'Industry' Hottie Harry Lawtey Will Not Return for Season 4

One of the break-out stars of HBO's finance drama "Industry" is Harry Lawtey, who plays the confident, randy working class Robert Spearing. In Season 1 he secures a berth on the trading floor of the prestigious London investment bank Pierpoint & Co, as well as a considerable fan following for his insatiable sexual appetite. His on-going flirtation with Yasmin (Marisa Abela) culminated with her giving him a handjob in an office rest room in one of the show's most memorable moments, as was his full-frontal nude scene, pics of which went viral.

But over the following two seasons, Robert is humbled by the ruthless machinations of his industry peers, which resulted with him becoming the fall guy for one of Pierpoint's investment disasters. By the end of the the third season, a humbled Robert is off to America to work for psilocybin startup after a mind-blowing psychedelic experience with a wealthy, eccentric owner of a green start-up company, played by Kit Harington.

That Robert was headed overseas should have been a red flag that Lawtey would not be returning to the series, but he has been such an integral and influential character that it is difficult to imagine the series without him. Nonetheless, it was confirmed on Thursday that Lawtey is leaving the show due to "scheduling conflicts." The show starts shooting Season 4 next month.

"Lawtey has become somewhat of a hot commodity over the last few years, recently appearing as Harvey Dent in 'Joker: Folie à Deux,' so his exit is not entirely a surprise, but it might be disappointing to viewers who were hoping to see where Rob's story was set to go next," writes Deadline.

The outlet writes that speculation about Lawtey's exit grew on Thursday after the announcement that Max Minghella is joining the cast in a new role. HBO also revealed that Kit Harington, who joined the cast last season as a wealthy heir and tech giant will remain part of the main cast for Season 4. Also returning are Myha'la, Marisa Abela, Ken Leung, Sagar Radia, and Miriam Petche.

While plot details of Season 4 are under wraps, the show's creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay told Deadline in December that they are taking inspiration from Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton for Season 4. "We want to write a corporate thriller," Down teased, calling Gilroy's film "the greatest corporate thriller of all time."

HBO's "Industry" proved that if a strong show is dropped onto the network's coveted 9pm slot on Sunday, people will watch. The show performed modestly well its first two seasons, slowly gaining viewers. Season 2 averaged 1.4 million viewers an episode. After its move to Sunday, strong reviews and word-of-mouth, that number increased to 1.6 viewers per episode, with the show being considered for award recognition after receiving a 2025 Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Drama Series.