Roush Review: The Very Funny & Life-Affirming ‘Upload’ Is to Die For

Matt Roush April 28, 2020, 11:30 am

Upload Amazon Prime Video Review — Amazon

My idea of TV heaven is a show like Upload, a fantastical comedy in the tradition of The Good Place and Forever that is every bit as endearing as it is endlessly clever.

Set in 2033, it’s the story of Nathan (an affably charming Robbie Amell), a young app developer mortally wounded in a self-driving car accident — or was it foul play? When his consciousness is transported to a plush digital afterlife, he soon learns that eternal paradise has its limits. Especially when your spoiled girlfriend (Allegra Edwards) is paying for everything.

'Upload': Robbie Amell's 3 Things to Know About His Amazon Comedy

Keeping Nathan grounded is his tech-support “angel,” Nora (the sublime Andy Allo), a winsome rebel who defies company policy by making herself known, via avatar, to the client she begins to fall for.

As their very-long-distance relationship develops, the series works on multiple levels: as a delightfully tangled love story, as a mystery — someone’s hacking Nathan’s memories — and as a gag-driven satire of haves and have-nots in a country-club Valhalla in need of an empathy upgrade. Fast-paced, very funny and ultimately life-affirming, Upload is (you guessed it) to die for.