Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for ‘Upload’ Season 4.Upload streamed quietly on Amazon Prime Video for four seasons starting in 2020. The sci-fi comedy-drama didn’t receive much fanfare but got rave reviews from those who watched. The story skewers our reliance on technology, propensity towards corporate greed, and parodies the monetization of just about everything in society. In the case of this show, it’s about capitalizing on death and technology that poses a serious existential dilemma…but all presented with a humorous backdrop.
The idea to create afterlife communities for the consciousnesses of the deceased was initially designed for good reasons in the fictional near future world of the show. People could exist in virtual versions of their human bodies, effectively forever, so families and friends would never truly lose their loved ones. But it soon became a haven for class disparity and a target for exploitation and money-making. The show concluded after Season 4, which premiered in late August 2025. And while it’s worth watching all the way through, a few seasons are better than others.
4 Season 4 (2025)
Sadly, Season 4 is just four episodes long, which wasn’t enough time to give fans an ending they hoped to get. Overall, the season seemed rushed, which makes sense since it was so short, designed to conclude the story. Because of this, it’s missing some of the magic that the first three seasons possessed, especially the first two. One good thing, however, is that the final season leans more heavily into the dangers of our reliance on A.I., in large part thanks to the scene-stealing performance (rather, performances) of A.I. Guy (Owen Daniels). In this respect, it also serves as a cautionary tale, though the level of parody and humor is still strong.
It’s revealed right away in the season that the version of Nathan (Robbie Amell) that survived was the copy, not the “real” Nathan. He is engaged to Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) while Nora (Andy Allo) is holed up in her room, living in a VR alternate reality where she can imagine she and Nathan getting married. When she starts to see visions of Nathan in real life, however, she’s convinced she isn’t hallucinating, and he’s alive, no matter what others think. The eventual reunion is bittersweet and doesn’t yield the fairy-tale ending fans hoped they might get. Fan favorite characters perish, while other characters fans are still unsure about, like Ingrid, get their happy endings. Nora’s sadness and real Nathan’s death don’t provide satisfying closure.
There is a silver lining that leaves the ending up for interpretation, however. But there’s also still so much that isn’t addressed. The story feels, in some ways, like it’s unfinished. With the show officially done, all fans can do is speculate, creating their own fan fiction as to what happens next. Having that play out on screen, however, might have resulted in the show overstaying its welcome. Nonetheless, the season is worth watching for those who want a conclusion, any conclusion, to the story.
3 Season 3 (2023)
The third season of the show, one of the best Prime Video original series, isn’t the strongest. It explores Nora and Nathan in real life, losing the luster of their existence in separate worlds, which was a big part of the appeal. Together, they continue to investigate Horizen and go on a hero’s mission to save innocent lives. There’s also a duplicate Nathan, created from a back-up his new handler made, thinking she was saving him from non-existence. The back-up version’s limited memories mean he believes he’s still with Ingrid, much to her delight.
The season takes weird twists and turns, including one involving Nora and Nathan working together on a farm, milking cows. Really. But it’s also designed to further explore the corruption of the companies behind these communities, their greedy motivations, and their willingness to manipulate, lie, and kill to get what they want. By the end of the season, even with all the evidence they manage to procure a “win” in court, the lesson learned is that big corporations always end up winning in the end. Once again, this season ends on a huge cliffhanger. Overall, Season 3 is like an action-packed movie wrapped up in a rom-com as viewers follow the pair racing through the real world to stop bad guys. It still maintains a humorous edge, and it’s endearing and satisfying to see Nathan and Nora finally get to be together in the real world. What’s especially great about this season is that side storylines allow other characters like Luke (Kevin Bigley), Aleesha (Zainab Johnson), and the hilarious A.I. Guy to shine more brightly.
2 Season 1 (2020)
The first season of Upload, one of the must-see sci-fi shows on Prime Video, remains one of the best, introducing viewers to the plot. Viewers see the incident that kicks things off, get a firm idea of the kind of person Nathan is, like who Ingrid is (or at least who viewers initially believe she is). It also introduces the concept of afterlife communities like Lakeview. As Nathan learns about Lakeview and the way the company behind it has monetized death and takes advantage of people, viewers learn, too.
