This year’s Emmy nominations were unveiled on Wednesday, and they contained the usual mix of returning favorites (hi, “Hacks”!) and new arrivals (welcome to the party, “Widow’s Bay”). But one name was glaringly missing from the major categories: HBO’s superb financial drama “Industry.” Four seasons in, “Industry” has built itself up to become one of the very best TV shows of this decade: thrilling, audacious, and deeply insightful. But somehow, bafflingly, it has a total of zero Emmy nominations to show for it.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show — maybe you’re an Emmy voter! — “Industry” premiered on HBO in 2020, following the traders and executives at London finance firm Pierpoint. It started out as a sexy, fast-paced look at life on the trading floor, with young traders fresh out of school executing million-dollar deals by day and indulging in hard drugs and carnal delights by night. But it also dug deep into the traders’ psyches, finding the long-buried insecurities and anxieties that all the sex and drugs were meant to cover up. It was basically “Mad Men” mixed with “Euphoria,” with some U.K. slang and financial jargon sprinkled on top.
But like “Succession” and “Better Call Saul” — two of its peers among this decade’s best TV dramas — “Industry” kept getting better each season, taking big storytelling swings and establishing its own unique, urgent voice. That’s why this latest Emmy snub might be the most galling, because Season 4 of “Industry” (which debuted in January) was its best yet, tackling hot-button issues like sex trafficking and right-wing fascism and featuring knockout performances up and down the cast. So why do the Emmys continue to ignore “Industry”? Let’s take a quick look back at the show’s history for clues.
Industry started out good and became great
OK, we can understand why Season 1 of “Industry” got snubbed by the Emmys. It was still finding its footing, and despite airing on awards show darling HBO, it was pretty unheralded, flying under the radar with a cast of mostly unknowns. (Although that Emmy year was a particularly weak one due to COVID, so we still could’ve found a place for it in the drama series race.) But in Season 2, “Industry” leveled up, adding Jay Duplass to the cast as mysterious hedge fund guru Jesse Bloom and earning more positive buzz among critics, especially for Myha’la’s performance as Harper Stern. Still, though, no Emmy nominations.
In Season 3, “Industry” leveled up yet again, bringing in serious star wattage with “Game of Thrones” veteran Kit Harington as tech CEO Henry Muck and “Barry” alum Sarah Goldberg as fund manager Petra Koenig. The arrow was pointing straight up for “Industry” — it’s what they call in finance a “hockey stick” — and awards voters began to take notice, with nods from the Critics Choice Awards and the Television Critics Association Awards, along with a BAFTA win for Marisa Abela as Yasmin. And yet again? Not a single Emmy nomination.
That brings us to Season 4, which deftly pulled off a hard reboot, plucking the traders out of Pierpoint and throwing them into the real world, setting up new alliances and cutthroat feuds. It added more stars (Max Minghella! Kiernan Shipka!) and gave Myha’la, Abela, and Harington the opportunity to do some of their best work of the series. But — and you can guess where I’m going with this — zero Emmy nods.
Industry especially deserved recognition this year
The Emmys’ refusal to recognize “Industry” is even more inexplicable when we look at this year’s nominees for best drama series. Contenders from last year like “Severance,” “Andor,” and “The White Lotus” are all out of the running this year, which should’ve opened up a spot for “Industry.” Of course, “The Pitt” is back in the race again, and it deserves to be. (It’s going to win, too, so this is all academic, really.) I also don’t mind “The Diplomat” and “The Gilded Age” earning nods for their solid third seasons, and I’m happy to see newbies like Apple TV’s sci-fi stunner “Pluribus” and HBO’s “Game of Thrones” spin-off “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” in the mix as well.
But “Slow Horses,” while a fine show, feels like a show that Emmy voters just pencil in for a nomination every year, along with star Gary Oldman, out of habit. “Paradise” took a hard turn into post-apocalyptic survival mode in Season 2, earning mixed reviews as a result. And “Your Friends & Neighbors”?! It’s a fun show, and it did get better in Season 2 with the addition of James Marsden. But it’s nowhere near as piercing or as daring as “Industry.” And its nod for best drama series was its only Emmy nomination overall, so it’s hard to understand how it managed to sneak into the field at all.
So what’s the problem with “Industry”? Is it too sexy? The Emmys certainly recognized “Euphoria” for its first two seasons, not to mention the nudity-drenched “Game of Thrones.” Too British? Voters handed out a slew of trophies to “The Crown” and “Ted Lasso.” (And hey, as mentioned above: “Slow Horses”!) I just have to think that not enough Emmy voters have actually seen “Industry” — even though it hit series highs in viewership this past season — and the ones that have seen it aren’t being loud enough about how great it is. Well, this is us being loud about it: “Industry” is really great!
HBO has renewed the show for a fifth and final season, so it will get one more shot at the Emmys… but we may have to be content with it being an undervalued asset.
Do you agree that “Industry” deserved some Emmy love? Let us know in the comments.
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