Prime Video's 4-Part Sci-Fi Comedy Is One Of The Smartest Shows Of The Decade

Prime Video has great sci-fi shows, but among all those popular titles is an underrated sci-fi comedy that is one of the smartest shows of the decade. Like most streaming platforms, Prime Video produces its own movies and TV shows, and from the latter, it already has some titles among the best TV shows of all time.

Although Prime Video has TV shows from different genres, it has mostly stood out for its fantasy and sci-fi TV shows. In the latter genre, Prime Video has had some of the biggest hits of the decade, but also some unfairly underrated shows that deserved better. One of them is the sci-fi comedy Upload, which is one of the smartest shows of the decade.

Upload Is One Of Prime Video's Smartest TV Shows

In 2020, Prime Video released Upload, created by Greg Daniels. Upload is set in a near future where technology has advanced a lot, to the point where death isn't a definitive end. Various companies have developed “digital afterlives”, where people can be uploaded to their digital avatars and continue living.

Depending on the company and the services of their digital afterlives, these have different prices and levels of luxury. One of the most popular and expensive ones is Verizon's Lakeview, and after Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell) dies in a car crash, he's sent to Lakeview by his overbearing (and wealthy) girlfriend, Ingrid (Allegra Edwards).

There, he meets Nora (Andy Allo), his customer service rep or “angel”, with whom he forms a strong bond. Together they find out that some of his memories are missing, and it all points to his death not being an accident. Upload stayed for four seasons, and it was very well-received by critics.

Upload is one of Prime Video’s smartest shows of the decade, thanks to how it addresses complex themes like death, life after death, social inequality, poverty, ethics, and different branches of philosophy, with a perfectly balanced mix of drama and comedy. Through these, Upload raises questions about life and death that will give the audience something to think about for days.

These themes give Upload a lot of depth, which, along with some very well-written character development, make it one of the best, smartest, and most underrated Prime Video TV shows.

Why Upload Became An Underrated Prime Video Show

Despite its positive critical reception, quality, and creativity, Upload didn’t succeed as much as it should have. As happens with many other Prime Video TV shows, Upload didn’t have a strong marketing campaign throughout its entire run, stopping it from reaching a wider audience.

Upload also arrived at an awkward time, as The Good Place had just ended a couple of months before. The Good Place has a similar concept to Upload, exploring life after death through the concept of the Good Place (Heaven) and the Bad Place (Hell), also adding philosophy into the mix.

Despite their similarities, Upload and The Good Place are very different stories, characters, and tones, but they ultimately affected Upload’s reach.

Why Upload Ended After Four Seasons

Upload ended in 2025 after four seasons, with the final one having only four episodes. Although this made the final episodes feel a bit rushed, Upload gave a proper ending to its main characters, even though some of those endings were not what the audience was hoping for.

It definitely feels like Upload had a lot more to tell and explore, but the plan was always to end after four seasons. When Upload’s final season was announced, Daniels shared that, when he came up with the idea for the show, he planned a four-season arc (via Deadline), and he was able to tell the story he wanted in just four episodes.

Upload deserved to get a lot more attention than it ultimately got during its run, but one of the best things about the streaming era is that it allows the rediscovery of movies and TV shows, and time could be very good to Upload.

Source: Deadline.