It is more interesting to thread an original needle with comic stories than preach people about real-life problems, says award-winning American writer Greg Daniels.
The man behind shows such as the American version of 'The Office', 'Parks and Recreation' and 'Upload', Daniels credits his writing experience of working in popular animated sitcoms 'The Simpsons' and 'King of the Hill' for sharpening his satire skills.
The Emmy Award winner, who started his career in sketch comedy with a show called 'Not Necessarily the News', a remake of 'Not the Nine O'Clock News', in the late 1980s, got his next job at late night sketch show 'Saturday Night Live' in the next decade.
"I have worked on The Simpsons', which was full of satire writers with similar backgrounds and was intentionally satiric of American culture. By the time I was creating and running 'King of the Hill', I felt that connecting television stories to real events and problems in society that people can relate to causes the audience to lean forward, wondering what you are going to say about society. It gives more interest to the comic stories if you can thread an original needle and not lecture people," Daniels said in an interview.
The 56-year-old writer-filmmaker is looking forward to the premiere of the sophomore season of his Amazon Prime Video sitcom Upload, featuring Robbie Amell and Andy Allo.
The series takes place in the near future, where people who are near death can be "uploaded" into a virtual afterlife called Lakeview of their choice.
The new chapter, which is set in the year 2034, pokes fun at real-life technology advancements.
There is a lot of anxiety in contemplating what could happen in the future. When you think about what's happening now in the world of tech and how big companies are using it to surveil people and there are a lot of changes that are happening in society. Some of them will be great, some are not great. The point about the show is to look at them, laugh about them rather than to preview them and think about them in a fun way, he added.
The sci-fi comedy series is set in a technologically advanced future where hologram phones, 3D food printers and automated grocery stores are the norm. Most uniquely, humans can choose to be uploaded into a virtual afterlife.
In season two, Nathan (Amell) is at a crossroads in his afterlife, his girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) has unexpectedly arrived to Lakeview hoping to strengthen their relationship, but his heart still secretly yearns for his customer service angel Nora (Allo). Meanwhile, Nora is off the grid and involved with the anti-tech rebel group The Ludds .
According to the makers, the upcoming season is packed with new near-future concepts.