‘Industry’: Ken Leung, Sagar Radia & Miriam Petche On Season 4 And The Cost Of Survival [Interview]

Created by Mickey Downs and Konrad Kay, the HBO financial drama “Industry” has steadily grown in popularity over its run. What began as a series about young graduates trying to make a name (and a fortune) as investment bankers has evolved into something sharper: a study of how far people will go to get ahead—and what they’re willing to sacrifice along the way.

As the characters change, their dynamics do too. Former mentors and students become uneasy allies once more, then adversaries again. The show gives actors room to dig deep, constantly pushing their characters into high-pressure, no-win situations.

Ken Leung, Sagar Radia, and Miriam Petche play very different characters, but their storylines intersect across the series—especially in Season 4. We spoke with the trio about their roles, the evolution of their characters, and what it’s like to be in conversation with someone you’re still figuring out.

It’s been interesting to see the series have this steady uptick in popularity over the seasons, becoming more present in conversations. What’s it been like to watch that organic growth since the start?
Sagar Radia: I don’t think you can ever really prepare for what a show is going to do. You go in, have faith in the work, and hope for the best. That’s how it felt coming into the show. When I signed on for Season 1, I was doing another series at the same time, and I mostly saw this as a chance to play someone totally different from what I’d been doing for a few years. I tried not to think much deeper than that—and then it took on a life of its own.

The show had a cult following early on. It became a popular watercooler series that people talked about, and it continued to grow and improve every year. I don’t think I saw that coming—not in a “this will never happen” way, just that it exceeded all our expectations. Much of that comes down to Mickey and Konrad, and their ability to continually elevate the writing and push the show forward each season.

You mentioned coming on to play something different from what you’re used to. With “Industry,” every character changes so much between seasons—how is it to tackle characters who are never the same as they once were?
Ken Leung: It’s incredible. It goes from you playing a character to the character telling you who he is. So it becomes a conversation with your character, which is really neat. I love that.

Miriam Petche: I agree. People change year by year, day by day. When I look at myself, in some ways I’m the same, and in other ways I’m entirely different. A long-running TV show gives you time to sit with these people and see the various versions of them—how they present at first, and who they are underneath. And when that person underneath gets challenged, who do they become? It’s such a privilege to explore for a long time. As Ken said, it becomes a conversation—and sometimes you learn something from your character.

Ken Leung: This might sound trivial, but I don’t think it is: I love that the title of our show, while staying the same, has changed in meaning. It’s gone from “Industry,” the world of finance, to individual industriousness. It’s like a new title while staying the same.

Rishi really goes through a lot in Season 4. How was it getting to explore those depths?
Sagar Radia: I think the question is whether Rishi has hit rock bottom this year or not. And the thing about rock bottom is that it’s not loud—it’s quiet, internal, and relentless. That’s what we wanted to capture with Rishi this year. Rock bottom is a reckoning, for lack of a better word. He finally meets the part of himself he’s been running from, especially toward the back end of Season 3.

He’s in survival mode—just trying to get from one day to the next and figure out who he is, while doing quick jobs for Eric and Harper to stay relevant and afloat, doing cash-in-hand work. It’s an interesting season in terms of how far he falls from the swagger and cockiness with which we first met him. And if there’s room to fall further, I guess it remains to be seen.

At least at the start of Season 4, Eric seems to be trying to achieve a new level of balance. He has a line about having done all work and all leisure, and how the middle ground matters. Can you talk about where he’s at this season—and how that shifts his approach and dynamic with Harper?
Ken Leung: He wants to figure out how to be a dad to his 13-year-old. He’s neglected her her whole life. And despite that, she’s grown up to take after him—she’s being cruel to people at school and getting into trouble. That finally sets off an alarm for him.

With Harper, I think he sees her as a way to find a language—an understanding—that he can use to reach his kid. It’s funny, because I think he rationalized being a parent as: you provide, you become the king of the world, and your children want for nothing.

But she doesn’t need any of that. She needs a dad. And to reckon with that, he has to know who he is as a man aside from who he is on the trading floor. And he doesn’t. I think that’s what this whole venture with Harper is really about. It’s not about getting another venture—it’s about learning something new.

Industry Season 4 premieres January 11 on HBO Max.

Ally Johnson

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New England-based Tomatometer-approved film and television critic. Ally is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, and the Online Film Critics Society. Her writing has also appeared at RogerEbert.com and The Mary Sue.

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