The spy thriller has always been a reliable staple of the television landscape, offering viewers a blend of high-stakes tension and global intrigue. Into this crowded arena enters The Copenhagen Test, an eight-episode series that premiered on Peacock on December 27, 2025. Created by Thomas Brandon and led by showrunners Brandon and Jennifer Yale, the series attempts to breathe new life into the genre by injecting a potent dose of near-future science fiction. At the center of this "spy-fi" experiment is Alexander Hale, played by Simu Liu, a first-generation Chinese-American analyst working for a covert agency known as the Orphanage.
The premise is immediately gripping: Hale discovers that his mind has been compromised by sophisticated nanites, essentially turning his brain into a live broadcast signal for an unknown enemy. Everything he sees, says, or encounters is being recorded and transmitted. This debut season arrives at a time when audiences are increasingly wary of surveillance and data privacy, making its central conceit feel uncomfortably plausible. Supported by a heavy-hitting ensemble including Melissa Barrera, Sinclair Daniel, and Brian d’Arcy James, the series seeks to explore the psychological toll of being a "living bug" in a world where secrets are the only currency.
Narrative Arc and Pacing: A Dense Web of Watching the Watchers
The structural backbone of the season is the mystery of the "Copenhagen Test" itself: a flashback-heavy loyalty assessment that occurred years prior during a rescue mission in Belarus. Hale was forced to choose between saving an American woman, Michelle, and a non-American child. His decision to save the child left him sidelined with PTSD and intense guilt, a thread that the writers use to anchor his current motivations as he seeks redemption within the Orphanage. The agency itself is a fascinating narrative construct; it acts as an "Internal Affairs" for the intelligence community, spying on other spies to ensure no one has been compromised.
However, the season's pacing is where the cracks begin to show. The first four episodes are heavily weighed down by exposition, with characters frequently sitting in bland rooms and explaining the premise to one another or to the audience through repetitive dialogue. This "streaming bloat" means the show takes a significant amount of time to actually get to the "fun stuff". There is a noticeable shift in quality starting with the fifth episode, where the momentum finally picks up and the series begins to play more cleverly with its timeline and structure.
The narrative is obsessed with the idea of the "twist," often to the detriment of its own coherence. While the second half of the season manages to build genuine suspense as Hale plays a dangerous game of being a double agent, the sheer volume of "who can you trust" reveals can lead to a sense of "binge vertigo". By the time the finale arrives, the audience has been trained to distrust every interaction, which can make the emotional beats feel less impactful. The ultimate resolution of the lethal brain hack is handled somewhat conveniently, though it does leave a loose thread to justify a potential second season.
Character Evolution and Performances: Breakouts and Blank Slates
The ensemble cast is undoubtedly the series' strongest asset, even when the writing fails to give them enough room to breathe. Simu Liu delivers a performance that highlights his established action credentials, particularly in the high-octane fight sequences of the later episodes. However, as the lead, his characterization is somewhat uneven. At times, he is portrayed as a virtuous, almost one-dimensional patriot, which leaves Liu playing a "blank slate" that lacks the charisma he has displayed in previous projects.
Melissa Barrera provides a sharp contrast as Michelle, the bartender who becomes Hale’s handler and love interest. Her performance is a masterclass in controlled ambiguity; she slips between various personas with a cold, mission-focused efficiency that makes it impossible to tell where the operative ends and the person begins. While some viewers might find her emotional distance alienating, it serves the show’s theme of the dehumanizing nature of espionage.
The true standout of the season, however, is Sinclair Daniel as Parker, a newly promoted predictive analyst. Daniel brings a much-needed layer of humanity and empathy to the story, serving as the audience's emotional proxy in a world populated by "emotionless husks". Her ability to intuit the moves of both her colleagues and her targets provides a unique narrative engine that often feels more compelling than the central romance. The veteran supporting cast, including Kathleen Chalfant as the enigmatic "St. George" and Brian d’Arcy James as the ambitious Director Moira, adds a layer of gravitas to the "old guard" of the Orphanage, though their interpersonal dynamics are often more hinted at than fully explored.
