Upload (TV series)

Upload
Genre	Comedy Science fiction Satire Drama
Created by	Greg Daniels
Starring	Robbie Amell Andy Allo Allegra Edwards Zainab Johnson Kevin Bigley
Composer	Joseph Stephens
Country of origin	United States of America
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Greg Daniels Howard Klein
Production location	Vancouver, B.C.
Camera setup	Single-camera
Production companies	Deedle-Dee Productions 3 Arts Entertainment Reunion Pacific Entertainment Baral-Waley Productions (pilot) Amazon Studios
Original release
Network	Prime Video
Release	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01) – present

Upload is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Greg Daniels. The series premiered on May 1, 2020 on Prime Video and was renewed for a second season seven days later.

Premise

In 2033, humans are able to "upload" themselves into a virtual afterlife of their choosing. When computer programmer Nathan dies prematurely, he is uploaded to the very expensive Lake View, but soon finds himself under the thumb of his possessive, still-living girlfriend Ingrid. As Nathan adjusts to the pros and cons of digital heaven, he bonds with Nora, his living customer service rep. Nora struggles with the pressures of her job, her dying father who does not want to be uploaded, and her growing feelings for Nathan while slowly coming to believe that Nathan was murdered.

Cast and characters

Main

• Robbie Amell as Nathan Brown, a 27-year-old computer engineering grad and newly deceased computer programmer who is uploaded to the digital afterlife Lake View
• Andy Allo as Nora Antony, a living woman who is Nathan's handler in his afterlife
• Allegra Edwards as Ingrid Kannerman, Nathan's girlfriend
• Zainab Johnson as Aleesha, Nora's coworker who is Luke's handler
• Kevin Bigley as Luke, a former army corporal and another resident of Lake View who befriends Nathan and knows a lot of cheat codes in Lake View
• Josh Banday as Ivan (season 2, recurring season 1), Nora's coworker

Recurring

• Jordan Johnson-Hinds as Jamie, Nathan's best friend and business partner
• Chris Williams as Dave Antony, Nora's father
• Owen Daniels as A.I. Guy, an employee at Lake View who serves multiple functions
• Andrea Rosen as Lucy, Nora's boss at Horizen
• Christine Ko as Mandi, Nora's roommate
• Jessica Tuck as Viv, Nathan's mother
• Philip Granger as Uncle Larry, Viv's brother and Nathan's favorite Uncle
• William B. Davis as David Choak, a wealthy man living across the hall from Nathan at Lake View
• Elizabeth Bowen as Fran Booth, Nathan's awkward cousin who is investigating his car accident
• Andy Thompson as the Professor
• Chloe Coleman as Nevaeh, Nathan's niece
• Julian Christopher as Ernie, a Horizen therapist whose avatar in Lake View is a Labrador Retriever
• Rhys Slack as Dylan, a child who lives in Lake View after falling into the Grand Canyon and has been trapped in the form of a 12-year-old despite being uploaded six years ago
• Matt Ward as Byron, Nora's casual sex partner
• Barclay Hope as Oliver Kannerman, Ingrid's father
• Yvetta Fisher as Batia, Nora's coworker
• Hilary Jardine (Megan Ferguson in the pilot episode only) as Mildred, Ingrid's centenarian grandmother who resides in Lake View. Her avatar was based on a very old black and white photograph, and she appears in black and white.
• Scott Patey as Josh Pitzer, an executive hoping to buy Nathan and Jamie's software

Guest

• Justin Stone as Dan the Orbit Gum Guy
• Philip Granger as Uncle Larry
• Phoebe Miu as Yang
• Brea St. James as Older (female) Dylan
• Peter James Smith as Mauricio (digital after-life salesman)
• Lucas Wyka as Jack Kannerman
• Matt Braunger as Brad
• Wayne Wilderson as Zach
• Creed Bratton as Rupert Tilford
• Larry Wilmore as Mr. Whitbridge
• Gigi Gorgeous as Jordan

