Prime Video's acclaimed sci-fi comedy Upload is back and with the first two episodes now streaming, we were recently able to catch up with director and executive producer Jeffrey Blitz (The Office; Parks and Recreation) and get more insight into that big premiere episode and where the story goes next for Nathan (Robbie Amell) and Nora (Andy Allo).
Blitz breaks down some of the creative decisions that went behind getting this new season started off right, especially after last season's big cliffhanger. He also walks me through what goes into making an episode of Upload, what to expect this seson from the two Nathans and Nora, the scene-stealing Allegra Edwards, and a whole lot omre.
Read on for our full interview with director Jeff Blitz below, and please remember to SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: Since Nathan is essentially a ticking time bomb this season, was that opening scene devised to sort of introduce a sense of urgency to the season? Or were there other things you sought to do to remind the audience that Nathan is on borrowed time?
JEFF: That’s exactly it: every choice Nathan makes now is juiced with the possibility that it’s his last. Any day, any hour might be his last. That he chooses to spend it with Nora, and she with him, makes the depth of their love even clearer. Like their every action says, today might be our last day… and we’re spending it together. What could be more horribly romantic? Greg shared an idea that Nathan is like a WWII soldier on leave with his girlfriend for a weekend. They want to make the most of their time together but they can’t ever fully escape the future. For Nathan and Nora, just when they manage to forget the sword hanging over him, there are subtle reminders wherever they look.
ROHAN: Since this season spends more time in the real world than the previous two, what were some things you looked into to make the real world feel futuristic, but also stay true to where our world could be heading?
JEFF: Upload is set 15 years in the future so we aim to make it feel familiar but also actually futuristic and surprising. If you think back 15 years, the world of today would be pretty recognizable in many ways and also quite strange in others. Greg and the writing staff and the show’s brilliant production designer Rachel O’Toole and VFX guru Eddie Anton all dig in deep to what the future might be like and it’s really brainstormed in great detail. (Rachel’s ideas on what code will look like, for example, made graphics and VFX meetings endlessly cool.) A big part of the fun of Upload is that, as a comedy, we’re always looking to show a vision of the future that is just as glitchy and real, just as full of human error, as our actual world right now.
ROHAN: Allegra Edwards gets some of the best and often meanest lines on the show and has really excellent delivery on everything. When filming, how many variations of lines do you give her and/or does she ever improv anything?
JEFF: The scripts are very specific and carefully written so in every scene, we make sure to have good takes exactly as scripted before the actors and director and on-set writers are cut loose to play. And yes, when she does step into improv mode, she’s a joy to behold. We’re blessed with a cast that’s universally terrific at this and we’re always looking for the chance to let them discover their own moments. There’s a scene in Episode 1 in Freeyond at night where both Andy and Robbie brought some utterly fantastic lines and beats of their own that had people laughing out loud on set.
ROHAN: Going off question 4, Ingrid does some questionable stuff when she rekindles a relationship with the second Nathan, what went behind that decision cause it is sort of hard to stomach initially or did you see this as an opportunity for her to grow throughout the season?
JEFF: For me, Allegra’s performance of Ingrid is one of the most delightful and unexpected parts of the show. In other hands, Ingrid might have been a pure and cartoonish villain. But Allegra manages to magically play into Ingrid’s delicious, over-the-top scheming while never losing a more soulful part of her ambition. And it’s this more soulful part that this season manages to explore. Kind of. The fun of Ingrid always wins in the end.
ROHAN: Considering the Greg Daniels connection, does working on this remind you of your time on The Office? How is it similar or different?
JEFF: A mundane office in Scranton, PA and a country-spanning story set years in the future — you’d think they’d have little in common. And it’s true that the way of shooting these shows is very different. The Office was a loose playground of genius writing and acting and living subjective camerawork. Upload is highly detailed and planned and full of VFX. And yet, the weirdo comedy and beating heart of both is Greg Daniels and it’s his determination to always prioritize genuine human emotion and foreground character that really defines both shows for me.
ROHAN: Was the Freeyond conspiracy inspired by real life events or modeled after how real people may react if something like that was offered?
JEFF: The whole show feels both inspired by the current state of the world but also more abstract than that. This idea has been cooking for Greg for decades and like any sci-fi exploration of ideas, it’s both a product of its times and also high concept enough that it stands apart from any specific events. We hope it feels familiar and relevant without being tied to anything specific and ripped from the headlines.
ROHAN: Is there an art behind blowing up someone’s head like in the opening scene?
JEFF: ‘Art’ may not be the word for it exactly even if you’re having multiple meetings on what the blood splatter should look like, and whether we need a prosthetic neck ring for post-explosion or “just” a VFX flap. But it is true that in all things Upload, we come from a character place first. This is a scene about Nathan and Nora connecting for real, at long last, and we should believe it’s about to develop in a romantic, intimate way — only to have the, um, head pulled off from under us? Pulled off from in front of us? You know what I mean. But how we approach the visualization of this, how Andy and Robbie perform it, it’s all in service of the character story. The gore isn’t just for shock value. It’s also succinctly giving us a major tension of the season: will the long-awaited development of Nathan and Nora’s love be interrupted by the harsh reality of downloading? And it’s reminding our viewer to not get too comfortable. Upload is the kind of genre-defying comedy where anything can happen.
ROHAN: Considering how intense the premiere is, when did you know that ep.2 would need to send Nathan and Nora and give us some of these relationship building moments?
JEFF: This was all part of the writers’ plan from the get-go. Episode 1 of Season 3 is intense. It’s wrapping up cliffhangers from last season and propelling the drama forward into the new one. Episode 2 has its tension, too, but takes a moment to reground our interest in the relationship, to hint at how bringing Nathan back into the real world is going to offer up not just big life or death challenges but the sweeter, more complex stuff of developing love affairs.
ROHAN: Considering all of the visual elements that go into each episode, how long does an episode generally take to make from start to finish?
JEFF: Sometimes we joke that we’ll almost catch up to the future we’re portraying but that’s not actually true! We started filming in the summer of 2022. The final parts of post — VFX along with sound and picture finishes — weren’t until well into 2023. We know we ask our fans to be patient as we put together the best show we can and we really appreciate how much people seem to stick with us!
ROHAN: The machine that Luke uses to look back through his memories - and other technology on the show - is some, if not all of it inspired by anything that exists today? Cause that machine could be an advanced version of iCloud Photos on some level.
JEFF: To me, the ideas are timeless, but it’s true that the conceptualization and execution of the specific tools in Upload are often shaped by what we know and also trends of where we think equipment might be going. Greg and Production Designer Rachel O’Toole are especially plugged into the research of where product design seems to be headed and they inspire us to push our vision in those directions.
The first two episodes of Upload season three are now streaming on Prime Video!