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The creators of the HBO/BBC drama Industry have noted a recurring phenomenon: individuals working in the finance world frequently misinterpret the show’s central message.
The series delves into the competitive lives of young professionals navigating the high-stakes world of investment banking in London, often portraying ruthless ambition and internal conflicts. However, co-creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay have found that some viewers miss the show’s cautionary tale, echoing a pattern seen in similar works like Wall Street.
In an interview with The Wall Street journal, Down and Kay revealed they regularly receive messages from finance professionals who appear to embrace the superficial allure of the lifestyle depicted, rather than recognizing the destructive consequences.
“Anything of this ilk, anything set in this world has to feel very seductive in this first act because you have to, basically, convince the audience to think that these people are having a great time, and you have to lean in,” Down explained. “And then the third act is usually when it all goes to hell and you reveal the person’s pursuit of this thing is not gonna be edifying – it’s actually gonna destroy them.”
down continued, “A lot of finance bros just watch the first act and just think, ‘OK, that looks fun, I can do drugs and have loads of sex and that looks like rock ‘n’ roll.’ And they don’t really watch the third act were it all implodes. It’s weird because I still get LinkedIn messages and there’s usually a slew of messages from people being like ‘Bro, I love your show. Got me into finance.'”
Kay added, “There’s a level of dishonesty as well with the way people engage with this thing, I think, where they watch Wall Street or they watch industry and they say, ‘these people are sociopathic, they’re dead-eyed,’ when actually what they’re really saying is: ’I recognize parts in myself that I haven’t necessarily nurtured or I’m too scared to think about.’ But those traits – avarice, blind ambition – they exist in everybody.”