HBO boss reveals why Industry is ending with season 5 – and hints at next project from show creators

HBO boss Casey Bloys has opened up about the decision to bring Industry to a close with its upcoming fifth season – while also teasing what could come next from its creators.

Industry originally followed the personal and professional lives of a group of young graduates who begin their careers at Pierpoint & Co, a prestigious London investment bank, with later seasons broadening the scope of the story to explore the wider UK financial world and the powerful institutions shaping it.

The finance drama, created by Konrad Kay and Mickey Down, began life as something of an experiment for HBO, according to Bloys (chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content).

"It’s interesting because the origins were [executive producer] Jane Tranter and I talking, and it was really kind of an experiment,” he told Radio Times.

"Could we do a show for a relatively small budget… she’s got a studio in Cardiff, and if we came up with something that we could shoot in Cardiff and used young talent – like, basically kids out of drama school – was there something in that low-cost model that would make sense?"

Bloys revealed that the project quickly came together after Kay and Down pitched their idea, drawing on their own experiences in the finance world.

"She came to me with this idea that Konrad and Mickey had pitched to her… about basically a young analyst training programme," he said. "It was a very easy yes."

He added that the show’s fresh approach – both in front of and behind the camera – was a major part of its appeal.

"They were relatively new writers, and it felt like a really interesting way to approach something, to go in and say, we’re going to cast people right out of drama school and give these young writers a shot and see what happens. I love how it turned out."

Now, with the series approaching its fifth outing, Bloys believes the timing is right to wrap up the story.

"In terms of 'why now?', I mean, it’s been five seasons… I think five seasons is a really good run," he said. "They’ve reinvented it so many times and taken these characters where they plan to take them in season five, so it felt like a good place to leave them."

Bloys also hinted that ending Industry could pave the way for new projects from its creators – something he’s eager to see.

"I’d also like to see what else [Konrad and Mickey] want to do, and I think they felt that as well. I’d love to see what else they could do."

The decision to end the show follows a particularly bleak fourth season finale, which left central characters Yasmin (Marisa Abela) and Harper (Myha'la) in increasingly complicated and morally ambiguous positions, setting the stage for a final chapter that could push them even further...

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HBO Max launches in the UK and Ireland on 26 March. Visit hbomax.com for more information.

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