''Upload'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series created by

Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...

. The series premiered on May 1, 2020, on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

and was renewed for a second season. The second season premiered on March 11, 2022; it had seven episodes, three fewer than the first. In May 2022, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on October 20, 2023, and consists of eight episodes. In March 2024, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season.

Premise

In 2033, humans can "

upload Uploading refers to ''transmitting'' data from one computer system to another through means of a network. Common methods of uploading include: uploading via web browsers, FTP clients, and terminals ( SCP/ SFTP). Uploading can be used in th ...

" themselves into a virtual afterlife of their choosing. When computer programmer Nathan Brown dies prematurely, he is uploaded to the very expensive Lakeview, but then 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 Robert Patrick Amell IV (born April 21, 1988) is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series ''The Tomorrow People'' (2013–2014), Ronnie Raymond / Firestorm on The CW series ''Th ...

as Nathan Brown, a 27-year-old computer engineering grad and newly deceased computer programmer who is uploaded to the digital afterlife Lakeview. **Kauis Lowe portrays a young Nathan (guest season 1) *

Andy Allo Andy Allo (born January 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress. She released her first of three albums in 2009, and joined Prince's band, The New Power Generation, in 2011. She had a recurring role in three episodes o ...

as Nora Antony, a living woman who is Nathan's handler in his afterlife * Allegra Edwards as Ingrid Kannerman, Nathan's materialistic, obsessive girlfriend *

Zainab Johnson Zainab Johnson (born March 22) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and podcaster. She debuted her comedy album in 2016, her half-hour television special in 2018 and her hour-long streaming TV special in 2023. Johnson was the winner of ABF ...

as Aleesha Morrison-Downey, Nora's coworker who is Luke's handler *

Kevin Bigley Kevin Warren Bigley (born October 5, 1986) is an American television and film actor, best known for playing rookie paramedic Brian Czyk on the USA Network series ''Sirens''. Biography Bigley was born in Yuba City, California, and studied acting ...

as Luke Crossley, a former army corporal and Lakeview resident who befriends Nathan and is dating Mildred * Andrea Rosen as Lucy Slack (season 2–present; recurring season 1), Nora and Aleesha's domineering boss *

Owen Daniels Owen Daniels may refer to: * Owen Daniels (American football) Owen Gerald Daniels (born November 9, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football f ...

as A.I. Guy (season 2–present; recurring season 1), a virtual employee at Lakeview who can appear in many places at once. Daniels also portrays Boris Netherlands, an unemployed actor who was paid for his likeness to be used in Lakeview. * Josh Banday as Ivan Spelich (season 2–present; recurring season 1), Nora's coworker

Recurring

Jessica Tuck Jessica Tuck (born February 19, 1963) is an American actress, best known for her performances on television as Megan Gordon Harrison on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'', Gillian Gray in the CBS drama series ...

as Vivian "Viv" Brown, Nathan's mother * Chris Williams as Dave Antony (season 1; guest season 2), Nora's father *

Jordan Johnson-Hinds Jordan Johnson-Hinds (born November 1, 1989) is a Canadian actor,Alexandra Del Rosario"Jordan Johnson-Hinds Joins Nick Wootton/Jake Coburn NBC Drama Pilot" ''Deadline Hollywood'', July 12, 2021. most noted for his leading roles as Keon Colby in t ...

as Jamie Arpaz (season 1), Nathan's best friend and business partner *

Megan Ferguson Megan Ferguson (born ) is an American actress. In 2011, Ferguson married fellow actor Nico Evers-Swindell Nico Thomas Evers-Swindell is a New Zealand actor who portrayed Prince William in the 2011 Lifetime original film '' William & Kate''. P ...

(pilot), Hilary Jardine (season 1), and

Vic Michaelis Vic Michaelis is an American-Canadian improvisational comedian and actor. They have appeared on Dropout comedy shows including as the host of '' Very Important People'' (2023–). Early life Michaelis was born in New Jersey and raised in Il ...

(season 2) as Mildred Kannerman, Ingrid's centenarian grandmother who resides in Lakeview, and whose avatar was based on an old

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

photograph *

William B. Davis William Bruce Davis (born January 13, 1938) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as the Cigarette Smoking Man on ''The X-Files''. Besides appearing in many TV programs and movies, he founded his own acting school, the William Davis C ...

as David Choak, a wealthy man living across the hall from Nathan * Elizabeth Bowen as Fran Booth (season 1), Nathan's awkward cousin who is investigating his car accident * Rhys Slack as Dylan (season 1; guest season 2–present), a child who lives in Lakeview after falling into the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

and is trapped in the form of a 12-year-old despite being uploaded six years prior ** Brea St. James portrays an Older (female) Dylan (guest season 1) * Matt Ward as Byron Titley (season 1; guest season 2), Nora's casual sex partner * Andy Thompson as Lionel Winters (season 1; guest season 2–present) (identified only as "the Professor" in the first season) *

