How 'Industry' Lets Its Female Characters Be Unlikable

Season 2 of Industry premiered Monday night on HBO, and its razor-sharp first episode marked an electric and satisfying opener to the season. For those that haven’t yet tuned in, Industry combines the high-stakes business world of Succession with Euphoria’s teen debauchery. The series follows Harper (Myha'la Herrold), Yasmin (Marisa Abela), and their Gen Z colleagues as they vie for power in the corrupt and competitive world of high finance at Pierpoint & Co., a top-tier investment bank in London. Season 2’s premiere sets up the parallel journeys Harper and Yasmin will embark on as they continue to lie, cheat, and manipulate their way to the top in a male-dominated industry. While they make plenty of morally ambiguous choices, the episode, written by the show's creators ​​Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, consistently reminds us their ruthlessness is out of necessity, a means of survival in a cruel boy's club.