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Welcome to Upload"	Greg Daniels	Greg Daniels	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
One night while on his way home from picking up groceries, Nathan Brown's self-driving car malfunctions and crashes, leaving him mortally wounded. While in the hospital with his vitals rapidly dropping, his wealthy girlfriend Ingrid Kannerman suggests his consciousness be uploaded so that they can still be together. Nathan hastily agrees and goes through the uploading process. At first everything seems fine and Nathan is happy with his new afterlife, until he realizes the many restrictions involved. Nathan is ready to end it all by jumping into a torrent stream and committing “virtucide” until stopped by Nora Antony, his human handler who helps him cope with this new life. As she leaves her desk at the end of her shift, a file folder containing a corrupt memory file of Nathan's remotely opens and certain files are deleted.
2	"Five Stars"	Greg Daniels	Greg Daniels	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Having to take therapy because he tried “killing” himself, Nathan is introduced to his therapist Ernie, whose avatar is a Labrador Retriever. He tasks Nathan with meeting five new Uploads and learning more about them. In the real world, Nora is working to get an employee discount so she can have her dying father uploaded when he dies. Nora's boss refuses to sign the discount paperwork unless Nora gets a 4.8 star customer service rating by the end of her shift. Nathan meets David Choak, his wealthy neighbor, who suggests that Nathan might have been murdered for his work on a free alternative to Lake View which would have threatened a multi-billion industry. Nathan's cousin Fran is investigating his accident, and finds his car was tampered with because it is unable to give proper information about the crash. Nathan overhears that Nora needs to improve her customer service rating and out of kindness gives her multiple five star ratings. Nora is also able to fix one of Nathan's corrupt memory files and finds out about a software deal he was preparing before his death.
3	"The Funeral"	Jonathan van Tulleken	Mary Gulino	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Nathan prepares for his funeral happening in the real world, assuming a lot of people will be there. Before the funeral they watch news coverage of Rupert Tilford, a man who won the chance to be “downloaded” into a clone body, only for it to have disastrous results. Nathan attends his funeral with Luke, a fellow Upload, and Mildred who is Ingrid's grandmother and also resides in Lakeview. Nora attends his funeral in New York and meets three former girlfriends from his college days, who inquire about her connection to him. Fran questions Ingrid about the accident, not believing Nathan died prematurely and Nathan finds out there wasn't much money given to his surviving family from his unfinished software deal. He's also disheartened by Ingrid's speech as instead of praising his life she praises Rupert's, and his best friends leave during the funeral ceremony. Nathan is informed by Fran that she's investigating the accident and plans on suing the car company because of shady details behind the accident. Nora finds out that Nathan's business deal never went through and when she interviews the man in Nathan's software, she is denied any information.
4	"The Sex Suit"	Jonathan van Tulleken	Aasia Lashay Bullock	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Nathan learns about the various plans of Lakeview's world, and sees what is included for those that pay the least. He's frustrated that Horizen is more interested in getting money for upgrades than providing an equal opportunity experience for all residents. During a Vogue interview, there's tension between Nathan and Ingrid stemming from Nathan's belief that Ingrid no longer loves him as she refuses to use a VR suit to have sex with him. Nathan and Nora's friendship becomes closer, with Nathan feeling he can relate to her more than Ingrid. Ingrid unexpectedly shows up at Nathan's room and prepares to have sex with him, only to pause when she realizes his virtual body is not like his real one. Nora is called in to assist, much to Nathan's dismay, who feels embarrassed about the awkward situation. Fran continues her investigation into Nathan's accident, and upon viewing surveillance footage from the grocery store, discovers that Ingrid went to Nathan's car while he was inside. Nora, upset by her lack of intimacy, reinstalls a dating app and is paired up with Byron, who she previously met on the same app using a different profile. While having sex with him, she pictures her earlier encounter with Nathan.
5	"The Grey Market"	Kacie Anning	Mike Lawrence	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Dylan is frustrated that his family, except for his mother, have pretty much forgotten about him and moved on with their lives and because he is still stuck in a child's body six years after his upload. Nathan and Ingrid take part in couple's therapy, each bringing their respective therapists, both claiming that they feel they're becoming disconnected. Nathan feels that he doesn't have much of his own life, since it's all controlled by Ingrid's decisions. He also reveals Fran's information that he wasn't actually dying before being uploaded. When Nora has to leave Dylan to see her father in the hospital, Nathan offers to watch him. Luke convinces him to visit the Grey Market, a virtual equivalent of a black market, in order to buy hacks to enter a virtual party with living people. While there, Nathan buys a hack into his former business partner Jaime's phone while Dylan absconds to get an illegal avatar upgrade so he can appear as an older person. Upon returning to Lakeview, Dylan discovers his upgrade gave him the body of a young woman which Nora then reprograms to his former body. Fran is in her self-driving vehicle on her way to see Josh Pitzer, when her car malfunctions and drives off the end of a pier.
6	"The Sleepover"	Kacie Anning	Shepard Boucher	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Nathan is informed by his niece Nevaeh that she's having a sleepover with Ingrid as well as Fran's disappearance. Nora's father tells her that she needs to get to know Byron more, who's alive, instead of focusing on Nathan who's dead. Nathan is becoming bored being by himself at Lakeview and tries every chance he can get to spend time with Nora. Luke is causing problems for Aleesha by exploiting bugs in the system to get items and upgrades without paying for them. During their date, Nora finds out some interesting things about Byron, including that he likes to inspire children to always try and do their best, regardless of the situation. During dinner with her family with Nevaeh present, Ingrid dislikes the way they treat both Nevaeh and Nathan because they come from humble means, eventually kicking everyone out. Nora's date with Byron goes awry when he mocks the work that she does. She spends that rest of the evening talking to Nathan, even letting him know that she agrees his death wasn't an accident. She falls asleep at her desk, being awoken by Aleesha.
