Just one week after Upload made its debut on Amazon Prime, the streamer has announced the series will be back for at least one more go-around. In a statement unveiled Friday afternoon, Amazon Studios’ head Jennifer Salke praised the work of series creator Greg Daniels and the show’s expansive cast — which includes Robbie Amell and Andy Allo, amongst other — for their work on the critically acclaimed first season.
“In ‘Upload,’ Greg Daniels delivered a smart, cinematic comedy crackling with intrigue and it has clearly delighted our customers who have spent a lot of time in Lakeview this past week,” Salke said. “We know our global fans want to see the next chapter with Nathan and Nora so we are greenlighting season 2 and are excited that Greg’s passion project has found such a devoted audience.”
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The series itself takes place in an alternative, not-so-distant future where people are allowed to upload their spiritual being into an afterlife of their choosing. While the wealthiest families and those well-to-do can be uploaded into the equivalency of the world’s best all-inclusive resorts, the poor end up fairing much worse. A bleak look on class warfare and some of the dangers of technology, the comedy was the first thing Daniels started developing after his work on NBC’s The Office wrapped some six years ago.
When we spoke to him earlier this year, Daniels told us he had always planned the project to be more than just one outing. “Well, when I pitched it, which was literally back in 2015, I had two seasons broken, and the pitch,” Daniels said at the time. “I think I could see extending it past that, but at the moment, we are writing a second season. We’ll see how things are affected by recent events.”
He added, “But yeah, no, it’s not meant to only be 10 episodes. But it’s also probably not meant to be 100 episodes. I mean, when I was doing it, the Amazon guys kept saying, ‘Think of it as a five-hour movie.’ So I tried to do that.”
As Daniels explained, the series was always meant to be a cross-genre project, despite the writer having his writing chops well-rooted in comedy. “It’s romantic. It’s sort of a futuristic Jim and Pam situation, a bit,” the writer explained. “I think it’s a very intense show. I tried to be very cinematic. You know how the Bollywood movie has a lot of stuff in it? It’s almost as if you only get to see one movie a year, they’re trying to give you all of the entertainment they possibly can, in one movie?”
The first season of Upload is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
