Here’s more proof that corporate-dominated dystopias are the new zombies. Syfy has greenlit a new show being produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. And Incorporated is set in a near future where corporations hold all the power. Which, to be fair, doesn’t sound that much different than the world we live in.
Incorporated already has a full-season order. The show will follow Ben Larson (Sean Teale) in a near future where corporations “have unlimited power”, in which Ben infiltrates a shadowy company to save the woman he loves. I’m not sure why they needed the “near future” descriptor, considering the depressing ways in which corporations influence our current world—but this sounds like a good old fashioned bit of corporate espionage, just with a “20 minutes into the future” twist. Even Dave Howe, Syfy’s president, is in agreement:
The most powerful science fiction holds up a mirror to our world. INCORPORATED is exactly that type of smart, provocative series, delivering a fresh, edge of your seat thriller that challenges notions of the world we live in today.
We’ve seen a number of evil corporations in our big science fiction entertainment (which is of course created by giant corporations) lately. Everything from Person of Interest to Continuum to Black Mirror, to even Orphan Black, has featured megacorps that are more powerful than governments. So maybe Howe is right that this is a way in which science fiction is holding up a mirror to our world?
Top image: Continuum.