The Good Placehas an interesting concept that mixes serious topics with comedy, and its perfect replacement is a Prime Video TV show with 90% onRotten Tomatoes. Created by Michael Schur,The Good Placeis a fantasy-comedy TV series that premiered on NBC in 2016.The Good Placewas a critical success from the beginning, and its big twist in its season 1 finale further earned it praise, allowing it to continue for three more seasons.The Good Placeended in 2020 and ranks amongthe best TV shows of the decade.
The Good Placefollows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), who dies and is welcomed into the Good Place, the show’s equivalent to Heaven. However, Eleanor is well aware that she doesn’t deserve to be in this perfect afterlife because she wasn’t a good person when she was alive, but she doesn’t want to go to the Bad Place, a.k.a. Hell. Eleanor does her best to become a better person with the help of other Good Place residents, but they soon learn a shocking truth.The Good Placehas a creative concept, which its best replacement show, streaming on Prime Video, shares.
Over at Prime Video, the sci-fi comedy dramaUploadcan be found. Created by Greg Daniels,Uploadpremiered in 2020, and it has been very well-received by critics and general audiences.Uploadtakes the audience into the future, specifically to the year 2033, where technology has evolved to the point wherepeople can “upload” themselves after dying. Thanks to this, dead people can continue “living” in a virtual afterlife through an avatar of themselves.
Michael Schur and Greg Daniels createdParks and Recreation.
Many companies have created their virtual afterlife, so anyone who decides to upload can choose their virtual afterlife depending on their economic situation, as uploading isn’t cheap.Upload, then, follows computer programmer Nathan Brown, who dies in a mysterious car crash, but his wealthy girlfriend, Ingrid (Allega Edwards), decides to upload him to the expensive and luxurious afterlife of Lakeview. There, as he adjusts to this new lifestyle, Nathan meets Nora (Andy Allo), his “angel”, with whom he quickly bonds.
Nathan also learns that his death wasn’t an accident, and with Nora’s help, he tries to discover what truly happened – and at the same time, he hopes to be “downloaded” someday, as some companies keep experimenting with it. BothUploadandThe Good Placeexplore what happens after death and what the afterlife could be like, butUploadadds sci-fi (and satire) to it by turning the afterlife into a virtual world and consciousness into something that can be uploaded and downloaded.
Despite its sci-fi elements,Uploadis as heartwarming and funny asThe Good Place. WhileUploaddoesn’t go on a philosophical route likeThe Good Placeoften does, it doesexplore the ethical sides of the whole “upload” concept, as well as topics like capitalism, greed, environmentalism, and more. However, this doesn’t mean thatUploadlacks heart and warmth, as it also goes into what those close to the uploads go through when their loved ones are no longer around physically, only virtually.
Uploadhas even added a dose of mystery, but without forgetting its core message and humor.
Among all the heavy topics,Uploadalso makes room for comedy. Accompanying Nathan in Lakeview is Luke (Kevin Bigley), his self-proclaimed best friend, and Nora’s best friend and coworker Aleesha (Zainab Johnson), who are often the comic relief of the show, but have also carried some heartwarming scenes, especially together.Uploadhas even added a dose of mystery, but without forgetting its core message and humor, making it the bestThe Good Placereplacement while also being strong enough to be its own, amazing thing.
The Good Placeended just a couple of months beforeUploadpremiered, but there’s still plenty of time to catch up on the latter. At the time of writing,Uploadis preparing for its fourth and final season, which, even though it wrapped filming in October 2024, doesn’t have a release date yet. Meanwhile, all three seasons ofUploadcan be streamed on Prime Video, with each episode’s running time being between 24 and 46 minutes.
Uploadis another look at what the afterlife could be like without going into abstract or even religious concepts like heaven or hell, and, perhaps, it could even be a look at what life after death will be like in the future, all this with a story full of heart and comedy.
