The Copenhagen Test

Last updated

The Copenhagen Test
The Copenhagen Test.jpg
Promotional poster
Genre
Created byThomas Brandon
Showrunners
  • Thomas Brandon
  • Jennifer Yale
Starring
ComposerNathan Micay
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • James Wan
  • Simu Liu
  • Jennifer Yale
  • Thomas Brandon
  • Jet Wilkinson
  • Mark Winemaker
  • Michael Clear
  • Rob Hackett
Cinematography
Production companies
Original release
Network Peacock
ReleaseDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)

The Copenhagen Test is an American science fiction action spy thriller television series created by Thomas Brandon for Peacock. It stars Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera, with Liu and James Wan also serving as executive producers. The series premiered on December 27, 2025.

Contents

Premise

In the near future, an intelligence agent's brain is hacked, allowing the hackers access to everything he sees and hears. He must prove his allegiance and uncover the perpetrators. [1]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date  [6]
1"Copenhagen"Jet WilkinsonThomas BrandonDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)
During a mission in Belarus, U.S. Special Forces sniper Alexander Hale reluctantly chooses to save a Belarusian boy over an American woman. Three years later, Hale works as an analyst for The Orphanage, a clandestine oversight agency monitoring the rest of the intelligence community. He remains haunted, struggling with anxiety and migraines. After an operation in North Korea fails, Hale suspects he is being investigated as a mole by the elite “Upstairs” division. His mentor Victor Simonek warns the agencys cautious nature means they won't offer him due process, even if he is innocent. Hale deduces Belarus was an orchestrated DoD loyalty assessment called a Copenhagen Test. He also suspects an enemy is monitoring him via a nanite biohacking implant codenamed Cassandra, causing the migraines. Both are confirmed by Orphanage executives Marlowe and Moira in a Faraday cage, who enlist him to partake in Operation Claymore, a ruse to expose the enemy and discover what intel is compromised.
2"Glass House"Jet WilkinsonThomas BrandonDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)
A month prior, the Orphanage discovers Hale is biohacked. Moira recruits predictive analyst Samantha Parker and operative Michelle into Claymore. Harlowe discovers Michelle played the American woman during the Copenhagen Test, and Parker criticises her for not declaring it beforehand. Hale works out the nanites entered his system via anxiety medication from his ex-fiance Dr. Rachel Kasperian, and tells Moira. He and Michelle pretend to go on a date to draw out enemy observers. Multiple operatives enter, aiming to scan Hale to ensure the Cassandra signal hasn't been altered. He and Michelle draw them into a no signal area and capture them. All three are revealed to be corrupt American intelligence agents identified by the hack, blackmailed to work for a mysterious man with a walking cane. Orphanage analyst Cobb meets with his mentor Schiff, a friend of Simonek, who uses one.
3"False Flag" Kevin Tancharoen Jamie ChanDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)
4"Obsidian"Kevin TancharoenAdam BenicDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)
5"Looking Glass" Vincenzo Natali Marilyn FuDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)
6"Allegiance"Vincenzo NataliHannah RosnerDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)
7"Not the World of Men" Nima Nourizadeh Jennifer Yale & Monica BucciniDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)
8"The Orphanage"Nima NourizadehThomas BrandonDecember 27, 2025 (2025-12-27)

Production

Development

The espionage techno-thriller series was picked up by Peacock in February 2024. [7] Thomas Brandon serves as creator, writer and executive producer for the series alongside co-showrunner and executive producer Jennifer Yale. James Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett are executive producers for Atomic Monster, with Simu Liu also an executive producer. Mark Winemaker and Jet Wilkinson serves as executive producer, with Wilkinson directing the first two episodes. [8]

The cast is led by Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera and includes Sinclair Daniel, Brian d'Arcy James, Mark O'Brien and Kathleen Chalfant as series regulars. [9] In October 2024, the title of the series was initially revealed as Copenhagen. [10] In November, Sara Amini joined the cast in a major recurring role as Ellie. [11] Saul Rubinek was revealed as part of the cast the next month. [12]

Filming

Principal photography began on October 21, 2024, in Toronto, and wrapped on March 11, 2025. [10] [13]

Release

The Copenhagen Test premiered on December 27, 2025, on Peacock, with all eight episodes released at once. [14] [15]

Reception

Audience viewership

According to Variety, The Copenhagen Test scored 1.1 billion streams in the weeks between December 27, 2025 and January 1, 2026, [16] making it the third most viewed show in America at the time, surpassing Netflix's Emily in Paris , HBO Max's The Pitt , and Amazon Prime's Fallout . It fell behind only Stranger Things and Landman in streaming viewership. The Copenhagen Test also reached the number one spot on Peacock's top ten TV show list, and was deemed a "Streaming Success" mere days after its release. [17] The Copenhagen Test debuted at slot number 10 on the Nielsen Top Ten and drawing in the highest concentration of Black viewers (20%) and the highest concentration of Asian viewers (12%) across all top 10 titles. [18]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 70% based on 23 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "After a slow start, The Copenhagen Test solidly sprints into thrilling spy-fare territory with engaging performances from Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera." [19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave it a score of 61 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [20]

