Emmy Spotlight: Does ‘Upload’ Repeat ‘Parks,’ ‘Office’ Successes?

It is hard to say what Upload is really about. Its general premise involves a future where people who have enough money can upload themselves before they die into a computer-simulated life. They also have an “angel,” a living person who enters the simulation and helps them out. This life, though, has a monthly fee and getting extra things like certain kinds of clothing or specific items like a golf club also cost money. Nathan (Robbie Amell), a young app programmer, dies in a freak accident that is obviously a murder, and his vapid girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) pays to get him into the best “afterlife” so now she controls his very existence if he displeases her. In the “afterlife,” he meets his angel Nora (Andy Allo) and they start to bond.

While the setup is an interesting idea, the characters don’t help promote the concept as best as they could. For starters, Nathan isn’t exactly an exciting lead. He is handsome and a nice guy, but that is really all there is. Adapting to being dead or looking into his murder almost feel like inconveniences. The only issue that is front and center is his relationship with Ingrid, which we know is just physical, so any doubts about choosing her or Nora is only about Ingrid’s control of him.

That leads us to Ingrid who is written almost schizophrenically. Most of the time she appears as a selfish airhead, either making her boyfriend’s death more about her or seemingly enjoying having him as her plaything in a computer. On the other hand, she’s devoted to Nathan and wants him passionately. We dive into some deep issues she has with her selfish family, giving her some layers worthy of exploration, but the writing remains so inconsistent that it’s hard to understand what they want to do with this character overall.

The strongest aspect to the show is Andy Allo as Nora. She has a charm and energy that make her fun to watch and make you root for her to get with Nathan simply because she wants him. She has pain in her life dealing with a dad who wants to die naturally to be with his wife, but that leaves her alone. She is dating a man she meets online who has good points but can be a bit of a jerk. And of course liking a dead guy who exists in a computer has some issues. She is able to project all these emotions while still being a strong overall character who can spout off put downs and one liners and feel like she is in control.

Created by Greg Daniels of The Office and Parks and Recreation fame, the show is similar in that the humor is very dry. But it’s so dry and the humor so subdued that most of it feels more like a light-hearted storytelling than containing actual jokes. Humor is subjective (I was never a fan of The Office but loved Parks and Recreation), but its lackadaisical feel throughout makes for a jarring take when the murder and Nathan’s fate take center stage. It’s not played seriously until it is, and the overall result is a lack of true focus. The show seems to have trouble focusing on what it really wants to be. It isn’t serious enough to be a drama and not humorous enough to be a comedy. It doesn’t do quite enough with the high concept idea of life after death inside of a computer to keep you intrigued about what can happen.

The show’s strongest chances for Emmy attention comes in the technical categories. The new technologies that are now commonplace are integrated into the world really well and feel like things within our grasp. In fact, the concepts of the show could still lead to more interesting ideas if they can figure out where they want the show to go. Plus the two female characters have room to grow and possibly become something bigger. But that would have to wait a season or two to see if that potential could be realized.