Entertainment

One of HBO’s Most Thrilling Drama Series of All Time Deserves More Award Recognition

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3 hours ago

22 June 2026

NewsAdmin

HBO has dominated Primetime Emmy nominations for several years, with the studio racking up a total of 142 nominations just last year, the most out of any streaming platform. However, one HBO drama has repeatedly been notably shut out from those nominations: the financial drama Industry. Despite its increase in both quality and viewership in its third season, Industry has never earned a single Emmy nomination. Although series creators don’t seem too concerned by the snubs, the people in front of and behind the camera deserved some recognition for their work. With Emmy nomination announcements coming on July 8, and with Industry fresh off an acclaimed Season 4, it’s time for this neglected series to finally get some love.

‘Industry’ Has Gotten Bigger and Better Over the Years

Season 1 of Industry kicked off in 2020, following a group of four young graduates – Harper (Myha’la), Yasmin (Marisa Abela), Robert (Harry Lawtey), and Gus (David Jonsson) – competing for permanent positions at the prestigious London-based investment company Pierpoint & Co. Season 2 saw them attempt to advance their careers at Pierpoint and beyond, while Season 3 expanded its scope even further, fleshing out supporting characters and introducing new ones after Jonsson’s departure. Season 4 found the balance between the financial thriller aspect of the show and the personal stories of its expanded cast that keep it going.

You’d think the addition of two bigger names and Emmy nominees in Kit Harington and Sarah Goldberg might draw some more awards attention Industry’s way, but despite its continued critical acclaim, the series is still woefully unrecognized by the Television Academy. Getting into Industry can be a bit daunting because of all the financial jargon constantly being thrown your way (co-creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay both have backgrounds in finance, after all), but the show has struck a chord with critics and audiences alike, and there’s plenty to enjoy even if you have no idea what shorting a stock truly means.

Season 3 is when viewership increased significantly. It’s one of the rare cases where a series without a huge viewership was given the space to grow into itself rather than face premature cancellation. Instead of downsizing, Season 4 gained a number of new faces, including Kiernan Shipka, Max Minghella, Toheeb Jimoh, and Charlie Heaton. Industry may not have the benefit of pre-existing fan bases like some of HBO Max’s most popular shows, like House of the Dragon or The Last of Us, and it may not have generated nearly as much online discourse as something as big as The White Lotus, but the series has long deserved some recognition at the Emmys, and 2026 might just be its year.

‘Industry’s Talented Cast Deserves To Finally Be in the Spotlight

While there are several categories that Industry could be nominated in, the fact that the show has never received a nomination in the acting categories is criminal. In a just world, Myha’la and Marisa Abela would have multiple Emmy nominations under their belts by now, and while we saw both Yasmin and Harper reach new peaks in Season 3, Season 4 puts both women in positions of power while pitting them against each other directly. Yasmin’s own dark storyline with Henry Muck (Kit Harington) is a thrilling arc, especially when it leads them to Witney Halberstram (Max Minghella), the CFO of Tender. Minghella himself plays a character who is eerily reminiscent of real-life executives who will stop at nothing to get to the top of the heap, even if it means chaos is left in his wake. Harington’s Henry is also allowed to develop in Season 4, allowing the actor to stretch his chops and show off his range in a way that Game of Thrones never could.

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“It was really kind of an experiment.”

Unsurprisingly, some of the best performances in Season 4 come from Ken Leung and Sagar Radia. Leung has been consistently excellent in his role as Eric Tao throughout the show’s first three seasons, but he’s at the top of his game in Season 4. The show paints a far more complex portrait of Eric, who is forced to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, with Leung proving yet again that he’s one of Industry’s most magnetic performers. Throughout the show’s first two seasons, Radia’s character Rishi remained mostly on the periphery, floating around the Pierport trading floor to deliver some hilariously crude one-liners, but was never explored in depth. In Season 3, however, Radia’s role was upgraded from recurring to main, and Season 4 sees Rishi having to face his worst character flaws, giving more complexity to this character who has emerged from the sidelines.

Industry has become something of a hidden gem for HBO, and with a fifth and final season greenlit earlier this year, it’s time for this show to come out of hiding. It’s a compelling, sharply written series that will always have you on the edge of your seat, with a diverse cast of actors delivering must-see performances. Brutally relevant and completely unafraid to take on hot-button issues, Industry has proven that sometimes it takes a bit for a show to cook and truly show its highest potential. Unfortunately, the series may very well be one of those shows, like Interview With the Vampire, whose existence the Primetime Emmys will simply never acknowledge. All Industry fans can hope for is that Season 4 will finally give the show the recognition it deserves.

Release Date: 2020 – 2027-00-00
Network: Advertisement

HBO
Directors: Isabella Eklöf, Tinge Krishnan, Ed Lilly, Birgitte Stærmose, Zoé Wittock, Caleb Femi, Mary Nighy, Konrad Kay, Lena Dunham, Mickey Down
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