Barclay Hope Barclay Hope (born February 25, 1958) is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Clifford and Claudius Blossom on '' Riverdale'', Mike Hayden on '' Street Legal'', Peter Axon on '' PSI Factor'', Col. Lionel Pendergast on ''St ...

as Oliver Kannerman (season 1; guest season 2–present), Ingrid's father * Yvetta Fisher as Batia (seasons 1–2; guest season 3), Nora's coworker * Ryan Beil as Craig Munthers (season 2; guest seasons 1, 3) *

Paulo Costanzo Paulo Costanzo (born September 21, 1978) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill (Ax) in the TV series ''Animorphs'', the roles of Rubin Carver in the comedy film ''Road Trip'', Alexander Cabot in '' Josie an ...

as Matteo (season 2; guest season 3) * Mackenzie Cardwell as Tinsley (season 2 – present), a temp hired by Aleesha *

as Mildred (season 2) * Kristine Cofsky as Holden (season 3; guest season 1), Nathan's ex-girlfriend * Peter James Smith as Mauricio (season 3; guest season 1), a digital afterlife salesman *

Bassem Youssef Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef (born 22 March 1974) is an Egyptian-American comedian, television host, and former surgeon. Beginning his career with ''The B+ Show'' (2011), which was inspired by his experiences during the 2011 Egyptian Revolutio ...

as Miro Mansour (season 3) *

Jeanine Mason Jeanine Marie Mason (born January 14, 1991) is an American actress and dancer. Her acting career began after winning the fifth season of the Fox television show ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2009. She is best known for her role as Liz Ortecho ...

as Karina Silva (season 3), a charming new Horizen executive in charge of new product development and cybersecurity *

Lee Majdoub Lee Majdoub (; born May 31, 1982) is a Lebanese-Canadian actor. He is known for his role as Agent Stone in the ''Sonic'' film franchise. Majdoub played Ash Ketchum in the fan-made short film ''Pokémon Apokélypse'' (2010), and has appeared in ...

(season 4)

Guest

Christine Ko Christine Ko (born ) is an American actress, known for her roles as Emma on the CBS sitcom '' The Great Indoors'', Mandi on ''Upload'' and Emma on ''Dave''. Before her success in America, she had a brief career in Taiwan in the early 2010s. ...

as Mandy (season 1), Nora's roommate *

Wayne Wilderson Wayne Wilderson (born January 30, 1966) is an American actor who has had guest spots on many successful television programs. Early life and education He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Breck School in 1984 and received a ...

as Zach (season 1) *

Matt Braunger Matthew Braunger (born August 1, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. His most recent special ''Finally Live In Portland'' was launched by Comedy Dynamics in 2019. Outside of performing stand-up, Braunger is noted for being ...

as Brad (season 1) *

Chloe Coleman Chloe Chase Coleman (born November 23, 2008) is an American actress. Career Coleman made her acting debut at the age of 5 in an episode of the Fox television series ''Glee'' in 2013. She was cast in January 2016 in the HBO limited series '' B ...

as Nevaeh, Nathan's niece **Luvyna Ward portrays a younger Nevaeh (season 2) * Justin Stone as Dan the Orbit Gum Guy (season 1) *

Julian Christopher Julian Christopher (November 7, 1944 – February 26, 2023) was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films and television series from the 1970s to the present, including '' The Magician'' and the episode " Code of Honor" f ...

as Ernie Lampsterman (season 1), a Horizen therapist whose avatar in Lakeview is a

Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever or simply Labrador or Lab is a British list of dog breeds, breed of water dog retriever gun dog. It was developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the Newfoundland Colony, colony of Newfoun ...

* Scott Patey as Josh Pitzer (season 1), an executive hoping to buy Nathan's and Jamie's software *

Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a Creed Bratton (character), fictionalized version of himself o ...

as Rupert Tilford (season 1) *

Teryl Rothery Teryl Rothery is a Canadian actress of stage, television, and film. She is best known for portraying Dr. Janet Fraiser in the TV series ''Stargate SG-1''. She co-starred as Grace Sherman in '' Cedar Cove'', and has had major roles as Muriel in ...

as Dawn Kannerman (seasons 1–2), Ingrid's mother * Lucas Wyka as Jack Kannerman (seasons 1–2) * Alex Kliner as Nathan Greenstein * Philip Granger as Uncle Larry (season 1), Viv's brother and Nathan's favorite uncle *

Gigi Gorgeous Gigi Loren Lazzarato Getty, known professionally as Gigi Gorgeous, is a Canadian YouTuber, socialite, actress, and model. In 2008, Lazzarato began uploading video blogs onto streaming platform YouTube. Her videos achieved popularity and establi ...

