It's the hit TV drama that's won huge audiences for its high-octane portrayal of the world of London investment banking. 

Industry returned for its fourth series on January 12, reintroducing viewers to the wild misadventures of a group of ambitious young graduates working for fictional Canary Wharf firm Pierpoint & Co.

Industry depicts investment banking as a whirlwind of sex, drugs, partying and 120-hour working weeks. 

Young recruits are also seen engaging in illegal practices, including insider trading and market manipulation, and suffering cases of sexual harassment and physical violence.

While the drama is fictional, it is inspired by British co-creator Konrad Kay's three-year stint at a US investment bank and claims to depict the 'unrelenting world of high-finance'. 

American actress Myha’la, who plays Harper Stern in the show, has promised plenty of 'drugs, sex [and] rock and roll' in season four.

But is the drama really a faithful depiction of real-life investment banking? 

Industry returned for its fourth series on January 11, reintroducing viewers to the wild misadventures of a group of ambitious young graduates working for fictional Canary Wharf firm Pierpoint & Co 

The new season of Industry picks up after Harper has gone into business with Otto Mostyn for a venture placing short bets on shares based on insider information

One senior banker at a City of London firm said the show's depiction of the party scene at investment banks has some basis in reality, even if it is greatly exaggerated. 

'There is still a fair amount of drugs and sex at the junior level, although not so much on the rock and roll,' he said. 

'Young people are getting more boring but they're still at it. 

'And there still a few sex scandals here and there, but we're now in the Me Too world where senior people are a little bit more restrained. 

'There haven't been many cases of senior people having affairs with junior members of staff that I know of recently, but that happened a lot previously.' 

The City banker also recognises Industry's presentation of the intense relationships that form among young trainees thrown together in a high-flying graduate scheme - and their potential to go sour. 

'At that graduate level, you definitely get those close relationships forming as a result of the long hours and having so much in common,' he said. 

'So those relationships - and the way everyone is going out late after work, drinking and coming in hungover - is real.

'The people you end up working with often become your closest friends, although it can also result in a lot of toxic office politics.' 

The new season of Industry picks up after Harper has gone into business with Otto Mostyn for a venture placing short bets on shares based on insider information.