In May 2020, Prime Video released a new series from “The Office” creator Greg Daniels called “Upload.” Now, five years and four seasons later, “Upload” is complete — against quite a few odds.
The sci-fi comedy premiered on May 1st, as the severity of the CoVid-19 pandemic fully sank in after a two-month lockdown (and no end in sight). Season 2 was released almost two full years later, as Amazon Studios finalized its merger with MGM. Season 3 dropped on October 20, 2023, as Hollywood’s double-digit strikes continued. The show picked up another renewal in March 2024. A little over a year later — still months before the final season dropped — Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke was ousted from her position.
A full run is never guaranteed for any show, but with all these external factors, it was perhaps even more impossible for “upload.”
“I think if it hadn’t been such a passion project and I didn’t have such a big cast that I really wanted to do justice to, I think it would have been – this is a very difficult show,” Greg Daniels said before the release of Season 4.
There were some challenges from the start. The pilot episode was filmed in Los Angeles in 2019, but the series ended up moving to Vancouver for budget reasons, meaning locations had to be rebuilt and characters had to be recast. However, that’s not typical for a series.
On the other hand, the CoVid-19 pandemic was very. And among the widespread losses of the shutdown that began in March 2020 were all the show’s promotional plans.
“We had an amazing launch planned for South by Southwest where they were rebuilding a hotel and they had 100 redheads in uniforms hired as AI guys,” Daniels recalled. “There were all these wonderful ways we were promoting it, and we had to shut them down from the first season at the last minute and we went virtual to promote everything.”
This is ironic, considering that the “upload” takes place in a technologically advanced, near-future world where people can choose to have their consciousness “uploaded” to a virtual afterlife when they die, allowing them to live on electronically.
The story follows Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell), an app developer who hastily agrees to be uploaded under pressure from his wealthy girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) before dying from injuries he sustained in a self-driving car accident. He ends up in her family’s luxurious virtual afterlife, a resort known as Lakeview, where he meets his customer service “Angel” Nora (Andy Allo).
What unfolds over the next four seasons is at once a love story, a cautionary tale about the excesses of the tech industry, a morality play, a class warfare satire, and more. These layers were Daniels’ attempt to ensure the series ran properly from the jump.
“When I sold the show, the whole point was intensity,” he explained. “I was like, ‘We’re in this universe where there are so many shows, and I want to do something that’s like a timeless gobstopper, if you remember from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.'”
“Ja jūs saņemat tikai vienu konfektes gadā, tad jums būs šīs konfektes, kurām tajā ir visas garšas, un jūs varat to iesūkt uz visiem laikiem. Tāpēc es tiešām, tiešām mēģināju padarīt to par visspēcīgāko izrādi ar tik daudz jautriem aspektiem.”
Lai gan Daniels atzīmēja, ka katrai “augšupielādes” sezonai ir nepieciešams daudz darba, it īpaši ar VFX, daļa no plašajām sezonām gaidāmām lietām vienkārši nonāca pie tā, kā Amazon novērtē viņu sēriju.
“Nav tā, ka viņi kādreiz teiktu:“ Ak, jūs izdarījāt tik labu 1. darba sezonu, mēs šobrīd uzņemsim 2. sezonu ”,” viņš paskaidroja. “Tas vienmēr bija process, kurā tika apskatīti skaitļi un vērtējums. Sezonai būs jābūt beigušies vairākus mēnešus, un tad viņi uzņems nākamo sezonu, kas mums būtu jāsāk rakstīt.”
Skaitļi bija paredzēti “augšupielādei”, bet pēc tam nāca ārējie spēki. CoVid īpaši “pievienots tonnas laika” starp 1. un 2. sezonu, jo šovam bija jāizstrādā droši šaušanas protokoli.
Izrādes dalībniekiem tas nozīmēja ilgu laiku palikt saskaņā ar līgumu, gaidīt un skatīties, kā izvēršas nepieredzētas notikumu sērija pasaulē un rūpniecībā. Bet, pēc Robija Amēla teiktā, Daniels lika atgriezties, lai šautu vairāk epizožu justies kā jautājums, kad, nevis ja.
“Gregs vienmēr bija tik chill par visu, un viņš kaut kā noteica toni visiem pārējiem,” Amels stāstīja TheWrap.
“Nekad nešķita pārāk biedējoši, ka mēs negrasāmies [return] Līdz varbūt pēc trešās sezonas, jo mēs nevarējām reklamēt streika sezonu, ”viņš piebilda.“ Bija patiešām grūti zināt, kādi ir skaitļi, kā mums klājas, ja kāds to skatījās. Un man joprojām ir cilvēki, kas nāk pie manis, kuriem patīk izrāde, un jautā par 3. sezonu. Un es esmu tāds kā “3. sezona ir pieejama. Jūs varat to skatīties tieši tagad. ””
Skaitļi malā, Daniels arī izmantoja sērijas masīvo fināla klinšu pārvaldītājus kā stratēģiju, lai turpinātu šovu, jo neatrisināts sižets “nozīmē, ka jūs nevarat vienkārši beigties”.
“Augšupielādes” 4. sezona beidzās tikai ar četrām epizodēm pretstatā iepriekšējo sezonu tipiskajiem septiņiem līdz desmit. Tomēr Daniels un viņa dalībnieki atzina, ka iespēja pareizi iesaiņot viņu stāstu bija reta dāvana.
“Tas ir nedzirdēts!” Allegra Edwards pastāstīja TheWrap. “Īpaši komēdijai, piemēram, – šīs straumēšanas platformas var būt tik piesātinātas, jūs zināt?”
“Tā ir bijusi žēlastības dāvana visu laiku, pat ja tā jutās šausmīga, un” Dievs, streiks patiešām varētu mūs atgriezt “, vai” vai kovīds mūs aizvērs? ” Daudzi no šiem lielajiem jautājumiem.
“Dažos veidos es jūtu, ka mums ir paveicies,” sacīja Andijs Allo. “Dažos veidos es jūtos kā cilvēks, mums bija grūts nūjas gals, jūs zināt? Bet mēs esam bijuši tik izturīgi, un ir bijis ļoti forši redzēt, kā mūsu fani un auditorija ir tikko sapulcējušies mums apkārt.”
Daniel was also thrilled that his long-held idea—he had been “uploaded” for years, even attempting it as a novel in 2008—had managed to survive to a proper conclusion. Now he’s just excited for all the new fans who are discovering “uploaded.”
“I’m really glad we had a beginning, a middle, and an end, and anyone new who comes to the show can just soak it in,” he said. “If you’re a new viewer, and I hope we get a bunch, and you sit down, the show is now something that’s been going on for a while, and you can just watch the episodes one after the other. And I think that’s actually the best way to watch it.”
“Upload” now streams in the main video in its entirety.
