The Copenhagen Test parents' guide: Why you shouldn't let your kid watch the Peacock thriller? Details explored 

All eight episodes of The Copenhagen Test are currently available on Peacock for viewers to binge-watch over the weekends. Starring Simu Liu, the series is a paranoid spy thriller that folds government surveillance, hacking, and psychological manipulation into one high-stakes story. It has already carved out a viewing audience among adults, but parents might be curious as to whether it’s safe for younger ones at home.

The show has been rated TV-MA by Peacock, indicating that the show is for mature audiences only. This is similar to an R-rated movie or equivalent, and this rating is due to the violent content and mature themes, not because of explicit s*xual content or strong language. Therefore, given the rating, parents must refrain from letting their kids watch the show.

Read on to know the complete parents' guide.

Here is why parents should think before allowing their kids to watch The Copenhagen Test

The main reason to be cautious is the violent and intense nature of the show. The Copenhagen Test is centered around a secret intelligence service and a protagonist who is always in peril. There are several fight scenes, a big shootout in a building, and the show ends with a fistfight. We get to see severe bleeding and wounds, including a guy’s leg broken in a particularly graphic scene. While it’s not nonstop, the violence is nearly graphically realistic enough to make even the most hardened viewers queasy.

The series’ psychological angles may also be too complex for a younger audience. The feelings of losing control, paranoia, and betrayal by institutions can be hard topics for kids to understand, whether or not the images on screen are too graphic. Mix in scenes of anxiety and menace, and the tone is generally tense and mature, not thrilling or escapist for the kids to be entertained.

On the other hand, s*x, nudity, and language are tame for a TV-MA show. There's a little bit of nudity but no explicit s*x scenes. Romance is there but understated. There is alcohol consumed in social situations, and one character is prescribed an anti-anxiety drug that eventually shapes the plot more darkly.

Here is some advice for parents who are watching The Copenhagen Test in their kids' presence

If The Copenhagen Test is playing, it’s a good idea to watch the first episode by yourself. That should enable you to get a good feel for the tone, pacing, and level of violence, all of which are more determined by mood and implication than constant activity.

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Older teen parents might want to compare it with other shows they’re familiar with what their kids have watched. If they’ve managed shows such as The Night Agent or Reacher just fine, they’ll probably get through The Copenhagen Test.

In the end, the show is an intelligent, nail-biting spy thriller meant for an older audience. It’s not explicit in every sense, but the levels of violence and themes justify its TV-MA rating, making it a clear lock for parental guidance.

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