Ahead of its highly-anticipated fourth season finale, the future of BBC smash Industry has been confirmed — and it’s a mixed bag for fans. The good news is it’s been renewed for season five; the bad news is that it will be its last hurrah.
The current run has been a massive runaway success, with a near-perfect score of 96% from critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. With the season’s final instalment airing next Monday (2 March) in the UK, it’s now been revealed that the story will continue for one more batch of episodes, at which point the show will end.
“For some time now we have been thinking about how best to end the show on an unparalleled high,” creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay said, according to Deadline.
“Unlike some of our characters, we know when to leave a party. We’d like to thank our evangelical fan base, especially those who have watched from day one.”
The show airs on HBO in the US, and season four has reportedly enjoyed an impressive 30% boost in viewership compared to season three.
Nick Strasburg//BBC
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The programme follows the personal and professional lives of people operating in the UK financial sector, and stars the likes of Myha’la, Marisa Abela and Ken Leung.
The current season has seen Yasmin (Myha’la) navigating a relationship with tech founder Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington), while Harper (Abela) becomes entangled with Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella).
Fans have reacted to news of the final renewal on the show’s official Instagram, with one saying: “HOW WILL I LIVE AFTER THIS SHOW ENDS.”
BBC/Bad Wolf Productions/Amanda Searle
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“I need this show to run forever,” said someone else, while another comment reads: “How are they even going to top season 4?”
Abela also posted about the news on her own Instagram feed, captioning a series of photos: “INDUSTRY HIVE……. INDUSTRY FIVE !!!!!!!!!! THE FINAL SEASON. Let’s f**in go.”
Industry debuted back in 2020 and, last year, Abela won Best Leading Actress at the BAFTA TV Awards for her performance on it. It also won the Drama Series prize at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.
Industry concludes its current series on Monday, 2 March at 10.40pm on BBC One in England or 11.10pm in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online; specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who’ll listen.