Upload has returned on Prime Video for its third season, this time with episodes streaming two at a time each week. The sci-fi comedy-drama tells the story of a young man named Nathan (Robbie Amell), who dies tragically in a car accident. But before the life drains out of him, his consciousness is uploaded to a lavish afterlife community by his obsessive girlfriend, who now holds the purse strings to his happiness.
Whether you’ve binged your way through previous seasons, or you’re watching season 3, you can quench the need for similar stories with these five shows to watch if you like Upload.
Note: This article contains some spoilers for the shows on our list.
Mrs. Davis (2023)
A refreshing and thought-provoking take on the concept of AI, Mrs. Davis is about a future world where an AI by the title name has taken over. Everyone listens to her commands through tiny earbuds and does whatever she instructs. They all follow blindly — except for a nun named Sister Simone (Betty Gilpin) and members of a small resistance group she comes across.
The story has the same elements of sci-fi mixed with comedy and drama as Upload. The stories are also both parody our real-life obsession with technology and AI. It’s a fabulous next watch that fans of Upload will love. With no plans in the works for a second season, it’s also a quick and satisfying watch.
Stream Mrs. Davis on Peacock.
Avenue 5 (2020-2022)
Avenue 5 might not have been the huge success it was anticipated to be given the talented cast that includes Hugh Laurie, Josh Gad, Zach Woods, and Lenora Crichlow. But it’s totally ridiculous fun with lots of toilet humor (sometimes literally), silly storylines, and a similar combination of sci-fi and comedy to Upload. Also set in the future, the story follows an interplanetary cruise ship owned by clueless billionaire Herman Judd (Gad). When an accident occurs on board and the chief engineer perishes, they veer off course and a sad realization sets in. No one aboard really has a clue how to fly a ship, including the captain, Ryan Clark (Laurie). They’re all just hired actors. The only person who knows anything is second engineer Billie (Crichlow), but no one listens to her.
The guests grow more and more scared and food and water runs scarce. Those in charge and on the ground frantically try to figure out how to survive the next 3, 5, maybe even 10 years until they get back on course to Earth. Naturally, hilarity ensues. The guests might still be alive, but their days may be numbered.
Stream Avenue 5 on Max.
The Good Place (2016-2020)
Another series that takes place in an afterlife, The Good Place stars Kristen Bell as Eleanor, a woman who was less than perfect while on Earth. But due to a clerical error upon death, she accidentally gets sent to the Good Place, a Heaven-like oasis for good and honorable people. While there, she tries to hide her true colors, and maybe even become a better person in the process, someone who would be worthy of admission. But old habits die hard.
The series also starsTed Danson as Michael, the architect of the afterlife. There’s the same humor, themes, and mix of eclectic characters in The Good Place that fans know and love from Upload. The story isn’t as heavily focused on the elements of sci-fi and AI, but it similarly explores the themes of the way we live and what happens once we die.
Stream The Good Place on Netflix.
Living With Yourself (2019)
The series came and went so quickly that many have already forgotten about Living with Yourself, which stars Paul Rudd in a dual role. He’s Miles, a copywriter who can’t shake his deep unhappiness with life. When he happens upon a clinic offering a mysterious treatment that promises a better life, he thinks he has found the answer. Instead, he comes face to face with a clone who is much more optimistic, confident, and happy to take over his life, including cavorting with Miles’ wife.
Living With Yourself explores the concept of technology and AI in a unique way that’s a little different from Upload. With the second season finale of Upload seeing Nathan downloaded into a clone body tso he can reenter the human world, these two stories are more similar than you might think.
Stream Living With Yourself on Netflix.
Westworld (2016-2022)
Rather than focus on dead humans moving on to an afterlife, Westworld tackles lifelike AIs that are built to be indistinguishable from humans. These android hosts work in an adult playground called Westworld, where wealthy elites can pay to play and live out their wildest fantasies.
Westworld is far more sinister than Upload. But fans of Upload will love how this show takes things to another level. In later seasons, the androids fight back, enter civilian life, and try to get answers to the questions plaguing them. Powering it all, it’s eventually revealed, is a machine called the Rehoboam that manipulates not only the androids, but, as it turns out, uses data acquired from unsuspecting human guests to manipulate them and predict the courses of their lives, too. If you want to dive into the same sci-fi and AI themes in a deeper and darker way, Westworld is a good place to do it.
