Drugs, sex, money and an unrecognizable Kit Harrington: Industry makes its big return on Max for its 3rd season

After Westeros, the actor who plays Jon Snow arrives in the world of London finance. Which one is the most dangerous? He answers.

This Sunday, August 11, HBO's Max platform welcomed the highly anticipated third season ofIndustrya British series co-produced by the BBC since 2020. Discreet, but critically acclaimed, it strives to show the ups and downs of a group of characters caught up in the whirlwinds of London's financial world. Sex, drugs, and especially money, turn the heads of a handful of young people wannabies fresh out of school, but also from their mentors at Pierpoint, just as addicted to work and the thrill of the environment.

A well-crafted show, which above all has the merit of having discovered a young generation of British talents including Myha'la Herrold, Marisa Abela (Back to Black), Harry Lawtey, David Jonsson or even Conor MacNeill.

First had the opportunity to meet part of the team ofIndustryincluding the series' creators and showrunners. When asked about their casting, Mickey Down And Konrad Kay (who, in another life, worked in finance) looked back on the evolution of their characters and their actors over the course of the three seasons:

“We wanted to find anonymous, unknown actors, so that everyone would buy into the idea that what we see on screen is really a class of finance students. In the end, we found some gems, which, between two seasons ofIndustryhave gotten major roles in Hollywood. They are all hyper-intelligent young people, who think a lot about their characters, but who are also terribly instinctive.”

A cast that has not been found wanting for this third part, and which, as a bonus, is enhanced by a star of the English small screen that we are not used to seeing in this kind of role: Kit Harington. This is the first time since the end of Game of Thrones that the interpreter of the King of the North returns to the fold of HBO (if we forget his brief passage in the mini-series Gunpowder in 2017).

After leaving Westeros, the actor made a notable stint in the MCU (The Eternals) and co-starred in the dramatic thriller Baby Ruby with Noémie Merlant. On television, he briefly appeared in Criminal: United Kingdom And Modern Lovebefore coming across the series Industry. Mickey Down details how Kit Harington came to be cast in season 3:

“We had the opportunity to work with Kit Harington and Sarah Gold : They're huge stars. You'd expect them to have a bit of an ego, but they don't. Kit, in particular. He came to us, said he loved the show and wanted to be on it. It turns out we had already written a new character. And then he just hit it off. He's also the nicest guy in the world. He knew everyone on the production team by name. He's incredibly selfless, and it was really easy to work with him: he asked really good questions about the character, and he really wanted to get to know him. It really didn't feel like a challenge.”

The feeling is shared. Kit Harington also returned to this new series:

“Joining this team has been an incredible experiencehe confided during the same press conference. The vibe felt oddly familiar. Because it's HBO, and it was the first time I'd come back to do a season arc of a character since I left Game of Thrones. But also because the distribution and the dynamics within the distribution reminded me a lot of those of GoT. There's something to be gained from a group of people getting along well when the cameras aren't rolling.”

At thirty-seven, and despite his solid CV, Kit Harrington is still impressed when he arrives in a new team, like a middle school student on the first day of school:

“It's pretty intimidating to come into a successful show and know that you can screw it up for everyone. Imagine: the guy comes in and everyone's like, 'Oh, f*ck'. I hope that won't be the case, but I couldn't have felt more excited to join something I'm a fan of.”

For IndustryKit Harington slipped into the skin of Henry Muck, demanding and impulsive boss of a start-up stamped “renewable energies” and supposed to go public through the Pierpoint bank, the bank that we have been following since the beginning of the series. Tyrannical, ego-centered, Henry is the opposite of the role that still sticks to the actor's skin: Jon Snow. A conscious decision, since the actor himself had said he no longer wanted to play “good guys”but prefer to be interested “to completely crazy people”. When reminded of his statements, he replied:

“I think the world needs characters like Jon Snow, positive male characters. I’m not sure Henry falls into that category. The interesting thing about Henry is that he knows. He knows what toxic masculinity represents in today’s world. And he’s trying so hard not to be that. But in the process, he’s become exactly what he was running from. I don’t want to play horribly evil male characters. I want to play complex, interesting, difficult male characters. Henry is. The problem I had for years was playing someone who was the epitome of good. That’s why people loved Jon Snow. And that’s great. But I don’t want to play the epitome of good anymore.”

This is all very well, but the real question is: do we have a better chance of surviving in Westeros, or in Pierpoint? A remark that makes the first person concerned laugh a lot, and which leaves him without an answer for a while.

“I don’t know, actually. Maybe that’s why HBO loves both of those shows. Both of those worlds are unforgiving. I think the stakes in terms of life and death are probably higher in the world of Game of Thronesbut they are perhaps more sadistic at Pierpoint.”

Season 3 ofIndustrycreated by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, and starring Myha'la Herrold, Marisa Abela, Harry Lawtey and Kit Harrington, is now available on Max. Here's the trailer for the new installment:

Kit Harington Unable to Watch House of the Dragon