7 Couples From HBO’s ‘Industry,’ Ranked
In HBO’s Industry, romance is as volatile as working at London’s biggest investment bank.
The series highlights the highs and lows of working finance while also spotlighting the messiness of modern-day relationships. Friendship and rivalries all bleed into desire, making for one of the best representations of what dating is like in the modern era. Although the focus of the series is the death of work-life balance, there are an array of couples that make Industry so fun to watch.
Ranging from strict hookups to episodes-long romances, Industry is undeniably one of the sexiest shows in HBO history. With Season 3 currently airing, we are charting some of the most important couples in the series and ranking them from best to worst.
Industry, Season 3, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO
7. Harper & Danny
Like many cast members on Industry, Danny’s (Alex Alomar Akpobome) time onscreen was fleeting. Coming from Pierpoint’s New York office in Season 2, he and Harper (Myha’la) immediately shared a strained tension between them. While he essentially took over the trading floor from Eric (Ken Leung), he didn’t get an official promotion and was later made one of Pierpoint’s redundancies, along with Harper. Though they now share this thing to commiserate over, Danny is not in Season 3. It’s not necessarily something to miss, as Harper’s other relationships are more interesting, and Danny remains “mad corny,” as she herself once called him.
6. Harper & Rob
Along with many relationships in the show, it appeared that these two would be one of the central couples during its first season. Despite their initial attraction to each other, it was clear that the two would never work out – despite having a situationship in Season 2. Their connection to Yasmin is what tethers them together and that became even more apparent when the three attempted to have a threesome. While Harper is probably a better fit for Rob (Harry Lawtey) romantically, the way they view sex in their current lives is incompatible; sex to Harper is a transactional action, while Rob is an inherently romantic person deep down. It was clearly never meant to last, but nevertheless, it was fun to watch the two play a little game of cat-and-mouse.
5. Rob & Yasmin
If there is an employee at Pierpoint who could be described as a hopeless romantic, Rob is the first character to come to mind. He and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) spend the better part of Industry’s three seasons pushing-and-pulling against each other, making for an entertaining “will they or won’t they” situation. Though Yasmin seems to be more infatuated with Rob’s inherent need to please –and obey – the women around him, it’s clear that he is a little bit in love with her. Industry isn’t a show where people maintain healthy relationships, and the one between these two is perhaps the longest example of friend-zoning onscreen. Despite these two being set up to be Industry’s doomed romance, they’re unfortunately much more interesting when they’re with other people.
4. Yasmin & Henry
Of all the relationships Yasmin has had throughout the show, Henry (Kit Harington) is the man she has the most chemistry with. Like most men she finds herself drawn to, Yasmin’s attraction to Henry comes with her desire for the life he can offer her. Hooking up with him serves her career just as much as it serves her sexual desires, and although Henry sees Yasmin as nothing more than a hookup, she feels like this is a man she can have power over. Like all relationships in this show, it’s not ethically sound at all, but would it truly be Industry if it wasn’t? Regardless, Harington and Abela have a chemistry that crackles between them, allowing you to forget – even just for a moment – that Yasmin probably shouldn’t be sleeping with someone who Pierpoint’s livelihood rests in the hands of.
3. Gus & Theo
Although Gus (David Jonsson) has seemingly disappeared in Season 3, his impact on the show is a lasting fact. In Season 1, his storyline revolved around his contentious relationship with Pierpoint analyst Theo (Will Tudor), whom he went to college with. Though Theo was in a relationship with a woman, that didn’t stop him from being drawn to Gus all season, and it made for a devastating yet sensual situationship. The push-and-pull between the two was fascinating to watch, although it was clear that they would never truly be able to engage in a relationship. Theo’s internalized homophobia was a direct conflict for Gus – who remains Industry’s only out and proud gay character. Despite how fleeting their romance was, their relationship was one of the most interesting versions of this kind of trope.
2. Harper & Rishi
Perhaps one of the most shocking hookups in Industry history, Harper and Rishi’s (Sagar Radia) one-night stand was really a long time coming. The two bumped heads throughout Harper’s employment at Pierpoint, acting as two sides of the same volatile coin, which was why they were both drawn to and repulsed each other. While Rishi was incapable of holding his assholery in, Harper kept it on the down low and used it as a weapon. In Season 2, hostility turned into tension, which in a show like Industry, inevitably led to these two hooking up. To put the cherry on top, they had sex on Rishi’s wedding day. While their sex scene was brief, it was fascinating to watch these two characters who hate each other so much find a release with each other.
1. Yasmin & Celeste
In Season 2, Yas attempted to move from the trading floor at Pierpoint into personal wealth management, where her family’s money was an asset she could bring to the firm. She was lured into this division by Celeste (Katrine De Candole), an older woman whose seductive nature chipped away at Yasmin’s hard outer shell. In her past relationships with men, Yasmin was the domineering one, but with Celeste, we finally saw a different side to her. She was the one being seduced, and it allowed her to let her guard down in a workplace that usually made this impossible. While lines were definitely crossed, the chemistry between them had an edge that other couples on this show don’t have. Their shared infatuation made for one of the most seductive pairings on an already steamy show, with the tension between them simmering until it became startlingly close to boiling over.
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