Direction and Production Value: Sterile Shadows and Kinetic Combat
Visually, The Copenhagen Test leans heavily into the established aesthetics of the modern spy thriller. The production design of the Orphanage offices uses dark blues, muted tones, and stark contrasts to create a sterile, covert atmosphere. One of the more inspired touches is the secret entrance to the agency, hidden behind a statue in a library that requires an eye scan for entry: a playful nod to classic genre tropes like Get Smart. While some early episodes suffer from a "generic" look, with Toronto standing in somewhat unconvincingly for Washington D.C., the visual identity sharpens as the stakes increase.
The direction of the action sequences is a highlight, particularly in the seventh episode's apartment brawl between Hale and Michelle. These scenes feel visceral and "painful" rather than just highly choreographed, which sets the show above many of its television counterparts. The use of lighting is also noteworthy, often focusing on the micro-expressions of the cast to highlight the secrets they are keeping even when their dialogue suggests otherwise. Despite different directors across the eight episodes, including Vincenzo Natali and Nima Nourizadeh, there is a consistent sense of creeping paranoia that permeates the world-building.
Trailer The Copenhagen Test - Season 1 (2025)
Soundscape and Atmosphere: The Ringing of Internal Turmoil
The sound design plays a crucial role in immersing the viewer in Alexander Hale's deteriorating mental state. To emulate the disorientation and physical pain of the brain hack, the series utilizes high-pitched ringing and pulsating audio cues that sync with the protagonist’s migraines and panic attacks. This creates a sensory experience that mirrors Hale's loss of control over his own person.
The score is equally frenetic, working in tandem with the sound design to maintain a high level of tension even during more sedentary scenes. While the series does not rely heavily on licensed music, the atmospheric soundscapes successfully build a mood of constant surveillance. The "anechoic chamber" scenes, where Hale speaks to his superiors in a soundproof vacuum, use silence effectively to emphasize the isolation of the characters within their own secret world.
Strengths and Weaknesses
What works well:
- A stellar ensemble cast, particularly the breakout performance by Sinclair Daniel as Parker.
- Visceral and realistic fight choreography that provides a genuine adrenaline boost in the second half of the season.
- An intriguing, high-concept premise that explores modern anxieties regarding surveillance and bio-hacking.
- The thematic exploration of immigrant identity and the added pressure of proving one's loyalty to a country that remains suspicious.
- Strong chemistry between leads Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera, even when the plot limits their emotional range.
What doesn't work:
- Significant pacing issues in the first half, characterized by "streaming bloat" and excessive exposition.
- An over-reliance on plot twists that can become predictable or lead to a confusing, muddy narrative.
- Some characters, including the protagonist, occasionally feel one-dimensional or "wooden" in their writing.
- Underutilized subplots, such as the specifics of the main characters' heritages, which are introduced but not satisfyingly integrated into the core narrative.
- A finale that introduces a major twist and a lethal medical solution that feels rushed and "hand-waved".
Final Verdict: A Tense Binge for Genre Enthusiasts
Rating: 3/5 stars
Ultimately, The Copenhagen Test is a series that offers plenty of "empty calories" for fans of the espionage genre: it is sleek, fast-paced in its later hours, and packed with enough surprises to keep a weekend binge moving. While it lacks the emotional depth and narrative tight-roping of a show like Slow Horses, it succeeds as a "spy-fi" popcorn thriller that leverages the charisma of its rising stars. The show is most effective when it focuses on the psychological horror of Hale's situation and the moral dilemmas faced by the "watchers" like Parker.
The season will likely appeal most to viewers who enjoy high-concept thrillers like The Bourne Identity or Black Mirror and are willing to overlook some logistical leaps and narrative knots for the sake of a wild ride. However, those seeking a more grounded, character-driven drama may find the constant shifting of allegiances and the slow-starting first half to be more frustrating than rewarding. While the season ties up its primary threads with a "neat bow," it leaves just enough of a loose end to suggest that the Orphanage's work is far from over.
Watch or Pass: Watch (if you can survive the first four episodes of setup for the payoff of the back half).
 TV Review: A High-Concept Espionage Puzzle That Thrives on Paranoia But Struggles With its Own Complexity){kind=link}
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