Upload is the best comedy you're not watching
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Upload is by no means the first comedy written about the afterlife. It's not even the best comedy written about the afterlife. But that doesn't mean it isn't a great show that deserves your attention.
From creator Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation), the Amazon Prime Video series follows Nathan (Robbie Amell), a young guy who unexpectedly dies in a car accident, through his journey into the beyond. Set in a future full of self-driving cars and food printers, Upload takes Nathan from the land of the living to the land of Lake View, the nicest of the nice digital afterlives. There, his consciousness is dropped into an avatar that allows him to keep living... sort of. He obviously can't be part of the real world anymore, but thanks to some crazy technology, he can still call his loved ones and, from time to time, they can even visit him. Plus, thanks to a seriously gross sex suit, he can even still sleep with his girlfriend. (That part's maybe a bit too weird.)
Katie Yu/Amazon Studios Robbie Amell and Andy Allo in 'Upload'
But much like the afterlife comedies that came before it, Upload takes every opportunity to be creative: There are secret codes to help you age if you died when you were young, or if you have the money, you can pay for a digital baby so that you can experience (a very strange version of) parenthood. It all comes at a price, though. See, digital afterlives are yet another way for companies to make money, meaning Nathan — but really his girlfriend, Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) — has to pay for just about every part of his experience. And if he can't, he could end up on the two-gig plan, which will leave him frozen for the rest of the month if his data runs out. And that's not even mentioning the countless pop-up ads and technical glitches that get in the way.
The heart of the show, however, is a love story. When Nathan enters Lake View, he's assigned to an "angel," a living person sitting at a computer, surveilling his journey, ready to help should he have any questions. (And thanks to some great VR, said angel can also enter Lake View when needed.) Nathan's angel is Nora (Andy Allo), and it takes very little time for them to become the sort of friends that you desperately want to kiss. With Nora by his side, Nathan starts to adjust to his new reality, all the while dealing with a mystery: Nathan and Nora start to believe he was murdered, so together, they work to find out the truth.
With two seasons out now, Upload is nothing if not an enjoyable binge. It feels like it's been, for the most part, overlooked. It doesn't have to be better than The Good Place! It can still be inventive and funny and interesting. So, if you haven't given it a chance yet, now's the time... before we all end up in digital afterlives of our own.
Upload is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
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