Shocking Truth: HBO’s ‘Industry’ Saves Prestige TV from Existential Crisis!

Welcome to our newsletter, Screen Gab, for anyone who’s just getting acquainted with Pierpoint & Co.’s world or those who’ve been patiently waiting for the hype to grow.

This fictional financial giant provides the setting for HBO’s charged workplace drama “Industry,” now in its third season. This week’s edition of Screen Gab, edited by a longtime fan of the show, delves into what it reveals about the current crisis in high-quality TV.

Also, in Screen Gab No. 146, we talk with John Hoffman, the mastermind behind “Only Murders in the Building,” about the upcoming season and recommend two must-watch documentaries for the weekend.

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Lauren Greenfield’s new doc about teens and social media ‘is a horror movie’ if you’re a parent: Greenfield’s latest venture, “Social Studies,” is a five-part docuseries examining teenage social media usage and its impacts.

What to Watch

Suggestions from The Times’ film and TV experts

“Going Varsity in Mariachi” (Netflix)

I have an affinity for adolescent coming-of-age narratives, and “Going Varsity in Mariachi” does not disappoint. The documentary, which debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, primarily follows the members of Mariachi Oro de Edinburg North High School for one academic year, shedding light on the competitive landscape of high school mariachi in Texas. The film, directed by Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn, provides heartwarming insights into the lives and aspirations of these teenagers residing in the Rio Grande Valley, each balancing rehearsals, promposals, driving lessons, and college scholarship applications, all united by their love for mariachi. —Tracy Brown

“The New York Times Presents: ‘Lie to Fly’ ” (FX, Hulu)

You might remember the incident last year when Joseph Emerson, an off-duty pilot on a fully-loaded Alaska Airlines plane, abruptly shut down the engines. This thought-provoking, hour-long documentary provides answers to that incident and raises additional questions about pilot mental health, criticizing a system that discourages pilots from disclosing issues or seeking help for fear of being grounded. Emerson, who still faces 83 counts of reckless endangerment (and one of endangering an airplane), discusses the incident and what led to it. The case for reform is powerfully argued and poses a question: Is it safer to fly with a pilot openly taking antidepressants or one hiding his depression? —Robert Lloyd

Stay Updated

All you need to know about the movie or TV series that’s the talk of the town

The third season of “Industry,” HBO’s frenzied, drug-fueled drama about young professionals at a London investment bank, has all the signs of a show that’s finally made it: glowing critical reviews, multiplying fan accounts, a high-profile set visit by New York Magazine’s team. However, the show’s gradual rise to popularity is a lesson in the existential crisis facing high-quality TV.

The series’ first season, much like “Succession’s”, succumbed to some of its weakest impulses, killing off a minor character in the pilot to emphasize the harshness of the industry. But I believe many overlooked the hints of today’s “Industry” — the most seductive, sordid ode to workaholism since Don Draper downed his last bottle of Canadian Club — as much due to structural reasons as creative ones. The timing of its U.S. premiere on Nov. 9, 2020, during “Election Week” and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, didn’t help, as even the most dedicated binge-watchers were worn out on TV. The two-year hiatus between seasons and the shift to late summer from late fall also didn’t help. It’s quite an achievement that “Industry” made it to Season 3 at all: If it debuted today, it would likely be axed before it could find its stride.

Thanks to its explosive second season, where Gen Z anti-heroine Harper Stern (Myha’la, in one of television’s most captivating performances) finally asserts herself, HBO executives greenlit another season. Season 3 continues the trend, focusing intensely on Harper, mentor-turned-rival Eric Tao (Ken Leung), rival-turned-friend Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abele), and loveable outsider Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey). The show’s defining strength is time: time to develop characters, refine style, build confidence, and grow its audience.

