The makers of the HBO/BBC hit industry talked about how Season 3 “broadens the horizon” to show how “finance is embedded in a larger ecosystem of politics and media and how it all actually works.”
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Mickey Down and Konrad Kay discussed some of the mistakes they believe were made in the first two seasons of the hit banking drama. Konrad Kay said that “we were naive and arrogant” when forging the first season, which he described as a “toxic combination” of character traits.
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Fast forward to this latest season, which launched on HBO last week and will premiere on the BBC in October, and Kay’s co-writer Mickey Down said the pair have massively expanded their scope. It is currently replacing House of the Dragon as a Sunday night drama.
“It was very narrow and subjective in the beginning – we never detached ourselves from the characters’ experiences,” Down said. “Season 2 was a little more quirky, we realized we could do storylines that were about more than just ordering salads and going to the gym. And in Season 3 we wanted to broaden the scope and throw everything at the wall, but also show how finance is embedded in a larger ecosystem of politics and media and how it all actually works.”
Praise for Vince Gilligan
The makers praised breaking Bad Writer Vince Gilligan, who inspired her to expand the scope of the show and reach for the stars with plot points. “Vince says if you use your best ideas and give the audience a satisfying ending, you can challenge yourself to say, ‘This is going to be even more fun,'” Kay added, referring to the decision to fire main character Harper, played by Myha’la, at the end of season two.
“Given the nature of renewal and the threat of getting another season, you can’t take anything for granted,” Kay added. “The most satisfying way to tell a story is to make sure every season is heading towards a hard time.”
The third season of the drama, produced by Bad Wolf, introduces a new character: Henry Muck, played by Kit Harington, the British CEO of an environmental, social and governance (ESG) company that is about to go public. The focus is on the growing trend and discussion point of “woke investing”.
“We’re constantly asking ourselves, is it possible to be a good person in finance,” Down added. “Is it possible to invest in a way that makes the world a better place? The show tries to present both sides of the argument, but has a take on it that starts from a position of altruism, but that has been corrupted by those in it.”
“New literature does not have to be excluded”
In “Down and Kay,” show manager Jane Tranter said the presence of two young showrunners “reminds broadcasters that new writers don’t have to be sidelined.”
“When the industry is shrinking and going through crazy times, we remind the broadcasters of that,” she added. “You can give people a chance, and that’s how it works. Mickey and Konrad started out as good writers and then became really good EPs. That’s what we should do to keep the ecology of our industry fresh and alive.”
When I think back to the beginnings of Industry, Tranter said she “took it for granted” that HBO and BBC would give her a chance to do what seemed niche drama at the time, suggesting it might not be commissioned today.
“A TV drama commission is the stuff of dreams, but it’s so much harder right now because so much less is being done on both sides of the Atlantic and it’s so much harder to get work from new voices done,” she added.
She described the first draft by former bank intern duo Down and Kay as “like a flat line on a heart monitor” but with “the most distinctive voice”.
“I have never received work from writers who have never written for television before that was so convincing,” added the His dark materials And Doctor Who “I said to HBO, ‘Give us three years and they’ll be the best showrunners you have,’ and it took eight years.”
Down said his first draft was “almost documentary, a reflection of our experiences in banking, which consisted mainly of monotony and minimal drama.” “It was soulless and lifeless,” he said. “We had no humor at all.”
The panel discussion took place at the Edinburgh TV Festival, which will feature talks tomorrow from Warren Littlefield, Anne Mensah and singer will.i.am.
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