Marvel Star’s Sci-Fi Spy Thriller The Copenhagen Test Axed After One Season

Well, that didn’t last long. Peacock has just axed The Copenhagen Test, their much-hyped spy series starring Simu Liu (yeah, from Marvel's Shang-Chi), after a single season. If you’re hearing about this show for the first time, you’re not alone—the spy drama launched at the very end of 2025, got some decent buzz from critics, then pretty much dropped off the map.

The Short Life of 'The Copenhagen Test'

All eight episodes of the series landed on Peacock on December 27, 2025. For about five minutes, it looked like the streamer might have a sleeper hit; the show landed a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, which—let’s be real—is not bad, especially for a genre show on a platform that’s still finding its footing.

But positive reviews couldn’t save it. According to Nielsen’s numbers, the show grabbed 373 million minutes viewed from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4—that actually put it at #10 on their streaming originals chart for that week. The bad news? It never showed up on that top 10 again, which basically means the audience vanished after the initial binge.

What Was This Show About, Anyway?

Here’s the basic premise: Simu Liu plays Alexander Hale, a first-generation Chinese-American intelligence analyst who finds out his brain’s been 'hacked.' Seriously, he’s got someone tap-dancing in his head, with access to everything he sees and hears. So Hale’s stuck trying to figure out who’s behind the cyber-invasion while also pretending everything’s cool at his secretive government job. It's the kind of 24/7 paranoia that would give anyone a long-term headache.

Who Was Involved?

• Simu Liu led the cast—and also signed on as executive producer, because why not multitask?
• Melissa Barrera, Sinclair Daniel, Brian D'Arcy James, Mark O'Brien, and Kathleen Chalfant filled out the main ensemble.
• Thomas Brandon created the show and pulled triple duty as writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner.
• Jennifer Yale worked alongside Brandon as co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer.
• The horror hitmakers at Atomic Monster—James Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett—were also in the producer credits.
• Jet Wilkinson directed the first two episodes, and Mark Winemaker helped round out the producing team.
• UCP (Universal Content Productions) acted as the studio behind the curtain.

So, Why Was It Canceled So Fast?

As is often the story in streaming land, good reviews didn’t mean much when it came to actual eyeballs. The show had one solid week, then completely disappeared from the charts—ouch. Peacock clearly decided that wasn’t good enough for a second swing.

'The Copenhagen Test' was one of those shows that critics thought had potential, but audiences just didn’t stick around for.

If you were hoping for more oddball tech paranoia and spy-thriller weirdness, consider this your notice: Alexander Hale’s saga is over. Too bad, really. Maybe somewhere out there, there’s a hacker who could bring the show back to life—but don’t hold your breath.