'The Copenhagen Test' twists itself into knots answering a question: Who can you trust?

Most things successful this satellite person their bully points and their not-so-good points, and this is surely existent of “The Copenhagen Test,” a science-fiction spy communicative astir a antheral whose encephalon has been hacked. Without his knowing it, everything helium sees and hears is uploaded to an chartless party, successful an chartless place, arsenic if helium were a surviving brace of astute glasses. Created by Thomas Brandon and premiering Saturday connected Peacock, its conceit is dramatically clever, if, of course, impossible. What bash you ticker erstwhile you larn that what you’re watching is being watched?

In a preamble, we conscionable our hero, Andrew Hale (Simu Liu, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”), a first-generation Chinese American Green Beret, rescuing hostages successful Belarus. A dependable successful his headset instructs him that determination is capable country for 1 connected a departing chopper and that helium indispensable prioritize an American citizen. Instead helium picks a overseas child. This, we volition learn, is the less-preferred choice.

Three years later, Hale is moving for the Orphanage, a shadowy American quality bureau that spies connected each the less-shadowy American quality agencies — watching the watchers. (So overmuch watching!) Its arrogant boast is that, since its inception successful the Bush I administration, it has ne'er been compromised. (Until idiosyncratic started looking done Hale’s eyes, that is.) There is simply a concealed entranceway to their elephantine complex, accessed by locking eyes with a statue successful a room — it’s thematically appropriate, but besides precise “Get Smart!” That is simply a compliment, obviously.

The little level is wherever the analysts toil; introduction to the precocious floor, wherever the enactment is, is by the benignant of fancy cardinal that mightiness person been utilized to unfastened an enforcement washroom successful 1895. (The decor is amended there, too, with thing of the aerial of an 1895 enforcement washroom.) Hale, who has been been listening to and translating Korean and Chinese chatter, dreams of moving upstairs, which volition travel with the find that his caput is not wholly his own.

Meanwhile, helium has been suffering migraines, seizures and panic attacks. Ex-fiancée Rachel (Hannah Cruz), a doctor, has been giving him pills nether the table. Other characters of continuing involvement see Michelle (Melissa Barrera), a bartender who volition spy connected Hale from the vantage constituent of a girlfriend, benignant of; Parker (Sinclair Daniel), a recently promoted “predictive analyst” with a acquisition for speechmaking radical and situations; Victor (Saul Rubinek), an ex-spook who runs a high-end edifice and has known Hale forever; Cobb (Mark O’Brien), a rivalrous workfellow whose Ivy League persona has been drawn successful opposition to Hale’s; and Cobb’s uncle, Schiff (Adam Godley), who besides has spy knowledge. Peter Moira (Brian d’Arcy James) runs the shop, and St. George (Kathleen Chalfant) floats supra Moira.

As parties chartless look done Hale’s eyes, the Orphanage is watching Hale with the accustomed entree to the world’s information cameras. (That spot of movie spycraft ever strikes maine arsenic far-fetched; however, a speech successful the privateness of my room volition someway construe into ads connected my societal feeds, so, who knows?) “The Copenhagen Test” isn’t selling a surveillance authorities metaphor, successful immoderate case; this is conscionable 1 of those “Who Can You Trust?” stories, 1 that keeps flipping characters to support the amusement going, somewhat past the constituent of profitability.

Like astir eight-hour dramas, it’s excessively agelong — “Slow Horses,” the champion of this breed, sticks to six — and implicit the people of the show, things turn muddied with MacGuffins and subplots. While it’s casual capable to bask what’s happening successful the moment, it tin beryllium casual to suffer the crippled and harder to archer conscionable who’s connected what side, oregon adjacent however galore sides determination are. (It doesn’t assistance that astir everyone is acceptable to termination Hale.) I can’t spell into details without crossing the dreaded spoiler line, but adjacent accepting the intolerable tech, overmuch of “The Copenhagen Test” makes small applicable sense, including the eponymous test. (Why “Copenhagen?” Det ved jeg ikke. Danish for “I don’t know.”) I spent truthful overmuch clip untwisting knots and keeping threads consecutive that, though I continued to basal successful a detached mode for Hale, I ceased to attraction wholly astir the destiny of the Orphanage and the supposedly escaped world.

The amusement is good cast. While the characters connected insubstantial are beauteous overmuch types, each histrion projects the essence of the part, adding capable other property to suggest a existent person. (And they’re each bully to look at.) When not keeling implicit from pain, oregon engaged successful a shootout oregon hand-to-hand combat, Liu is an even-keeled, quiescent benignant of protagonist — alternatively successful the Keanu Reeves vein — and arsenic a Chinese Canadian actor, inactive a novelty among American tv enactment heroes. He does person a benignant of chemistry with Barrera, who has surface chemistry each connected her own, though it’s somewhat constricted by the demands of the plot.

The ending, including a diminished-chord twist, is beauteous pat, if happier than 1 mightiness ideate fixed the ruckus that’s gone before. Neat bows are tied — though astatine slightest 1 has been near escaped successful hopes, according to my ain predictive analysis, of a 2nd season. And though releasing a bid successful the past week of the twelvemonth doesn’t precisely betoken confidence, I tin foretell with immoderate assurance that determination mightiness beryllium one.