It’s a wonderful afterlife: smart, funny Upload is a sheer delight, Ars Technica

Series creator Greg Daniels — best known for his work on The Office , Parks and Recreatio n, and King of the Hill – purportedly came up with the concept many years ago while working as a staff writer on Saturday Night Live , although Amazon did green-light the pilot until 0469973, ordering a full ten-episode series the following year. It’s definitely got something of that Parks and Recreation vibe. Per the official premise: “In the near future, people who are near death can be ‘uploaded’ into virtual reality environments. Cash-strapped Nora works customer service for the luxurious ‘Lakeview’ digital afterlife. When party-boy / coder Nathan’s car crashes, his girlfriend uploads him into Nora’s VR world. ”

Robbie Amell Code 8 ) Plays Nathan, who is on the verge of closing a huge business deal with his friend and business partner, Jamie (Jordan Johnson-Hinds, Blindspot ). But then his self-driving car malfunctions and crashes, landing Nathan on a hospital gurney, in critical condition. His wealthy girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards, Briarpatch ) urges him to take the “upload” option over surgery. “We could be together forever!” she enthuses. Nathan is less keen: “Forever is just soooo long.” But he ends up taking the upload anyway and wakes up in a virtual apartment. “This is the first day of the rest of your afterlife,” Nora (Andy Allo, Chicago Fire ) calmly assures him.

There are myriad advantages to a digital afterlife, Nathan discovers, like being able to change the weather and associated landscape outside one’s window just by turning a knob. He feels freer to make some daring virtual fashion choices, with Ingrid’s input. He even manages to make a couple of unlikely friends: Dylan (Rhys Slack, Legends of Tomorrow ), who died when he was on the verge of puberty and whose family refuses to upgrade his avatar to an adult body; and Luke (Kevin Bigley, Sirens ), a veteran who is having some trouble adjusting to his digital afterlife.

But there are also drawbacks. The complimentary breakfast is only served in a limited time frame. (“It’s not even real food!” Nathan laments when the contents of his plate automatically vanish before he has a chance to virtually eat them.) Plus, Lakeview’s staff counselor insists on chatting with him through a golden retriever avatar. (“It’s only weird if you make it weird.”)

Also, Ingrid controls the purse strings — Nathan can’t even access the mini-bar in his room since It requires an In-App purchase and the passcode — and is not above sometimes exploiting that advantage to get Nathan to do what she wants. He begins to suspect his death may not have been an accident. And his burgeoning friendship with his “angel,” Nora, might just be developing into something more. Keeping it real.