G B

Awful. Embarrassing. Sooner this show puts us out of its misery, the better for all concerned.

Was disappointed by this, too many weak and stereotyped characters and just boring.

I worked for an investment bank for a few years, to my shame, and the only connection between reality and this show is how odious the majority of the characters are in both. The day I left to become self-employed was the brightest day. This show is laughably unrealistic in all other ways though. For example, if anyone thinks that HR/management at these type of organisations just have a laugh and look the other way if someone uploads a photo of themselves eating a burger instead of a degree certificate then more fool them. In reality, she would have been out of the door the next day and very likely subject to a police investigation for attempting to gain pecuniary advantage by deception. They are, and indeed have to be, extremely tight on that side of things. Likewise, the bullying culture was being stamped down on hard even in my day, and although you get a vast number of deeply unpleasant people working at these places, actions go over the line far less than people imagine, and than this show implies. The representation of the supposed trades and responsibility that these new employees were granted was inaccurate. People watching might want to believe that these characters are schmoozing high net worth clients and are put in charge of multimillion pound portfolios from day one, but these grad schemes are actually highly structured and new employees are kept on a far tighter leash than 'Industry' portrays. I would be astonished if this got a second season; the ratings are (unsurprisingly) low, and why would people enjoy watching such superficial and unpleasant characters as these? Also, a show about young aggressive blowhards with little to no morality earning big money, taking drugs and having sex is at least twenty to thirty years out of date now. This show missed its own boat. Do yourself a favour and watch 'Wolf of Wall Street' instead - it's witty, doesn't take itself seriously the way this does, has a story that is at least adapted from reality, has proper actors, and is an enjoyable watch. If you want to watch something else grounded in reality with a more serious tone, but still sharp and with excellent acting and directing, go for 'Margin Call'.