The Copenhagen Test delivered an engaging drama with sci fi and spy thriller elements, but Peacock cut it short by cancelling it after one season.
What Is It?
This series focuses on Alexander Hale, a first-generation Chinese-American intelligence analyst who discovers his brain has been secretly hacked, giving unknown adversaries access to everything he sees and hears. As he tries to prove his loyalty and uncover who’s behind the breach, he becomes entangled in a dangerous web of intrigue, deception, and espionage within a covert agency known as The Orphanage.
Aired: 2025, One Season Totaling 8 Episodes
Starring: Simu Liu, Melissa Barrera, Sinclair Daniel, Brian d’Arcy James, Mark O’Brien, Kathleen Chalfant
Created By: Thomas Brandon
Why Was It Cancelled?
The Copenhagen Test arrived on Peacock at the end of December 2025 with some promotion from the streamer, and it offered an original premise that delivered a nice mix of sci fi, spy thriller, and drama. According to data from Luminate, this series drew an estimated 1.1 billion minutes of viewing for its premiere week of December 26th to January 1st, getting it off to a strong start. Nielsen had it at an estimated 373 million minutes for the week of December 29th to January 4th, but that was for the U.S. audience only, and it dropped out of the charts the next week.
For Peacock, which has between 36 and 41 million subscribers versus over 200 million for Amazon’s Prime Video and over 300 million for Netflix, those are pretty good viewership numbers, and it certainly seemed to be on track for a renewal. In addition, it was relatively well received, currently holding a 71% Tomatometer Score (based on critics’ reviews) and an 80% Popcornmeter Score (based on viewers’ response) on Rotten Tomatoes.
But after what looked like a strong premiere, Peacock went silent on the show for several months, placing its future in doubt. It spent only one week in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings, suggesting that viewers may have tuned in but may not have stuck through to the end. Creator and showrunner Thomas Brandon had plans to continue the story into a second season, but those will not happen at Peacock, as the streamer announced the cancellation of the series this past week. A reason was not given for cutting the show short after its first year, and there has been no statement from the creative team. It is possible that it could be shopped around to other venues at this point, but there has been no word on that yet, and NBCUniversal (which owns Peacock) has a stake in the show and would have to approve any shift to a different platform.
What Can the Fans Do to Help?
I haven’t noticed that The Copenhagen Test has developed much of a following thus far, but I have seen quite a few fans express disappointment that the show was cancelled. If they could band together and stage a Call to Action, perhaps this one could continue. Making some noise on social networks would be a good start to bring the show more attention. And staging watch parties would help as well, as that could possibly get it back up into the charts. The show is also available to purchase on VOD, so if fans were to buy it up en masse, that would go straight to the bottom line, which certainly draws the attention of company execs.
Perhaps these actions would get Peacock to reconsider the cancellation, or perhaps another streamer would have an interest in picking it up. As mentioned above, NBCUniversal has an ownership stake in the show through Universal Content Productions, so they would have to approve any move. But if there is enough interest (and enough money), something might happen, and the show did appear to perform well globally.
Any action to save the show needs to get moving pretty quickly, though, because the actors and creative team have likely been released from their contracts. Simu Liu will be pretty busy with his current MCU projects, and Melissa Barrera has several things on her upcoming slate as well, so their availability to return for a second season may be very limited. But if the fans make enough noise, perhaps the crew could be brought back together for at least one more season of this show.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire first season is still available for streaming on Peacock, and as mentioned above, it is available to purchase VOD from sellers like Amazon and Apple.
Did you watch Starfleet Academy, and would you support fan efforts to save the show? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.
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