Episode summary
HBO’s ‘Industry’ Creators on What It's Really Like on Wall Street | WSJ's Take On the Week
The Journal
· · 26 min · Hosts: Miriam Gottfried, Alexander Saeedy · Guests: Mickey Down, Konrad Kay
Summary
HBO’s Industry creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay argue that the show works because it starts from the bottom of finance: ambitious junior people trying to gain power inside a cutthroat system. They describe their own banking backgrounds at Morgan Stanley, Rothschild, and on the trading floor as a source of both realism and discomfort, and say the series draws drama from status, ambition, and the seduction of money.
The conversation says season 4 moves beyond Pierpoint and into fintech, crypto, short selling, and media because those are the newer fronts where finance now feels most energetic. Down and Kay frame short sellers as especially televisual because they combine investigation, moral ambiguity, and a ticking clock, while fraud and “cult of personality” remain central themes. They also connect the show’s storytelling to Elizabeth Holmes, meme stocks, Polymarket, and the broader gamification of risk.
The host and a guest also compare the series to reporting on 100-hour workweeks and junior banker deaths, arguing that the show captures both the glamour and the damage of Wall Street. Down and Kay say banking’s appeal has faded for some, but its money, prestige, and identity still attract young people who want to move quickly up the ladder.
Key takeaways
- Mickey Down says Industry began as a bottom-up story about young bankers with little power trying to gain status inside finance.
- Konrad Kay says season 4 shifts toward fintech, short selling, and media because that is where the modern financial world now feels most dramatic.
- The creators link fraud in the season to storytelling, identity entrepreneurship, and the “cult of personality” around figures like Elizabeth Holmes.
- The host says the show echoes reporting on junior bankers working 100 hours a week or more, and the creators say the series aims to show the stakes of that ambition.
- Down and Kay say banking still offers prestige and a high starting salary, but many young workers now treat it as a stepping stone to private equity, hedge funds, or their own firms.
Notable quotes
“the people with the least amount of power trying to accrue power, which is kind of what opened the show up for us”
“what does it look like if we have a completely different institution that we're looking at”
“if you are a criminal and you get away with it, you're an entrepreneur”
“it's about trust, right? So like in your stomach, you know, you're doing a big equity block”
“Risk-taking is out of control. People lose everything and they're like, whatever- - YOLO”
How the episode opens
- Risk-taking is out of control. People lose everything and they're like, whatever- - YOLO. - I'll make it back.
Yeah, I'll make it back tomorrow. If you were trading for Morgan Stanley and you're down 5%, that's a terrible year. - Hello, and welcome to WSJ's Take On The Week.
I'm Miriam Gottfried. And joining me today is my colleague Alex Saeedy. He is a banking reporter, and he has the distinct honor of sitting right next to me in the newsroom.
Welcome, Alex. - Hello, Miriam. - So welcome to the show.
We have bank earning season coming up. These days, things are going really well for banks. They are making a lot of money and every time there's a major global event, it seems like they're finding new ways to profit off of it and be right in the mix.
We also have talk of deregulation of banks. So you could say that banks are quietly booming right now. And on that topic, we have a really exciting conversation today, and we're in a larger space to host that conversation because joining us are two people who have worked inside banks who are now translating that experience for a TV audience.
Today we have Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, the co-creators of HBO's hit financial drama, 'Industry'. 'Industry' focuses on the lives of 20-somethings working in banking and finance. The show's fourth season premiers Sunday, January 11th.
And everyone, especially my husband, is really excited about it. Welcome, Mickey and Konrad. - Thanks, guys.
Good to be here. - Thanks having us. - Welcome.
- So you both worked in banking, as I said. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience and why you thought it would make for a good TV show? - Me and Konrad, we met at university, we met at Oxford, where there was a kind of, I had absolutely no intention of going into finance when I went to university.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- hbo industry
- wall street work culture
- fintech and short selling
- polymarket and meme stocks
- fraud and mental health
Companies and tickers mentioned
- MS
- Morgan Stanley
- Rothschild
- HBO
- Polymarket
- Dow Jones
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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