A Man Is Able to Choose His Own Afterlife After His Untimely Death

Kaleidoscope's newest is on Amazon Studios's production of "Upload".  Created by Greg Daniels, the series stars Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, & Zainab Johnson.  Rated 'TV-MA', the series has a running time of approximately 30 minutes per episode & streams on the Amazon Prime web service.  The 1st season has 10 episodes & has been renewed for a 2nd season.

It is the year 2033, & people, upon their demise, are able to 'upload' their consciousnesses to a virtual afterlife of their choosing & ability to pay.   Nathan Brown (Amell--"The Tomorrow People", "The Flash") is traveling to a rendezvous in his self-driving car.  After being involved in an accident, his consciousness is 'uploaded' to a rich, swanky, very expensive, virtual resort that has been paid for by his wealthy, possessive girlfriend, Ingrid (Edwards--"Briarpatch").  Added to this mix is his living customer-service rep, Nora (Allo--"Chicago Fire", "Pitch Perfect 3") ; in virtual-world parlance, she is called an 'Angel'.  She has a troubled life at work & home; in contrast, she starts to develop feelings for Nathan who is the type of sensitive man for whom she longs.  A major conflict begins to be revealed as the 1st season comes to a close.

This is a sumptuously produced series that, at its core, deals with human relationships for which the beautiful scenes merely serve as a backdrop.  As I used to explain to my high school students when they asked why they needed to study the 16th-17th century Shakespearean plays:  fashions change; technology changes; industry changes; human nature remains the same.  The problems, loves, conflicts of the people of ancient Greek tragedies are the same as the characters of Shakespeare & are the same as the characters of "Upload".  Created by Greg Daniels ("The Office", "Parks & Recreation", "Space Force"), this is an excellent series that challenges the viewer to ponder his/her mortality amid the technological advances of today.  Although there are many metaphysical questions to ponder here, there is also an abundance of humor, quirky characters, & skullduggery to leaven the philosophical probings.  Coupled with the show's various aspects of originality, there are numerous allusions to Paul Verhoeven's 1990 "Total Recall" & various other short stories in the Philip K. Dick canon.  Amell is wonderful as the intelligent, sensitive yet, at times, naive Nathan.  He handles this complex role well, especially as truths are revealed to him thru his own inquisitiveness & Nora's perceptions.  Allo is superb in a role that is even more complex than Amell's.  After watching her as the quietly scheming Lt. Seager in "Chicago Fire" who longs for the out-of-reach Lt. Severide, she is a revelation here as, the at first mousy, Nora quietly changes into the more determined Nora of the season's 2nd half.  Her beauty goes without saying as she continues to emerge from her personal cocoon.  Edwards shines as the seemingly superficial Ingrid who begins to develop her own intricacies as the series develops.

I give "Upload" 8.5 out of 10 nuggets.  This is a sublime series that nicely balances its aspects of thought-provoking drama, well-conceived humor, & dynamic principal characters.