I don’t think my new year’s resolution – to take a lunch break every day – would much impress the cast of Industry. In the BBC show’s fourth series, the idea that work might pause politely at midday feels almost quaint, like a relic of a slower moral universe.
As our reviewer Peter Watt, who researches the philosophy of work culture, explains, when Industry first aired in 2020 it seemed ostensibly to be a drama about a recent cohort of ambitious young graduates entering the cut-throat world of investment banking. But as the opening season unfolded and its central characters were established, it became clear that although the trading floor of the fictional-but-all-so-familiar Pierpoint and Co. was its setting, this was not just a show about finance.
Now returning for season four, the show is exposing the Faustian pact of modern work culture. For the Industry cast (and so many of us in the real world) life no longer interrupts work – work is life.
Industry season four is streaming on BBC iplayer
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Industry season four exposes the Faustian bargain of modern work culture
Off-beat mysteries
A grizzled former detective reunites with their former partner to solve a case uncomfortably close to the one that got them kicked off the force. On paper, it’s familiar detective territory. But the new Sky Arts drama Under Salt Marsh quickly subverts expectations.
Jackie Ellis (Kelly Reilly) isn’t a chain-smoking, jaded old hand, but a middle-aged woman driven by the search for her missing niece. Her former partner Eric Bull (Rafe Spall) is no rigid rule-follower either: he’s a queer man with an encyclopaedic grasp of local flora and fauna. And he’s happy to investigate using all his senses, tasting ditchwater and chewing samphire.
Set against the rugged north-Welsh coast, our reviewer calls it “an excellent, environmentally engaged detective drama”.
Under Salt Marsh is streaming on Sky Arts
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Under Salt Marsh: detective drama uses the Welsh coast to explore climate anxiety
Mysteries of a more esoteric nature abound in Glyph, the new novel from Ali Smith with the same – yet different – title as her last novel, Gliff. While not obviously connected through either characters or subject matter, the characters of Glyph have read the novel Gliff, and discuss it.
While I don’t profess to always understand her novels, I love reading Smith. She’s one of the most experimental mainstream writers working in the UK, and I always find myself thinking about her work months – and in some cases even years – after turning the last page.
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Ali Smith’s Glyph is an exhilarating and excoriating follow-up to Gliff
Bonnet season
Mark your calendars and don your best bonnet – Bridgerton is back. This season the focus is on bohemian second son Benedict who loves his freedom and is loath to settle down. For every person lapping up the drama, however, there’s another (usually very vocal) cynic.
Period drama expert Shelley Galpin explains why it’s a mistake to dismiss Bridgerton as fluffy period drama. To her mind, the show represents a complex interplay of the real – whether historical moments or relatable issues – with the fantastical, in its deliberately heightened aesthetics and swoonworthy romantic resolutions.
Bridgerton is streaming on Netflix
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It’s a mistake to dismiss Bridgerton as fluffy period drama
For episode seven of Jane Austen’s Paper Trail, we’re doing something a little different. Rather than putting Austen under the microscope ourselves, we’re handing the questions over to you. We’ve received a virtual sack full of letters from you, ranging from questions about Austen’s religious beliefs to her grasp of contemporary science, and even what she might have made of social media.
Unlike Jane’s sister Cassandra Austen, however, we have no intention of throwing your letters into the flames. Instead, three experts join me to debate them – and, where possible, to settle them.
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How much can we really know about Jane Austen? Experts answer your questions
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