Prestige isn’t achieved overnight, and for you newcomers, “Industry” seems to have been given the luxury of a pre-pandemic drama to earn it. Or, at least, a glamorous, wealthy, young, ambitious, anxiety-ridden version of it. Welcome (back) to the experience. —Matt Brennan

MORE TO READ: Dive into the lust-soaked, drug-fueled, competitive world of HBO’s answer to ‘Wall Street’

Special Guest

A weekly conversation with actors, writers, directors, and more about their current projects — and what they’re watching

In the latest season of “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu), our beloved trio of accidental friends-turned-true-crime podcasters — Mabel (Selena Gomez), Oliver (Martin Short), and Charles (Steve Martin) — bring their investigative skills from New York to Los Angeles. They are examining the murder of Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), Charles’ longtime stunt double, who was shot dead at the end of the previous season. Their journey is as quintessentially L.A. as it gets because Hollywood has decided to turn the first season of their popular podcast into a movie. We had a chat with John Hoffman, the show’s co-creator, and showrunner, who shared his experiences of moving to L.A. in the ‘90s, the show that has him as hooked as any mystery, and his comfort show for when he has time for such indulgences. —Yvonne Villarreal

MORE TO READ: ‘Only Murders in the Building’ goes Hollywood: ‘This is a dreamy way to start the season’

What was the last true crime/mystery story that completely captivated you?

“Ripley” [Netflix], which is neither true crime nor a mystery, actually, but I was absolutely hooked. To answer more directly, I was engrossed in the subtler crimes and “who’s gonna make it?” elements of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders show [“America’s Sweethearts,” Netflix].

“Only Murders in the Building” heads to L.A. this season. You’re originally from Brooklyn. What do you remember about your first time in L.A.?

My friends Billy Morrisette, Kevin Kane, and Maura Tierney were living in Venice. They invited me to stay with them and start my life in L.A. We drove across the country in Billy and Maura’s van, playing the “$100,000 Pyramid” game for nine hours straight across West Texas. I placed an old, worn-out twin mattress on their living room floor in Venice, right on Abbott Kinney Boulevard, and began my life with a three-cylinder car that I bought on a credit card; I was broke. I’d nervously merge onto the highway, praying that I’d be OK, and I would go and try and find work. I didn’t think I was going to make it out here. Actually, I saw an ad in the paper for auditions to be a contestant on “$100,000 Pyramid” about two months after I got here. Because I was broke and desperate, and because it was the early ‘90s, I thought, “OK, I’m gonna go.” And Billy and Kevin went with me. I said, “Whoever wins, we have to split it.” I foolishly made that deal — I ended up getting on, and I won $16,000.

What made you interested in taking this kind of bicoastal journey with the show?

There are two things I was very conscious about for this season: bringing our trio back to the trio work and being with them as they go through the season together in solving this mystery. This is a very personal mystery; there’s real deep resonance in every fiber of their being to solve this case because of who it was. I also really want people to know it’s in New York, because people got confused, I think, in thinking the whole season is in Los Angeles. We’re a New York show. We’ll follow that track. The other thing I’m excited for viewers to see, which I was nervous about, truthfully, is this collection of incredible people coming to be a part of the show. I’m always trying to balance — last year with the theater and the musical and all of that that was happening, it was all about integrating the musical into our show so it felt organic, and it felt like a part of, not something that takes it over. Same thing with the movie, and same thing with this amazing collection of stars that are a part of the season; they had to feel in the show and and tracked through so they’re not diverting away… There isn’t a part where I feel like, “Oh, this now looks like we’re just tap dancing for this guest star.”

Speaking of which, the way the show incorporates its A-list guest stars is one of the highlights each season. When I heard that Melissa McCarthy would be on this season, all I could think was, “Please let there be a physical comedy showdown with her and Steve Martin.”

I assure you, there is perhaps one of the most signature physical comedy moments we’ve ever had in our series in that episode [with her].

I keep hoping Jennifer Coolidge will make her way to the Arconia. Who else would you like to see join the fun in future seasons?

I would love to work with her on this show. The lists are getting shorter. Honestly, I can’t believe it. The last thing I want is to bring on some amazing person and not have the thing that feels either fresh for them or unexpected and, yet, let them sit in their perfect wheelhouse, too. I adore Jennifer Coolidge. Love her. I love Catherine O’Hara. These legendary, comedic forces. With Zach Galifianakis this season, he had a lot going on with his life. And it was one of those things of Paul Rudd talking to Zach and saying, “You will have the time of your life.” That kind of thing is just lovely.

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?

“Antiques Roadshow” [PBS]. It might seem like a joke. Not at all. I tend to like quiet TV shows and the thrill of waiting for the estimated value of an antique find is all the stress I need for my home life. For films, a real comfort go-to is “Terms of Endearment.” Perfect mix of funny, unexpected, poignant life. I can’t resist joining in watching wherever I happen to be.