“Incorporated” star Dennis Haysbert said at the show’s Television Critics Association summer press tour panel on Wednesday that the racial intolerance he has witnessed in the past few years has made him nervous.
“The intolerance of people against other people is growing and growing,” Haysbert said. “And the thing is, this is not anything that’s changed. This has been going on for years. What we’re doing now is pulling back the veil.”
“I think the first time the word ‘white’ was used was the 1600s,” he continued. “Generally, we were described as where we came from: we were Irish, we were Spanish, we were African, we were German. All of a sudden this word ‘white’ came through, and everyone is going for this sense of power, to figure out who’s on top.”
“I’ll tell you who’s on top: There’s that one percent that’s on top and kept us fighting each other. Until we figure that out and stop, this is where we’re headed,” he concluded.
Racial tensions have been particularly high in recent months after the deaths of unarmed black men Philando Castile and Alton Sterling at the hands of police officers. This has led to several deadly shootings against police officers in cities like Dallas, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Set in a future where companies have seemingly unlimited power, “Incorporated” centers on Ben Larson (Sean Teale), a young executive who risks everything to infiltrate an all-controlling corporate world and save the woman he loves.
Teale leads the cast, which also includes Eddie Ramos, Julia Ormond and Haysbert. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck serve as executive producers on the show, which hails from the duo’s Pearl Street Productions, in association with CBS Television Studios and Universal Cable Productions.
“Incorporated” will premiere on Nov. 30 on Syfy.