Politics is often too cavalierly connected to entertainment choices, but a show about a dystopian future ravaged by climate change — produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon — probably invites more scrutiny on that score than most.
“Incorporated,” a Syfy series, will thus find tolerance for the concept somewhat linked to the audience’s built-in belief system, before this pretty subversive drama gets into the meat of a story that weds espionage-like intrigue with a tragic boy-meets-girl back story.
Set in 2074, the show’s conceit is that the world has been taken over by multinational corporations, amid a climate crisis that has starkly separated the haves from have-nots and brought governments to their knees. The best moments, in fact, are essentially small ones that chronicle this unsettling turn of events, such as a Chinese TV commercial soliciting donations to help that starving Third World country populated by climate refugees, the United States.
Still, “Incorporated” — created by brothers Alex and David Pastor (“Self/less”) — can only afford a modest amount of world-building on its TV budget. So the narrative zeroes in on Ben Larson (“Reign’s” Sean Teale), a rising young executive who is determined to reach the 40th floor, corporate-speak within his company for getting ahead.
Ben is married to Laura (Allison Miller), but it turns out his real motivation is to be reunited with the love of his life, Elena (Denyse Tontz). Both had been relegated to the wasteland known as the Red Zone, where Elena’s brother (Eddie Ramos) still resides, and which Elena only escaped by becoming a kind of glorified escort/sex slave for the super-rich.
These details come out in flashbacks, while the present action centers on Ben’s labors to unlock secrets about Elena’s whereabouts without alerting those above him, which include top brass played by Dennis Haysbert and Julia Ormond. And while those who climb the corporate ladder are fabulously rewarded, the punishment for those who fail or transgress is equally ruthless.
The situations are reasonably tense as “Incorporated” winds through its first handful of episodes. But the Orwellian nightmare that the writers concoct winds up taking a back seat to a more conventional cat-and-mouse game as Ben navigates his way through the ranks. Similarly, the show’s futuristic vision is largely visualized by better versions of portable devices and wardrobe.
What starts out as an ambitious concept thus feels less and less so as the plot progresses. And while Syfy deserves credit for undertaking something that certainly sounds provocative on paper, creatively speaking, “Incorporated” doesn’t ascend to the TV equivalent of the 40th floor.
“Incorporated” premieres November 30 at 10 p.m. on Syfy.