Upright Series 1 & 2 Box Set – DVD Review

By Karl Hornsey

The talents of Tim Minchin have been well known in the mainstream for many years now, but even by his standards the last couple of years have been outstanding ones. The film adaptation of Matilda the Musical was released on Netflix in late 2022, and his latest starring role comes in series two of road-trip comedy-drama Upright, which he just happens to also help compose the music for, direct, executive produce, develop and star in. To call Minchin a man of many talents doesn’t even come close, and it will be fascinating to see in which direction he takes his career next.

This box set features all 16 episodes of series 1 and 2, with the former of those first airing on Sky in 2019 and the latter at the back end of last year. Whether further series will follow is yet to be announced, but it’s fair to say fans who have fallen in love with the heartwarming friendship between Minchin and co-star Milly Alcock won’t want their journey to end just yet. And an epic journey it is, as the two are thrown together in the Australian outback, where their complicated, deeply layered characters are gradually laid bare, as they come to rely ever more on each other for support. While Minchin was already a familiar face at the start of series one, Upright has proven to be a breakthrough in the career of young Australian Alcock, who has since gone on to land a key role in Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, for which she has garnered rave reviews, and understandably so.

“Charming and believable”

There’s always something endearing about a two-handed road trip or ‘buddy movie’, which is essentially what Upright is. There’s so much time for character development, as the two leading protagonists spend so much of their time on camera together, allowing for their relationship to blossom – and that’s exactly what happens here. There’s nothing new about throwing two seemingly unlikely people together and watching them overcome their initial reticence to become great friends, but it takes some doing to pull it off in such a charming and believable way as in this case.

It’s also a series that shows off the Australian outback and countryside at its finest, with the vast landscape playing a key part in adding to the challenges that the pair come across, and it would be a shame if it stops at just two series. But if it does, then this box set is the perfect way to binge on the whole thing.

‘Upright’ Season 1 & 2 Box set arrive on DVD on 27 February 2023, courtesy of Acorn Media International