as Jordan (season 1) *

Larry Wilmore Elister Larry Wilmore III (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2014, and hosted ''The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore'' in 2 ...

as Kamyar Whitbridge (seasons 1, 3) * Phoebe Miu as Yang *

Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Company ...

as herself (season 2) * Christine Willes as Janet Boxner (seasons 2–3) *

Hiro Kanagawa is a Japanese-Canadian actor and playwright based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has appeared in numerous high-profile films and television series shot in the Vancouver area, including ''The X-Files'', ''Smallville'', ''Caprica'', ''Godzil ...

as Detective Sato (seasons 2–3) *

Erin Karpluk Erin Karpluk (born ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her portrayal of Erica Strange on the CBC Television series ''Being Erica'' from 2009 to 2011. Early life Karpluk was born in Jasper, Alberta to a mother who was a high-school princ ...

as Magruder (season 3) * Graeme Duffy as Rory Shicklemen (season 3) * Amy McInnes as Penny Chao (season 3) *

Ravi Kapoor Ravi Kapoor (born 27 June 1969) is a British actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles in the ABC series ''Gideon's Crossing'' (2000–2001) and the NBC series ''Crossing Jordan'' (2001–2007). He directed the films ''Miss India America'' ...

as Dr. Kapoor (season 3) *

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

as himself (season 3)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2022)

Season 3 (2023)

Production

Development

On September 8, 2017, Amazon announced it had ordered a pilot for a new

single-camera In filmmaking, television production and video production, the single-camera setup or single-camera mode of production (also known as portable single crew, portable single camera or single-cam) is a method in which all of the various shots and c ...

comedy series created by

. On July 28, 2018, Amazon announced it had given the production an order for a first season of ten episodes. Daniels and Howard Klein are executive producers, and the series is produced by

3 Arts Entertainment 3 Arts Entertainment, formerly 3 Arts Productions, is an American film and television production company founded in 1991 by Erwin Stoff, Michael Rotenberg and Howard Klein. The company has gone on to produce television series such as ''King o ...

. On May 8, 2020, Amazon renewed the series for a second season, which premiered March 11, 2022. On May 11, 2022, the series was renewed for a third season. In October 2023, Daniels mentioned in an interview with ''

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...

'' that he was hopeful for a fourth season and that the writing process would begin during November 2023. In March 2024, Amazon renewed the series for a fourth and final season.

Casting

In January 2018, it was announced that

and

had received the pilot's male and female lead roles. While the series was filming its second season in February–March 2021,

and Mackenzie Cardwell were cast in recurring roles. At the release-date announcement, it was also confirmed that Amell, Allo, Allegra Edwards,

and

would return; and Josh Banday, who recurred in Season 1, was promoted to a series regular.

Filming

Season 1's principal photography took place from March 5 – May 10, 2019, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada. Some exterior photography for the Lakeview

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

world was shot at

Mohonk Mountain House The Mohonk Mountain House, also known as Lake Mohonk Mountain House, is a resort hotel located south of the Catskill Mountains on the crest of the Shawangunk Ridge, New York. The property lies at the junction of the towns of New Paltz, Marblet ...

and Preserve in

New Paltz, New York New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,407 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also with ...

, including images of the hotel, groundskeeper, and lake. A small number of interior shots, including rooms at the hotel, were also filmed on location. Season 2 was filmed from January 25 – April 15, 2021. Season 3 was filmed from August 15 – November 2, 2022. Season 4 was filmed from late August to early October 2024.

Reception

''Upload'' received positive reviews. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the first season has an approval rating of 88% with an average score of 6.9 out of 10 based on reviews from 56 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 Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the season has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. The second season holds an approval rating of 100% with an average score of 7.3/10 based on 15 critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The website's critical consensus is, "''Upload''’s sophomore season goes into sleep mode just when it's revving up, but even a truncated installment of this techno afterlife makes for terrific comedy." On Metacritic, it received a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. The third season has received an approval rating of 88% with an average score of 7.3/10 based on 18 critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The website's critical consensus is, "Equal parts more convoluted and sophisticated than ever before, ''Upload''s techno satire continues to take on more human dimension." On Metacritic, it received a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

References

External links

* *
Official season 2 finale screenplay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upload (TV series) 2020 American television series debuts 2020s American comic science fiction television series 2020s American satirical television series Canadian English-language television shows Fiction about consciousness transfer Amazon Prime Video original programming Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment Television series by Amazon MGM Studios Fiction about the afterlife Fiction set in 2033 Transhumanism in television series Television series set in the 2030s Television shows filmed in Vancouver Television series created by Greg Daniels Television shows set in Los Angeles Television shows set in New York City