Seeing how cleverly the show parodies our technological obsession and delivers thought-provoking social commentary behind the lens of comedy quickly endears fans to the concept of the show. They recognize it’s not just about generating laughs and displaying potential future technology, but about making a statement, too. This becomes glaringly apparent when Nathan ends up in the dark, dank basement where the “2 Gig” people live, those whose families can no longer pay the full sum. They essentially exist as prisoners with only a few credits a day to communicate with others. Once they reach two gigs, which isn’t tough to do, they freeze until the next pay cycle kicks in.
The season further explores Nathan’s budding relationship with his human handler Nora, which initially begins as it does with any other client, Nora helping Nathan acclimate and get through the transition. But the pair grow closer and eventually, it’s evident that romantic feelings are developing. When Nora realizes Nathan’s death wasn’t an accident, the pair team up to investigate what’s really going on, putting both of them in jeopardy. The first season sets up the exploration of the moral implications of the community, initially a concept that was meant to be free for all, funded philanthropically. The initial focus is on Nathan and Nora trying to learn what really caused the accident, who was in on it, and why. Right out of the gate, Upload was praised for its witty writing and clever parodies of our real-life obsession with technology and social media, and the overabundance of things like online ads and apps. The season ends on a massive cliffhanger, keeping fans at the edges of their seats to learn what happens next.
1 Season 2 (2022)
In the second season, the plot shifts more to the real world as Nora joins a group known as the Ludds, anarchists fighting back against this technology they believe was only designed for the rich to make a profit. Nora and Nathan’s relationship is strained due to a misunderstanding, leaving fans aching for them to realize the mistake and that they are made for one another. Together with his friend Luke, Nathan tries to help the 2 Gigs, feeling awful that they are relegated to existing so poorly while he and others at Lakeview have every desire at their fingertips. Meanwhile, Nora and her new friend Matteo (Paulo Costanzo) from the Ludds try to infiltrate Lakeview. But their attempts backfire and parent company Horizen becomes even more controlling and manipulative of its residents and their families.
The conspiracy runs even deeper, involving a free upload community designed predominantly to eliminate people, politics, and mass extinction. It’s in this season, however, that Nora also discovers a technology that can download an uploaded person back into a real-life clone body. There may, however, be devastating side effects. It’s a fun season where Ingrid has an interesting redemption arc, twists for her storyline that fans didn’t see coming.
Earning a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, the second season of the show is just as surface-level fun as the first. But there are deeper meanings behind some of the stories within the plot, making Upload one of the groundbreaking sci-fi shows you’re not watching. It has a darker tone though it remains as funny as ever. With the plot shifting from who caused Nathan’s death to why these afterlife communities exist in the first place and who stands to truly benefit from them, the show becomes even more thought-provoking beneath its funny surface.
Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Like Follow Followed Upload TV-MA Comedy Drama Mystery Science Fiction 5 10 10.0/10 Release Date 2020 – 2025 Network Prime Video Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming
A man is able to choose his own afterlife after his untimely death by having his consciousness uploaded into a virtual world. As he gets used to his new life and befriends his angel (real world handler), questions about his death arise.
Cast Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels, Andrea Rosen, Josh Banday, Chloe Coleman, Wil Thompson, Julian Christopher, Mackenzie Cardwell, Megan Ferguson, Johnny Chavez, Serykah Aggerwhil, Greg Romero Wilson, Charles Hewson, Rebecca Delgado Smith, Judith Moreland, Julia Cho, AJ Rivera, Amy Tolsky, Roberto Aldrete, Josephine Ting, Pavel Romano Showrunner Greg Daniels Directors Jeffrey Blitz, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Daina Reid, David Rogers, Sarah Boyd, Jonathan van Tulleken, Tom Marshall Writers Megan Neuringer, Maxwell Theodore Vivian, Farhan Arshad, Alison Brown, Shepard Boucher, Yael Green, mike lawrence, Lauren Houseman, Aasia LaShay Bullock, Alex J. Sherman, Alyssa Lane Main Genre Comedy Seasons 4 Producers Greg Daniels Creator(s) Greg Daniels Streaming Service(s) Amazon Prime Video Executive Producer(s) Greg Daniels Powered by Expand Collapse
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