Jason Bourne Meets ‘Minority Report’ in This Gritty Sci-Fi Thriller Bound to Be Streaming’s Next Sleeper Hit
Minority Report painted a chilling vision of the future, with the precognitive dreams of three psychic children leading police officers to arrest people before they could commit any potential crimes. It was also a propulsive action thriller, thanks to Steven Spielberg‘s expert hand and Tom Cruise‘s driven performance. Though therehave been plenty of science-fiction/action movies and television shows, none have come close to capturing the intensity of Minority Report (not even its short-lived TV sequel series). That’s about to change with Peacock’s new series, The Copenhagen Test.
The Copenhagen Test follows a similar setup to Minority Report but also throws in a little of The Bourne Identity‘s signature mystery. Intelligence analyst Alexander Hale (Simu Liu) is accused of being a mole in the mysterious organization he works for, even though he protests his innocence. The truth is a little more complicated: someone has implanted technology in Hale’s brain, transmitting everything he sees and hears. To catch the culprit, Hale decides to throw himself into field work, though he soon finds himself questioning who he can really trust.
‘The Copenhagen Test’ Features The Cast, Creatives & Premise You’d Expect From a Sci-Fi Blockbuster
The-Copenhagen-Test-featureImage via Peacock
Looking at all the talent attached to The Copenhagen Test, you’d probably mistake it for a high-concept science fiction blockbuster rather than a streaming series. Simu Liu is joined by a cast including Melissa Barrera, Sinclair Daniel, Brian d’Arcy James and Mark O’Brien; all of them play characters who have a close connection to Alexander Hale, though it’s up in the air if they’re a friend or foe to him. In addition to taking the role of leading man, Liu also executive produces The Copenhagen Test alongside horror legend James Wan. Wan had previously produced the short-lived horror/sci-fi series Teacup for Peacock, so hopefully The Copenhagen Test fares better.
The Copenhagen Test also has an advantage: there’s plenty of action to balance out the ongoing mystery. Not only is this a chance for Liu to once again show off his martial arts skills, but it also taps into the trend of military and spy shows as major standouts on streaming. Prime Video has more or less cornered the market thanks to shows like Reacher, The Terminal List, and Jack Ryan; Hulu has Paradise, which is coming back for its second season; and Apple TV+ has been delivering sci-fi hit after sci-fi hit. The Copenhagen Test lands squarely in that wheelhouse, meaning that Peacock could have another hit on its hands following the success of All Her Fault.
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The ‘In Your Dreams’ star also discusses the universal anxieties of Netflix’s new movie and Shang-Chi’s return in Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’
‘The Copenhagen Test’ Drew Inspiration From an Unlikely Source
Though comparisons might be made to The Minority Report and the Jason Bourne films when watching the trailer for The Copenhagen Test, it turns out that the creators had another movie in mind — specifically, The Truman Show. The Jim Carrey dramedy centers on Truman Burbank, a man unaware that his entire life has been orchestrated as part of an extremely popular reality show, and given that The Copenhagen Test features a man whose body has literally been hijacked by cameras, the comparison is very apt.
The Copenhagen Test also featured plenty of hands-on creative input from Simu Liu, according to series creator Thomas Brandon. Brandon and co-showrunner Jennifer Yale went into detail about how Liu was involved in nearly every aspect of the creative process:
“Simu actually joined our writers’ room for the first two weeks…He loves the creative process. He wasn’t just an executive producer in name. He’d focus on relationships between other characters, not just his own. He was so thoughtful about the story as a whole.”
The fact that Simu Liu is willing to dedicate himself to a project long enough to give notes on a script screams “passion project”, which hopefully bodes well for The Copenhagen Test. While most fans might be looking forward to Liu reprising his role as Shang-Chi in Avengers: Doomsday, this definitely needs to be on their radar, as it finally looks like there’s a worthy successor to Minority Report.
All episodes of The Copenhagen Test will be available to stream on Peacock on December 27, 2025.
Release Date
December 27, 2025
Network
Peacock
Directors
Jet Wilkinson
