Industry recap: What happened in seasons 1 and 2?

Expect more ruthless backstabbing, six-figure bonuses and blurred lines between the personal and the professional.

Created by ex-City traders Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, Industry has been described as "the missing link between Succession and Euphoria".

Read more:

• Industry season 3 trailer teases steamy drama as Game of Thrones star joins cast
• Industry season 3 cast: New and returning characters

Ahead of its eagerly awaited return, here’s a handy memory-refreshing recap…

What is Industry about?

When it debuted in 2020, Industry introduced us to a group of five ambitious graduates competing for permanent positions at a prestigious investment bank, Pierpoint & Co, in the City of London.

Our fast-tracked fivesome were posh, privileged Yasmin (Marisa Abela), working-class-made-good hedonist Robert (Harry Lawtey), hard-working Hari (Nabhaan Rizwan) and frustrated intellectual Gus (David Jonsson).

The wild card? Risk-taker Harper (Myha'la Herrold), a highly driven New Yorker who, it turned out, hadn't graduated from university but forged her credentials.

Let the big money games begin…

Industry recap

What happened in season 1?

Fuelled by energy drinks and stimulant pills, Hari works all hours - until Gus is shocked to find him dead from a heart attack in the office loos.

Yasmin struggles with the office culture, particularly misogynistic boss Kenny (Conor MacNeill), but she bonds with Harper and they became flatmates. Gus and Rob also move in together.

Disillusioned by Hari's death, Gus refuses to play the corporate game, and isn't hired after the six-month trial period. Harper forms an uneasy mentor/protégé relationship with her maverick boss Eric (Ken Leung), holding her nerve to make the bank serious money.

Having sailed close to the wind for years, Eric is fired after locking "Harpsichord" in a conference room, but later rehired when she chooses her career over female solidarity and withdraws her testimony. That concluded the debut run.

What happened in season 2?

The second season, which aired in 2022, saw Pierpoint traders return to the office after Covid lockdown.

Harper continues to work remotely, but under pressure from Eric, saves her skin by recruiting notorious hedge fund boss Jesse Bloom (Jay Duplass) - aka "Mr Covid", who made billions from the pandemic - as a client, thanks to them staying in the same swish hotel.

Rob is newly sober but has lost confidence at work. He proves his worth when he begins sleeping with valuable but "handsy" client Nicole Craig (Sarah Parish), while Yas uses her wealthy family connections to bring in business, but risks becoming the kind of bullying boss she previously hated.

Jobless Gus is undergoing a quarter-life crisis, complete with bad DIY hair dye. He is hired to privately tutor Bloom's wayward student son Leo (Sonny Poon Tip) and they embark on a gay affair.

Gus then begins working for a "Tory with a conscience" MP, and he leverages his political position to get Leo into Oxford University. Gus is fired, however, when he leaks lucrative Westminster intel to Jesse, who ruthlessly plays everyone. He offers Gus a job as his assistant to repay him.

Harper has an office flirtation with New York envoy Danny Van Deventer, aka "DVD" (Alex Alomar Akpobome).

DVD tells her that Pierpoint global bigwig Bill Adler (Trevor White) is planning to close the London office, but she alone will be offered a job at the Manhattan mothership.

Harper then teams up with the sidelined Eric and bullish Pierpoint salesman Rishi (Sagar Radia), hatching a risky plan to jump ship and take their business to a rival bank.

Industry season 2 ending explained

In a double-bill finale, Rob learns that Nicole previously made unwanted advances towards Harper. She later sexually assaults another Pierpoint graduate trainee, making it clear this is a pattern of behaviour, but Adler hushes it up. Disgusted by their complicity, DVD joins the Harper/Eric/Rishi rebel alliance.

Co-dependent duo Harper and Eric eventually throw DVD under the bus, arguing that Adler should keep open a slimmed-down London office with them as his "super-team".

They threaten to expose Pierpoint's culpability in Nicole's multiple misdemeanours. Desperate to avert a looming HR/PR crisis, Adler agrees. Harper celebrates by having toilet sex with Rishi the night before his wedding.

Furious at the rape culture in the City, nepo baby Yas turns against her rich father, who has a history of predatory sex and payouts to silence his victims. In retaliation, he cuts off his daughter financially, even changing the locks on her flat.

Rob is also arrested for cocaine possession (he was only helping out an upset Yasmin, for whom he's long held a torch) but Nicole bails him out, regaining control over him.

In a shock final twist, Eric dobs in Harper for falsifying her educational background, hinting that it's for her own good. Father figures Eric and Jesse both seemed to care about our enigmatic ani-heroine. Both ultimately betrayed her.

The season ends with Eric forced to fire Harper from Pierpoint, her eyes ablaze with confusion and fury.

What do we know about season 3?

The third season launches on HBO in the US on Sunday 11th August, and is expected to arrive on BBC One later this year.

Joining the cast are two big names from HBO stablemates: Games Of Thrones' Kit Harington stars as a green energy mogul and Barry's Sarah Goldberg plays a portfolio manager at an ethical investment fund.

The Marisa and Harry psychodrama continues, while a freshly shorn Harper lands a new job and soon becomes Pierpoint's unscrupulous competitor. As Eric taught her: "Everyone is collateral."

Industry seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch in full now on BBC iPlayer.

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