Is The Copenhagen Test connected to the James Bond franchise? Details revealed 

The Copenhagen Test debuted on December 27, 2025, on Peacock and has quickly become one of the platform’s biggest hits. Many viewers are wondering if The Copenhagen Test is connected to the James Bond franchise, but the answer is no. The show isn't located in the James Bond world or the James Bond universe. It is an original Peacock spy thriller with new characters and a new story.

However, the reason why this discourse has found its voice is that in an interview, actress Kathleen Chalfant did admit that her character in The Copenhagen Test was designed with a wink to the traditional spy genre, especially the authoritative MI6 figure crystallized by Judi Dench as M in the James Bond movies.

Read on to know more about the hit show.

Is The Copenhagen Test connected to the James Bond franchise?

The eight-episode series The Copenhagen Test dropped at once with all the episodes and rapidly ascended the charts. The show hit the no.1 spot on Peacock by day two and continued to hold strong on the platform until December 29, 2025, suggesting promising early engagement from viewers.

As mentioned, fans were spiraling if the show is in any way connected to the James Bond franchise, being a spy thriller. Let's make it clear that the show doesn't share any connections with the classic show. This whole angle got the spotlight after the show star Kathleen Chalfant confirmed her character in the series has a subtle, but intentional nod towards the James Bond history.

While speaking with CBR, The Copenhagen Test star said St. George, a senior figure within the show’s intelligence world, was shaped by one of the genre’s most iconic performances. Chalfant said:

"Well, I think the obvious paragon of this genre is Judy Dench as M, so that's, it's only something to aspire to."

By borrowing Dench’s commanding presence in the Bond franchise’s spymaster role, Chalfant places St George within an established line of intelligence heavy hitters. The comparison may hint that The Copenhagen Test is playing off classic spy archetypes while trying to reformat them for the contemporary, surveillance-heavy world.

What else do we know about The Copenhagen Test?

The show is translated for overseas viewing as well, while in Asian markets, the show premiered on HBO Max. The Copenhagen Test became the no.1 streaming title within two days of release in Indonesia and Malaysia. Fifth in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, third in Thailand.

Created by Thomas Brandon, who also serves as co-showrunner with Jennifer Yale, the series stakes its claim firmly in the paranoid thriller mold. Brandon is the writer of the first two episodes of the series and the Season 1 finale, “The Orphanage.” The cast is led by Melissa Barrera, Sinclair Daniel, Brian d’Arcy James, Mark O’Brien , and Kathleen Chalfant, giving the show genre and dramatic heft.

At the center of the story is Liu’s Alexander Hale, a first-generation Chinese-American intelligence analyst whose journey coincides with the top-secret agency known as The Orphanage.

The show's logline of the show, per IMDb, reveals:

"A first-generation analyst realizes his brain's hacked, allowing access to his senses. Stuck between the agency and hackers, he acts normal to reveal the culprits."

This suggests that Alexander learns that his “eyes and ears” are being hacked, which means his perceptions are compromised. He starts to believe that he may be the mole the agency is trying to track down.

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Catch the show only on Peacock.

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