7	"Bring Your Dad to Work Day"	David Rogers	Owen Daniels	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Nora is exposed by her boss Lucy about her overnight excursion in Lakeview with Nathan, and threatened with losing her good rating should she continue to pursue a close relationship. Ingrid attends a support group and says she's thinking of “freezing” Nathan temporarily until she can be with him. Nora sees a news report about the death of Josh Pitzer and suspects that someone is trying to cover up anything to do with Nathan's program, "Beyond". Nora has Nathan give her father a tour of Lakeview, hoping he'll choose to be uploaded once he dies. A figure approaches the door leading to the data servers for Lakeview and plants a bomb inside, while Nora uses her boss Lucy's computer to find out what she can about what happened in regards to Josh's death and Nathan's damaged memories. She finds that an unknown employee has access to Nathan's files and tries to look into it, but the bomb goes off and shuts down all affected computers. The computers come back on and she searches the global employee database for the unknown employee ID, finding no results. Even after a successful tour with Nathan, Nora's father decides not to go ahead with uploading himself when he dies, instead maintaining his beliefs that he will be reunited with his wife in heaven.
8	"Shopping Other Digital After-Lives"	Jeffrey Blitz	Alex Sherman & Alyssa Lane	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Lucy informs Nora that she's being suspended because of her constant hanging out with Nathan, which goes against company policy. Nathan confesses his feelings for Nora but is not aware that Lucy has taken control of Nora's avatar and she rejects him. Dejected, Nathan asks his mother to help him find a different afterlife that his family can afford. Aleesha informs Nora of Nathan leaving Lakeview. Fearing that he's in danger, she travels to Los Angeles and meets up with Ingrid who was unaware of Nathan's plans. While Ingrid is on the phone, Nora find a box of Nathan's belongings and looks through them. Nathan ends up deciding to stay in Lakeview but when they leave the agency, an unknown assailant grabs the hard drive Nathan has been downloaded to and tosses it into the water to destroy him. Nora reveals to Nathan's mother that she noticed the guy before and gave Ingrid a dummy drive while making sure Nathan's drive was with her.
9	"Update Eve"	Daina Reid	Greg Daniels	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Everyone including Lakeview residents and Horizen employees prepare for a new upgrade for Lakeview. Nathan decides to break up with Ingrid. Lucy keeps pressuring Nora to admit her feelings for Nathan, which would enable Lucy to fire her, but Nora denies it. Nathan finds out that Jamie has been avoiding his calls because he felt ashamed for sleeping with Ingrid; he forgives Jaime and gets him to loan him enough money so he can remain as a "2 Gig", the lowest class of residents (who only have 2 gigabyte of data volume each month). Nathan pressures Ingrid about what she knows about his death but she remains mum. Later, she confronts her father and tells him that she programmed Nathan's car to prioritize his life over others, allowing him to survive the crash long enough to upload. After learning from IT that Uploads who are aware during the upgrade will have their memories restored, Nora convinces Nathan to stay awake in order to find out the truth, even if he might forget anything that has happened since his upload. Nora gives Nathan a program she stole from an IT guy which allows him to see and manipulate Lakeview's code on the fly.
10	"Freeyond"	Daina Reid	Greg Daniels	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Nathan wakes up from the update, with his missing memories restored. One of the images shows that Ingrid's father was one of the investors interested in buying Nathan and Jamie's software, but rather than going with a rich company, they went with Josh Pitzer and his smaller company. Nathan later met Ingrid’s father in private and gave him a copy of the software without Jamie's knowledge to get more money and support his family. Nora was able to bypass Nathan's upgrade and it appears he has forgotten ever knowing her, much to her dismay. Nathan later confides in Luke that he remembers everything but felt he could not face her, knowing he was the bad guy. Nathan moves to the 2 Gig room and calls Nora to confess to her. While talking, the assailant who tried to destroy Nathan's hard drive breaks into her apartment and tries to kill her, prompting her to flee. Using the program he got from Nora, Nathan manages to help Nora escape. He traps the attacker in an elevator and uses it to kill him. Nora speaks to her father about what Nathan and she have found, and he suggests that she hide off the grid until they can figure out who is responsible for Nathan's death. Nora finally admits her feelings for Nathan, but he can't respond since his data has been used up. Nora heads away with Byron as Ingrid comes to visit Nathan in his room to tell him that she's uploaded herself so they can finally be together forever. He gets so upset that his one word response causes him to use up the extra 1GB of data she gave him, prompting Ingrid to call for tech support as the last light in the room flickers out.

Production

Development

On September 8, 2017, it was announced that Amazon had given a pilot order to a new single-camera comedy series created by Greg Daniels. On July 28, 2018, it was announced that Amazon had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. Daniels serves as an executive producer alongside Howard Klein and the series is produced by 3 Arts Entertainment. On May 8, 2020, Amazon renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

In January 2018, it was announced that Robbie Amell and Andy Allo had been cast in the pilot's male and female lead roles, respectively.

Filming

Principal photography for the series ran from March 5 to May 10, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Some exterior photography for the Lake View virtual reality world was shot at Mohonk Mountain House and Preserve in New Paltz, New York, including images of the hotel, grounds, and lake. A small number of interior shots, including rooms at the hotel, were also filmed on location.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 87% with an average score of 6.97 out of 10 based on reviews from 52 critics. The website's critical consensus is, "Though Upload at times suffers from tonal overload, witty writing and a winsome cast make it an afterlife worth living." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

External links

• Official website
• Upload at IMDb