Peacock is closing out the year with a high-concept techno-thriller that leans hard into our era of digital surveillance and data breaches. The Copenhagen Test, an eight-episode sci‑fi espionage series created by Thomas Brandon and backed by horror and genre powerhouse James Wan, arrives on the platform on December 27. Instead of focusing on gadgets or traditional spycraft, the show asks a chilling question: what happens when the most sensitive intelligence in the world is stored inside a brain that’s been hacked?
The Copenhagen Test: why this Peacock original matters right now
Set in a near future that feels only a step ahead of our current reality, The Copenhagen Test builds its suspense around a very modern anxiety: the idea that even your own thoughts may no longer be fully yours. At a time when Americans are already debating facial recognition, AI monitoring, and mass data collection, the series pushes that debate into the realm of national security and intelligence work.
Rather than globe‑trotting action, the danger here is largely invisible. The battlefield is the human mind, and the main weapon is access—who can see, copy, or manipulate what’s going on in the head of someone who handles America’s most classified information.
Story breakdown: when an intelligence analyst becomes the ultimate security risk
The central figure of the series is Alexander Hale, an American intelligence analyst whose job is to process and interpret highly sensitive data. Hale, played by Simu Liu, discovers that his brain has been compromised. Every visual he registers, every sound he processes, every internal reaction could be streamed straight to an unknown adversary.
From that moment on, Hale is placed under relentless scrutiny. He has to keep showing up for work, interacting with colleagues, and making life‑or‑death decisions for his agency—all while operating under the suspicion that he may have become the perfect espionage backdoor.
The show’s core tension doesn’t come from car chases or shootouts, but from psychological pressure: how do you convince your government you can still be trusted when you can’t guarantee control over your own mind? Every conversation, every mission briefing, every small slip can be reinterpreted as evidence against him—or as a leak to the enemy.
Watch the official trailer
The trailer teases a dense, paranoid atmosphere, emphasizing claustrophobic offices, high‑tech monitoring, and the unsettling idea that surveillance may now run in both directions: the agency is watching Hale, but someone else may be watching them through him.
A creative team steeped in genre storytelling
The Copenhagen Test benefits from a pedigree that should catch the eye of anyone who follows modern genre TV. Peacock reunites with producer James Wan, best known for energizing horror and genre franchises with tightly wound tension and bold visual choices. Here, his production company Atomic Monster joins forces with Universal Content Productions to deliver a series that lives at the crossroads of sci‑fi, espionage, and psychological thriller.
Series creator Thomas Brandon handles the concept and writing, with Jennifer Yale joining as co‑showrunner. Their collaboration suggests a balance between intricate plotting and character‑driven drama, essential for a story that hinges on doubt, loyalty, and identity more than on simple plot twists.
Cast: Simu Liu leads a high-stakes intelligence drama
Front and center is Simu Liu as Alexander Hale, shifting from superhero spectacle to something far more internal and tense. He anchors a cast designed to populate the world of national security and covert operations:
- Simu Liu as Alexander Hale, the compromised intelligence analyst at the heart of the crisis
- Melissa Barrera as Michelle, whose relationship to Hale adds emotional and moral complexity to his choices
- Sinclair Daniel as Parker, a key player navigating the razor’s edge between helping Hale and protecting the agency
- Brian d’Arcy James, Mark O’Brien, and Kathleen Chalfant in pivotal roles embedded deep inside the intelligence community’s chain of command
Behind the camera, director Jet Wilkinson sets the tone by helming the first two episodes, establishing the show’s mix of grounded procedural details and unnerving speculative tech.
Release strategy: a full-season drop built for binge-watching
Peacock is opting for a binge‑friendly rollout: all eight episodes of the first season land on December 27. For viewers who like to dive straight through a mystery without waiting week to week, this model makes sense—especially for a story that thrives on sustained paranoia and evolving alliances.
The series was filmed primarily in Toronto between October 2024 and March 2025, standing in for the show’s various secure facilities, urban landscapes, and covert environments. The visual palette leans into the sleek, slightly cold aesthetic associated with high‑tech intelligence settings, contrasting impersonal surveillance systems with the intimate breakdown happening inside Hale’s mind.
Techno-thriller DNA: where The Copenhagen Test fits in the genre
American audiences have seen plenty of spy thrillers that explore surveillance, from political dramas to action franchises. What distinguishes The Copenhagen Test is its insistence on staying within the framework of modern intelligence work while pushing one step into speculative science. There’s no time travel or far‑flung dystopia—just a plausible near future where the human brain itself becomes the ultimate data center.
This puts the series firmly in the lineage of techno‑thrillers that probe the blurred lines between personal freedom, national security, and technological overreach. Instead of debating phone taps or metadata, the show imagines a world in which the most valuable asset a spy agency has—an analyst’s judgment, instincts, and experience—can be copied or exploited without the subject’s consent.
Throughout the season, the narrative keeps returning to one essential dilemma: where does accountability end when you may literally not be the one in control? That question doesn’t just affect Hale; it shakes the foundations of the institutions built on trust, secrecy, and command hierarchies.
High-stakes questions driving the season
While Peacock is keeping many story details under wraps, the premise naturally raises a series of big‑picture questions that the show appears ready to explore:
- Can an intelligence agency afford to keep using someone whose mind is a potential live feed to an unknown adversary?
- How far will a government go to monitor, contain, or even weaponize a compromised asset?
- What does loyalty look like when your own thoughts might be turned against you—or rewritten entirely?
- And crucially, can Hale leverage his condition to turn the tables and expose whoever is tapping into him?
The title itself—The Copenhagen Test—suggests an experiment or stress test, not just of a single person, but of the entire structure of modern intelligence operations. By the end of the season, the question may not simply be whether Hale survives the ordeal, but whether the system around him can withstand the implications of what has been done to him.
Who should stream The Copenhagen Test?
If you’re into grounded sci‑fi that feels uncomfortably close to real life, or thrillers that emphasize moral and psychological stakes over pure action, The Copenhagen Test is positioned squarely for you. Fans of politically tinged espionage series, techno‑paranoia stories, and complex character studies will likely find plenty to dissect—and to binge—over the holiday break.
FAQ
- When does The Copenhagen Test premiere on Peacock?
- The Copenhagen Test premieres on Peacock on December 27, with the entire first season made available on that date for immediate streaming.
- How many episodes are in season 1 of The Copenhagen Test?
- Season 1 consists of eight episodes. Peacock is dropping them all at once rather than following a weekly release schedule, making it easy to watch the story straight through.
- What kind of series is The Copenhagen Test?
- The show is a blend of science fiction and espionage thriller. It focuses on advanced surveillance technology, mind hacking, and the internal workings of modern intelligence agencies rather than traditional spy action.
- Who plays Alexander Hale in The Copenhagen Test?
- Simu Liu stars as Alexander Hale, the American intelligence analyst whose brain is hacked, turning him into both a crucial asset and a dangerous vulnerability within the national security apparatus.
