In Peacock’s latest spy thriller The Copenhagen Test, nothing is as it seems for Simu Liu‘s Alexander Hale. After being hacked with cutting-edge technology that transmits everything he sees and hears, he’s no longer just an analyst working for a mysterious covert intelligence agency, he’s a fully compromised mole on a secret mission instead. Everything he does and sees is part of a bigger conspiracy, and that’s exactly what grips viewers until the very end.
But while the series was certainly successful, earning 80% on Rotten Tomatoes from the public, there’s another more underrated series that has similar themes of surveillance, and is even more of a must-watch. In 1995, Bruce Greenwood starred in Nowhere Man, a UPN series about a man whose life turns upside down when a mysterious organization is on his trail. Much like Alexander, the main character Thomas Veil can no longer decipher what is real or fake, friend or foe, or real identity versus implantation.
What Is ‘Nowhere Man’ About?
In the first episode of Nowhere Man, photojournalist Thomas Veil (Bruce Greenwood) goes to his favorite restaurant to have dinner with his wife (Megan Gallagher) when suddenly, from one second to the next, his identity gets erased. His wife has left and is living with someone else, his friends don’t recognize him, his ATM and credit cards no longer work, and his best friend turns up dead. Clueless and desperate to find out what happened, Thomas traces his steps and finds one resounding truth: whoever did this is connected to a photo he took of an execution titled “Hidden Agenda.”
Created by Lawrence Hertzog, the rest of Nowhere Man sees Thomas attempting to regain his identity while investigating the mysterious organization pursuing him and going after his negatives. In each of the 25 episodes, Thomas unravels the web of lies around him, leading to an explosive finale that puts into question everything he once knew, including the wife he vehemently believed was once his. The series was sadly canceled after Season 1, but it’s certainly a hidden gem in the sci-fi genre.
The creators unpack Episode 8’s biggest shock — and why Alexander’s story is far from over.
‘Nowhere Man’ Is One of Sci-Fi’s Most Underrated Gems
While Nowhere Man reached an early ending, and has yet to receive scores on Rotten Tomatoes, viewers of the series have applauded the performances, the layered storytelling and the gripping directing. In one review on IMDb, Greenwood’s performance was highly praised, stating that Greenwood made Thomas feel human and vulnerable despite all the wild and unexplained occurrences around him. “He makes even the silent moments a fascinating pleasure,” the review wrote.
The same goes for the series’ narrative, which slowly but surely heightened the sense that Thomas was being watched, chased and manipulated more than he ever expected. “Most episodes delivered a fair amount of serious additions to the story arch while also entertaining the lighter side with an odd low-key quirkiness that never tainted the plot,” another review praised. The first episode titled “Absolute Zero” and directed by Tobe Hooper, for instance, is seen as one of the best sci-fi pilots to date.
With that said, while Nowhere Man has remained underseen and underrated since its premiere, the series is more relevant now than ever. Described by viewers as “one of the best sci-fi mystery series ever aired,” the show makes themes like social control and corporate manipulation feel real, life-threatening and even claustrophobic. Much like Alexander’s experience in The Copenhagen Test, Thomas attempts to investigate an organization while relentlessly trying to evade it, each time unraveling connections inside the organization and linking them to himself. In both cases, their efforts don’t go unnoticed, and lead to spine-chilling conclusions.
- Release Date
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1995 – 1996-00-00
- Network
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UPN
- Directors
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Ian Toynton, James Whitmore Jr., Guy Magar, Michael Levine, Reza Badiyi, Thomas J. Wright, Greg Beeman, James Darren, Mel Damski, Steven Robman, Tim Hunter
- Writers
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Art Monterastelli, David Ehrman, Jane Espenson
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Dean Jones
Jonathan Crane
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Dean Stockwell
Gus Shepard
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Francis X. McCarthy
Robert Barton
