This weekend I have …
a half-hour, and I want something fun and tricky.
‘Upload’
When to watch: Season 3 begins Friday, on Amazon.
Robbie Amell and Andy Allo star in this bright and cynical afterlife comedy, where the only thing more certain than the icy finger of death is the rapaciousness of capitalist greed. Start at the beginning here; there is an involved mythology of renegade love, corporate malfeasance and secret doppelgängers. And jokes! (“We went to Niagara-La Croix on our honeymoon, right after they carbonated.”) “Upload” is biting but it isn’t miserable — some of its characters may be dead and existing as consciousnesses uploaded to a corporate cloud, but they still have their senses of humor. If you miss “The Good Place,” or you just have a hole in your heart where a smart and dexterous show is supposed to go, watch this.
… a few hours, and I like third acts.
‘The Greatest Show Never Made’
When to watch: Now, on Amazon.
This three-part documentary about a hoax is surprisingly tender rather than tawdry. In 2002, reality television was a relatively new genre with outrageous setups and life-changing prizes. So when 30 people (including Tim Eagle and Lucie Miller) were cast on a social experiment-format show in London, they thought they were embarking on a dazzling new chapter. It turned out, though, that the guy running everything was just … a guy running everything: There was no network, no money, no actual show. “Greatest” uses clever stylistic techniques, including fully recreating the apartment where much of the “show” was filmed, to tease out a complicated, surprising story about fame and change.
… several hours, and I love a buffet.
‘Bodies’
When to watch: Now, on Netflix.
If you love a British cop show but can’t choose between historical, contemporary or futuristic crimes and investigations, try “Bodies,” which crams four murder shows into one and throws in a time-travel scientist show for good measure. Luckily, it works. Amaka Okafor anchors the present-day timeline as an investigator who finds a naked body in an alley; eventually, she and we learn that in 1890, 1941 and 2053, other cops have found naked bodies in the same spot, each with the same apparent cause of death and strange wrist tattoo. There’s a lot happening in “Bodies,” and it all happens quickly and with a fun urgency. It is also pretty gross in terms of old-timey autopsies and such, so the super squeamish should proceed with caution.
