Gen Z TV

“Industry” is the show that “Euphoria” needs to be

By: Peter Nomeland

One of the best shows on TV right now revolves around a group of young people as they grapple with the unique challenges and hardships that come with coming of age during this period in time. The show airs on HBO and has sex, drugs, and an incredible synth soundtrack that fills the atmosphere. It takes a look at how Gen Z is navigating the world that previous generations may have messed up forever. 

That show is called “Industry.” You were almost certainly thinking of “Euphoria,” the phenomenon currently airing its second season on HBO, but I’ll get to that later. “Industry,” which initially aired on the BBC, follows a group of recent college graduates fighting for positions at a prestigious London investment bank. This concept might sound boring, but the show is much more interested in the stress and psychology of these characters and how they navigate an industry that is ruthless to all who enter it. The focus is on five graduates who are heading into the cutthroat world of finance, and they do all of the young-adult TV staples. They get into love triangles, they grapple with their upbringings, and they search for their place in the world, with varying degrees of success. But the show is heightened by its engrossing and expensive London setting and the performances of its lead characters, particularly that of Myha’la Herrold as Harper, an American expat who is even more out of place than her contemporaries. The HBO/BBC production values don’t hurt either, with the look and soundtrack of the show feeling like an old-school high-budget drama that they just don't make anymore.

The show sometimes looks and sounds so much like “Euphoria” that comparisons are almost inevitable. “Euphoria” is probably the most popular show in the world right now, thanks in no small part to its cast, led by it-girl Zendaya, as well as its brutal and uncompromising look at teenage life. Zendaya’s Rue is addicted to drugs, and almost every other character has a traumatic backstory, which leads them to damage themselves or those around them. In this show, everyone is a super-heightened version of a troubled teen. The show, written and directed by Sam Levinson, almost can’t be categorized as a teen show. It seems more interested in making every shot and scene as stylized and intense as humanly possible. And this works in some cases, especially with scenes involving Zendaya, who is incredible, particularly in scenes involving her struggles with addiction. But to call the show a realistic portrayal of teenage life would be a stretch. 

The most obvious difference between the shows is the age of the characters, though many have noted that most of the “Euphoria” cast is closer to their thirties than their teens. “Industry” is a rare show in which actors portray young people who are the same age and at the same point in their lives as them. Creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay described what makes this time in your life and your career so compelling and relatable: “You're expected to be a fully formed person, to be an adult. My early twenties were far more of an identity crisis for me than my adolescence.” On “Euphoria,” the characters have theoretically just hit puberty, and yet the things they go through and the interactions they have feel overwhelming, even for adults. In “Industry,” when something intense or harrowing happens to the characters, you feel for them, because these things could happen to you.

This isn’t to say that there should not be teenage shows that deal with these issues or that are unrealistic in their depictions of teenagers. Two of my favorite shows are “The O.C.” and “Friday Night Lights,” and both have subplots in which a main character kills someone and gets away with it. But all of these shows are somewhat grounded in reality. They felt like they were going somewhere, and the kids were going to grow up and mature. With “Euphoria,” it remains to be seen whether we'll get there.