Harper Stern is out for blood in Industry season 3 — but she’s not in her villain era.
As power dynamics shift like tectonic plates, Myha’la delivers a performance in the new season of the critically acclaimed HBO show that is commanding and deeply human, reminding viewers all the reasons Harper is among televisions strongest leading ladies. Equal part irreverence and heart, Harper stares down some of the most consequential moves yet this season, which premiered on Sunday, Aug. 11. Viewers get to watch it all play out with the same whip-smart, gut-wrenching, and often all too relatable character they’ve grown to know and love over the years.
Related: Industry Season 2: The Intoxicating Power of Harper Stern
Much has been said, and written, about the likability of Harper — an outsized amount no doubt because the media writ large is poor at grasping moral and emotional ambiguity when it’s portrayed in a Black woman. But as Myha’la tells Teen Vogue, Harper contains multitudes, and is, at her core, someone with a moral compass; one that is unquestionably and unavoidably tested as she navigates the shark tank of high stakes banking. In Industry season 3, viewers who have rooted for Stern all along will be handsomely rewarded with her most vindicating season yet.
Myha’la spoke with Teen Vogue about the show’s highly anticipated return, what she’d like to see Harper do next, and why she would be friends with her in real life.
Myha’la: Straight to the airport! I was like, she’s screwed. Truly, I see myself as a fan of the show too and I was just like, she is going to go back to New York. I went to the boys and I asked what was going to happen to her and they were just like, ‘Don’t worry you’re not being fired!’ And I was like… wait should I worry about being fired? (Laughs) But no, I just remember thinking, how are you going to write yourself out of this hole. And as a fan of Harper’s, as a friend of hers, I hoped she could stay.
M: I have to understand the characters I play. That’s how I approach it. They’re obviously not me, but she has become a huge part of me — we’ve been together for five years. And I don’t think I could play a character well if I was like ‘Ew I don’t like you or what you do,’ because then I would be judging them the whole time.
M: Going back to season one, I’m giving deer in headlights, I don’t know if I’m doing this well. Season 2I was like, cool, this is familiar, I can do this. Before coming into season 3, we all went off as actors and did other jobs and gained a level of confidence that we had as actors coming into this season. And then our characters have been in the industry for five years now, they’re making more money. Their goal is no longer to impress their boss, they have aspirations beyond that. So it feels earned and it feels right, considering the place these characters are in now.
M: I think she is leaving her victim era!
M: Well, without getting too spoiler-y, there’s a moment where it’s the first time we see her do purely something for someone else. There’s no ego, no personal gain. She does something for someone else, purely for their benefit for their first time.
I also think about her relationship with Petra (Sarah Goldberg) — that being the first time Harper engages in a professional relationship with a woman and she is given a clear picture of what that life would look like. Someone who’s as ambitious as she is, as cutthroat as she is, playing the game as she does. Having power and authority and making the role.
I think the biggest thing that’s different for Harper is, in this relationship, she starts to ask herself morality questions. And she realizes maybe life can look different than she assumed it would look under previous mentors like Eric (Ken Leung).
M: I think that relationship was begging for an event to ground it — and something happens this season that does that. Marisa says all the time, and I think she’s totally right that Harper and Yasmin would never have crossed paths for any reason other than working together. And in the end, the things they love each other are the things they resent about each other. Yasmin wants so badly to be good at finance; Harper wants to be able to charm the pants off anyone. But this season, they go through something that, whether they like it or not, bonds them forever. And it’s the kind of place a friendship goes to that you can’t come back from.
M: Coming off the back of season 2, the last thing we know about them is that he got her fired — and he did it in such a way that was so patronizing and so covering my ass and so despicable. You want to create an enemy? That’s the best way to do it. So I think, there’s not a move that either of them makes that is not considerably about the other person. Harper is so excited to move through the world and slight him every chance she gets. Even if it’s not the first thing on the list, if it can happen? Yes, extra win, extra sprinkles on the cake. And when they cross paths, their tensions are so high — astronomical.
M: Oh, I would tell her to give it a rest. Like relax, actually chill. She would say, you’re embarrassing, relax. You do not have to try that hard!
M: On a date! I’d be like, go on a date girl! Get laid! Find love and call your parents!
