NETFLIX has sparked an angry online backlash and calls for a boycott over claims the video streaming service is “race baiting” with a comedy titled Dear White People.

The series, based on an “acclaimed indie film”, “satirises ‘post-racial’ America as students of colour navigate a predominantly white Ivy League college”, according to the site’s description.

It is set on an American college campus that’s dealing with the fallout of a “blackface” party thrown by a group of white students. Each episode is told from the perspective of a different character. The series will debut on April 24.

The trailer features an African-American student addressing “white people” in a broadcast at a campus radio station, urging them to stop wearing blackface costumes.

“Dear white people,” she says. “Here’s a list of acceptable Halloween costumes: pirate, slutty nurse, any of our first 43 presidents. Top of the list of unacceptable costumes: me.”

Since being uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday, the trailer has been viewed nearly 200,000 times and attracted nearly 95 per cent “dislikes” from users, with negative comments quickly being removed.

Many said they would cancel their Netflix subscription, while others described the video as “racist towards white people” and an example of “why Trump won”.

“Dear Netflix. Social justice warrior idiocy has failed,” wrote conservative commentator Mark Dice.

“Keep deleting comments, Netflix, you can’t delete the truth,” DerNamenlose1991 wrote, with PriceRight89 adding: “Who wants to bet they’ll delete this and try again to get a more desired like/dislike ratio?”

Max Larsen wrote: “Who on earth thought this was a good idea? You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see racial tensions are at all-time highs because of the regressive left. Why would you name it that? What is the gain here? What moron in marketing made these decisions?”

“Not even white but this s*** is getting annoying as f***. Keep this up for #Trump2020,” Josh Chung wrote. Bill Nguyen added: “Netflix, make a Dear Black People [or] Dear Yellow People and I will considering buying a subscription.”

Venom Snake wrote: “Thanks for helping Trump get re-elected in 2017. People are tired of this constant race-baiting bulls***.”

Anonymous wrote: “Dear white people, quit giving entertainment corporations like Netflix and Hollywood producers your money, learn to torrent and use illegal streaming sites for the content you want, and most certainly unsubscribe from Netflix.”

TacTundra35 wrote: “Interesting how ‘white people’ invented most of the things that make up this trailer ... like universities, computers, TVs, the European waltz in the background ... yet it’s still okay to be racist towards us.”

Mikael Bloomqvist wrote: “It’s fine and encouraged to say racists need to check themselves ... but to call out all white people as racist IS racist.

“Look at the comments below and think about how you want all that to affect your sales this year. You’ve been doing great giving us quality programs like Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Daredevil. Not to mention the great movies and cartoons. You are doing great with all that. But once you start down the SJW path, forever will it dominate your soul. Being anti-white is trendy, but YOU need to be a trendsetter, not a follower.

“This show, as well as the movie that preceded it, are fictional garbage and totally racist. If you’d brought us a real documentary on racism, I’d have watched it and enjoyed it ... but what this show/movie do is to paint white people as hate-filled, ignorant racists and black people as undeserved victims of things that don’t actually happen. Cancel this show and come to your senses before your financial loss encourage you to do it.”

Netflix has been contacted for comment.

frank.chung@news.com.au

* An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Mark Dice as an ‘alt-right’ commentator. He is not and news.com.au sincerely apologises for this error.