Ron Seoul-Oh of Pop Culture News gave the show a 3/5, saying, "Through seven and a half of the eight-episode first season, The Copenhagen Test is fast, exciting and intriguing. The binge drop on Peacock will be welcomed by viewers eager to click through to the next episode after each previous one ends. The finale however is where the pacing falters." [21]

Joel Keller of Decider praised the show for "[feeling] mostly like a solid conspiracy drama with a little bit of sci fi mixed in." He also praised the performances, with Liu and Barrera singled out for their chemistry, and named Saul Rubinek the "sleeper star" of the show. [22]

Rating the show 8/10, Jeff Ewing of Collider wrote, "The Copenhagen Test is an engaging, entertaining spy thriller with a sci-fi edge. Liu serves as a strong lead for the series, boasting strong action chops and great chemistry with Barrera. [...] The Copenhagen Test is a thrilling series that seeds just enough of a sci-fi element throughout for something truly fresh in the spy genre. [23]

Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club rated the show a C+, complimenting the performances of main cast members such as Melissa Barrera, "who kicks ass as Michelle and seamlessly plays the layered woman well," and Sinclair Daniel, for a "breakout" performance. However, she criticized the show for including too many plot twists to maintain their shock value, writing "[...] for a show that wants to be a wild ride, it can get borderline boring at times." [24]

References

  1. ↑ Otterson, Joe (October 2, 2024). "Melissa Barrera, Brian d'Arcy James Among 5 Cast in Simu Liu Espionage Thriller Series at Peacock". Variety. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  2. ↑ Hough, Q.V. (January 3, 2026). "Know the Cast: 'The Copenhagen Test'". Vague Visages. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  3. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel (December 26, 2025). "'The Copenhagen Test' Review: Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera's Peacock Espionage Drama Takes Too Long to Uncover the Fun Stuff". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  4. ↑ Ingham, Alexandria (December 24, 2025). "Kathleen Chalfant talks the mystery of St. George on The Copenhagen Test [Exclusive]". ShowSnob. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  5. ↑ Aeron, Mer Eclarinal (January 5, 2026). "The Copenhagen Test's Victor Twist Is More Heartbreaking Than Fans Realize". The Direct. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  6. ↑ Porter, Rick (December 8, 2025). "Simu Liu's Brain Has Been Hacked in Peacock's 'Copenhagen Test' Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  7. ↑ Otterson, Joe (February 14, 2024). "Simu Liu, James Wan Team for Espionage Thriller Series at Peacock". Variety. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (October 2, 2024). "Melissa Barrera & Sinclair Daniel Among Five Joining Peacock's James Wan-Simu Liu Series". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  9. ↑ Knolle, Sharon (October 2, 2024). "Melissa Barrera, Brian d'Arcy James Join Simu Liu in Peacock Thriller Series From James Wan". The Wrap. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Geisinger, Gabriella (October 15, 2024). "James Wan's 'Copenhagen' starring Simu Liu sets Toronto production". Kemps Film and TV Production Services Handbook . Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  11. ↑ Petski, Denise (November 25, 2024). "Sara Amini Joins James Wan/Simu Liu's Peacock Series Copenhagen". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  12. ↑ Campione, Katie (December 16, 2024). "Saul Rubinek Boards James Wan & Simu Liu's Untitled Peacock Espionage Thriller As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  13. ↑ Kaukawala, Sakina (March 11, 2025). "James Wan's Thriller Copenhagen Starring Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera Wraps Filming; Here's What to Expect". Pinkvilla . Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  14. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (October 12, 2025). "Simu Liu & Melissa Barrera-Led 'The Copenhagen Test' Sets Premiere Date & Drops Teaser And Photos". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  15. ↑ "The Copenhagen Test - WorldScreenings". WorldScreenings. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  16. ↑ Doperalski, Daniel (March 22, 2024). "The Variety Streaming Originals Charts". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  17. ↑ Blevins, Adam (December 30, 2025). "Melissa Barrera's New Spy Thriller Is an Instant Streaming Hit". Collider. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Nielsen Archives". Media Play News. February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  19. ↑ "The Copenhagen Test: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Copenhagen Test: Season 1". Metacritic . Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Review - Simu Liu Anchors a Characer Driven Spy Thriller in 'The Copenhagen Test' | POC Culture". December 26, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  22. ↑ "'The Copenhagen Test' Peacock Review: Stream It Or Skip It?". December 29, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  23. ↑ Ewing, Jeff (December 26, 2025). "'The Copenhagen Test' Review: Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera Shine in a Smart, Twisty Spy Thriller Series With a Sci-Fi Edge". Collider. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  24. ↑ Gajjar, Saloni. "Spy drama The Copenhagen Test is heavy on twists and light on coherence". AV Club. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
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