UPLOAD
Amazon Prime Video, 3:00 a.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: You might expect Upload, the new series coming from Greg Daniels, to be very funny and clever and wry – and it’s all of that. Daniels, after all, was the guy who cracked the code, and adapted the brilliant British version of The Office into what became its impressive American equal – surprising skeptical TV critics, including myself, in the process. Upload is about a young man who dies in a freak accident, but whose consciousness and personality are transferred into an avatar, which in turn resides in a posh digital afterlife designed and financed by his girlfriend’s family. She controls his afterlife “budget,” which in turn greatly affects his happiness. Meanwhile, back in the real world where she resides in the near future of 2033, there’s a computer programmer who coaches the young man on his transition to his new existence – and eventually, they fall in love, despite obstacles that seem absurdly challenging. So Upload is not only very funny, it’s a love story. And a mystery. And a social commentary on class differences and income inequality. And it’s very entertaining, starring two very likable leads: Robbie Amell as the ill-fated young man, and Andy Allo (pictured) as his personal sort of Siri. For my full review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, listen to today’s show on air, or, later on, visit the Fresh Air website. And for a full review here at TVWW, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.