about a freshman class at the investment banking firm Pierpoint, has evolved into a confident, full-throttled exploration of power. Season 4 marks a significant shift, moving the narrative beyond the company's walls and into a wider, more complex world.

Created by former bankers Mickey Downs and Konrad Kay, the show has matured into a surefooted account of power brokering. The scope has widened to include fintech startup-land, media, and government, yet the storytelling remains incisive and bloat-free. The series continues to deliver its signature blend of sex- and drug-fueled drama, now with even greater narrative precision.

Season 4 finds most characters in new stages of their lives and careers. The investment banking firm Pierpoint, sold off to an Egyptian sovereign fund at the end of Season 3, is now a footnote. This hard reset allows the characters to evolve beyond the company's walls, dealing with the fallout from choices made while they worked there.

Harper Stern (Myha’la) finally gets to run a fund. She has transformed from a scrappy floor analyst into someone known for making daring gambles with her signature shorts. Dressed in devastatingly well-tailored power suits and bespoke silver earring stacks, she faces a new challenge: friction between her bold vision and the racist intentions of benefactor Otto Mostyn (Roger Barclay), who wants to flaunt her as a progressive face while changing nothing.

Yasmin Hanani (Marisa Abela) has married Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington) to escape embezzlement and assault charges left by her dead father. Publicly protected by British tabloid loyalty, she manages elite networking events. However, her marriage is flailing, requiring immense emotional work to support an unappreciative Henry through his depression.

The performances this season show fresh depth. Myha’la and Marisa Abela deliver nuanced portrayals of their characters' growth. Harper remains the icy professional, freshly 30 and shredding a birthday card from her mother, but she is no longer a lone wolf. As a people manager, she shows a new softness and vulnerability—though only toward those who help her succeed. She still delivers the most devastatingly cruel last word in confrontations.

Yasmin’s desperation to carve out her own sphere of influence flips between public confidence and private insecurity. Kit Harington gives another great performance as the rich failson who cannot escape existential dread. The best scenes often feature Harrington and Abela in marital strife, described as coked-up renditions of a famous scene from Anatomy of a Fall.

New additions bring fresh energy to the ensemble. Toheeb Jimoh (from Ted Lasso) plays Kwabena Bannerman, the joke-cracking Normal Guy proxy needed in a sea of borderline sociopaths. Max Minghella joins as Whitney Halberstram, the CFO of fintech startup Tender, delivering cringe lines with such poise that he immediately seems suspicious.

The season’s central theme is clear: money and power beget nothing but access to more money and power. Staving off the fear of losing it all is more crucial than achieving true happiness. Even if the characters found happiness, they would find another way to self-destruct.

This theme is embodied by Rishi Ramdani (Sagar Radia), who blew up a cushy life through crippling gambling debts and is now scrounging at rock bottom. Kiernan Shipka plays Haley Clay, opening the season premiere in a club with finance blogger Jim Dycker (Charlie Heaton). Shipka delivers the cutthroat confidence the show requires.

Miriam Petche as Sweetpea Golightly gets more space to develop, highlighting another woman Pierpoint mistreated as an idiot punchline who can actually hold her own. The old guard and new additions make up for the absence of Harry Lawtley and Sarah Goldberg, who left after Harper jumped ship from Leviathan Alpha.

The series maintains its distinctive visual and auditory style. The score remains reliably ‘80s synth-poppy, providing a consistent backdrop to the unfolding drama. The production design reflects the characters' shifting statuses, from Harper's power suits to the sterile environments of Silicon Valley startups.

The writing is notably bloat-free, with each scene serving a purpose in advancing character or plot. The expanded scope allows for new settings and situations while maintaining the show's core identity. The series continues to air Sunday nights on HBO and stream on HBO Max.

Industry Season 4 represents the series at its most mature and confident. By moving beyond Pierpoint, the show has found new ways to explore its core themes of power, ambition, and self-destruction. The characters are more complex, the stakes are higher, and the storytelling is sharper than ever.

The season proves that Industry has successfully evolved from a niche drama into a must-watch series. With its combination of stellar performances, incisive writing, and unflinching look at the dark side of finance, Season 4 solidifies the show's place as one of television's most compelling dramas.