A Perfect Sci-Fi Comedy Series for The Office Fans Just Returned to Prime

Summary

• Prime Video 's library is full of great satirical series.
• One of them is Upload, a comedy-drama from The Office and Parks and Rec creator Greg Daniels.
• All seasons, including the recently released third season, are available to Prime subscribers, and the first season is free!

Prime Video is a great source for terrific shows that have become full-blown pop culture phenomena. The Amazon-owned streaming service boasts original series like Good Omens and The Boys, full of adventure, drama and, of course, plenty of hilarious satire. But in addition to the biggest IPs, the service's library contains no less intriguing and savvy shows, one of which we'll be talking about today.

Imagine combining the iconic Black Mirror episode San Junipero and its take on the afterlife in high-tech realities, the ethical underpinnings of The Good Place, and the mundane situational humor of The Office. The result is a brilliant show, Upload, created by the incomparable Greg Daniels, the genius of modern comedy and satire series who brought us The Office and Parks and Recreation. While the hype surrounding the show is noticeably less than any of his previous creations, that doesn't make Upload any less worth watching. Especially since the third season was recently released on Prime!

The Sci-Fi Spiritual Successor to the Office

Whether you're a sitcom fan or an avid follower of the sci-fi genre, Upload is sure to please with its plot and witty humor. Created by Greg Daniels, the show is set in the 2030s and centers on an ordinary programmer, Nathan (Robbie Amell), who dies under mysterious circumstances. But here's the catch: the high-tech world of capitalism won't let the protagonist rest in peace, as his possessive girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) is willing to spend any amount of money to keep her lover in line. Similar to the events of San Junipero, Nathan finds himself in a virtual afterlife called Lakeview, a luxurious utopia created for the wealthiest.

A parallel storyline develops between Nathan and his living customer service representative, Nora (Andy Allo). The latter has enough to worry about, including a dying father who doesn't want to be digitized, but things only get more complicated when she begins to develop feelings for her client and becomes convinced that Nathan has been murdered.

How to Watch the Show?

The Prime original series is available... well, on Prime. There are two ways to watch the show:

• The first season is free with Freevee. It doesn't require a Prime subscription, but it does include ads.

• All three seasons of Upload are available to Prime subscribers without ads. The subscription plan costs $14.99 per month and $7.49 per month for students, both of which offer a free 30-day trial.

Why Is Upload Worth Watching?

Yes, the premise may seem pretty dark, given the pressures of tech corporations, murder mysteries, and love triangles, but that was partly the case with The Good Place. The latter, however, turned out to be a very good-natured and touching story where each character found true friends, their purpose and their final resting place. And despite its poignant setting, Utopia doesn't try to be depressing either, regularly diluting itself with similar humor: Nathan is constantly goofing around, playing with his avatar and bantering with A.I. Guy (Owen Daniels), who is reminiscent of D'Arcy Carden's Janet.

The show will especially appeal to fans of The Office, as Upload contains Daniels' signature humor along with a love story at the center of events, developing the story of Nathan and Nora much like a Jim and Pam romance, while also paying no small amount of attention to Ingrid, who gets plenty of plot development and becomes one of the most sympathetic characters on the show.

Season 3 aired on Prime from October to November 2023, and given its freshness, we definitely recommend watching it.