Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.“Ethical investing is a fad. It’s like a utopian opiate for morons who believe in a better world.” No, this is not Larry Fink’s latest letter to investors, but the words of the supremely cynical and opportunistic Harper Stern (Myha’la) in the HBO/BBC series Industry, which in its third season takes aim at greenwashing.We open with an IPO for green energy company Lumi, headed by Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington, revelling in playing a CEO born with a silver spoon in his mouth). The flotation is spearheaded by investment bank Pierpoint, which has decided to make bringing environmental, social and governance companies to market its raison d’être. Company man Eric (Ken Leung), now a partner, embodies the anxieties of his employer while dealing with his own personal unravelling and continuing his unorthodox mentoring style. “I am a man, and I am relentless!” he encourages Robert (Harry Lawtey) to roar in an office corridor when bereavement might prompt his protégé to display emotion at work. Meanwhile, Sarah Goldberg is another stellar addition to the cast as Petra, an investor out to corrupt the ESG world with Harper at her side. While the financial lingo is generally at a high level, occasionally the verbal hand-holding for lay watchers makes the traders seem unrealistic. But this is a quibble — on the whole, the writing is delightfully snide, while political correctness is nowhere to be heard. “We just pray that the CEO is a Black lesbian with one leg,” says one boomer banker in reference to an ethical company. The main protagonist is Pierpoint banker Yasmin (Marisa Abela), whose father’s disappearance from a yacht is relayed in disturbing flashbacks. Through these, we begin to understand her struggles with intimacy and her tendency towards dominance in personal relationships. Yet while Industry covers serious topics, from abuse to addiction, they’re mostly used to amp up the melodrama. An exception is made for Rishi (Sagar Radia, excellent), more of a one-line wonder in previous seasons, here given his own episode to explore the darker side of compulsive gambling.Industry joins a string of other shows in which it is hard to find anyone likeable, but in contrast to Succession or The White Lotus, the dubious characters here are not confined to the 0.1 per cent. When confronted with a moral dilemma, nearly everyone chooses the most ruthless option. While Harper remains estranged from her mentor, Eric, she is still following in his footsteps as they both brutally sell out a close friend to advance their careers. At the same time, not even the worst things they say to each other result in permanent destruction. A relationship that survives someone saying: “You are talentless and useless, and a fucking whore,” fits with the philosophy of the characters in Industry — if nothing matters and “perception is reality”, cruelty can be overcome in service of new alliances. This is also likely a plot device — season 4 has already been greenlit. Like the adrenaline-fuelled pursuit of power among its characters, Industry is amped up and looks set to continue its ambition.★★★★☆On BBC1 and iPlayer in the UK from October 1, and on Max in the US now
