No TV show better encapsulates the nexus between money and power than Industry. The HBO drama sees investment bankers screwing, snorting and slogging their way to the top of English society. Now, in its fourth series, political intrigue is taking centre stage. Think House of Cards – but with more sex and better-remunerated hotties.

Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, the co-writers of the show, explain when we chat that they wanted to ‘expand the canvas’ as Industry progressed. It initially focused on the ‘hermetically sealed’ world of the trading floor but has now expanded beyond. ‘Finance is linked to other spheres of influence,’ says Down. ‘Obviously finance and media have a transactional relationship. Finance and politics also have a transactional relationship. So we just moved towards politics.’ Series three dwelt heavily on the green finance rush and the Tory mini-Budget; the latest series focuses on fintech, online platforms and the new Labour government.

‘When a belief system comes into contact with an incentive structure, what do you do?’

‘When a belief system comes into contact with an incentive structure, what do you do?’

In the fast-paced world of politics and banking, today’s enthusiasms become yesterday’s fads. Down and Kay try to avoid focusing on day-to-day minutiae for a more thematic approach which speaks to broader truths. This avoids making the show feel dated, explains Kay. A current plotline involves Labour ministers struggling to reconcile their political values with the need to support a controversial new start-up so as to appear........

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