Copenhagen Cowboy is a supernatural noir-thriller television series created by Nicolas Winding Refn for Netflix. The first Danish-language work by Refn since Pusher 3 (2005), it follows Miu (Angela Bundalovic), a renegade with various psychic abilities who goes on an unknown quest on Copenhagen's criminal underworld.
A young enigmatic renegade named Miu, rumored to be a psychic that brings luck to her surroundings, revisits Copenhagen with an unknown motive. Navigating its criminal underworld, Miu encounters various adversaries, supernatural and otherwise, while meeting various individuals she grows to care about. Miu eventually encounters a threatening presence, Rakel, who has similar powers to her own.
In July 2022, Netflix commissioned Copenhagen Cowboy as one of its Danish Netflix original series. Refn directed and executive-produced the series through his own production company, byNWR. Joining him as producers are Lene Børglum and Christina Bostofte Erritzøe. Sara Isabella Jönsson, Johanne Algren and Mona Masri were attached to write the series. In September 2022, it was revealed that Liv Corfixen would also produce.
On July 22, 2022, it was revealed that Angela Bundalovic was cast in the leading role, along with Fleur Frilund, Lola Corfixen, Zlatko BuriÃÂ, Andreas Lykke Jørgensen, Jason Hendil-Forssell, Li Ii Zhang, Dragana MilutinoviÃÂ, Mikael Bertelsen, Mads Brügger, Ramadan Huseini, and Per Thiim Thim.
It was revealed that the principal photography of the series had already begun in Copenhagen, Denmark since 2021 through Refn's social media accounts. It wrapped on early April 2022, according to NWR's socials. Magnus Nordenhof Jønck was director of photography. Series editors were revealed on September 4, 2022, with Matthew Newman, Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm, Allan Funch joining the post-production team. Danish musicians, Peter Peter and Peter Kyed, reunited with Refn, having previously scored his earlier films, including the Pusher trilogy and Valhalla Rising.
PETA filed a complaint on December 9, 2021, accusing Copenhagen Cowboy production team of killing pigs during the filming process. It was revealed that they had a farmer that supplied pigs for the series, who in turn witnessed a pig shot and killed specifically for a scene. The death was confirmed by a Copenhagen Zoo correspondent and therefore brought an investigation by Danish police. PETA sent a letter to Reed Hastings, requesting the production team to cut a scene where the pigs are shot on the set.
Copenhagen Cowboy had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, on September 9, 2022. The series was released on the platform on January 5, 2023.
The first trailer of the series was released on YouTube on September 4, 2022, and the second followed on November 23, 2022.
A making-of documentary titled Copenhagen Cowboy: Nightcall with Nicolas Winding Refn arrived on Netflix on January 31, 2023. In the documentary, Refn said:
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 68% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beautiful and mystifying as an art installation, Copenhagen Cowboy follows in Nicolas Winding Refn's polarizing tradition of glacially-paced crime thrillers that exude stylish cool." On Metacritic the series received a score of 63 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating âÂÂgenerally favourable reviews.âÂÂ
Jonathon Wilson of Ready Steady Cut gave the series 4/5 stars, praising Bundalovic's performance and the direction, writing "...in the limitless potential of its ideas and the striking strangeness of its execution, it'll live in the memories of everyone who watches it." Jasper Rees of The Daily Telegraph gave the series 3/5 stars, praising Bundalovic's performance, although criticizing its plot and direction, writing"It has no idea how to end other than to shrug and raise a single, massively irritating digit in the direction of the viewer." Charles Bramesco of The Guardian gave the series 3/5 stars, praising its cinematography, score, and symbolism while also criticizing its writing and direction, writing "Refn delivers something weâÂÂve never seen before only after spending hours on more of the same, a slog leavened by scant enjoyments." Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter similarly praised the cinematography while criticizing its plot, writing, "the project feels less like an intricately plotted Marvel blockbuster than some half-forgotten fairy tale."
Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com gave the series 2/4 stars, writing that "Most of the ideas in Copenhagen Cowboy are underdeveloped, and Refn is repeating more than he is reinventing." Rafaela Sales Ross of The Playlist gave the series a C+ grade, saying "[I]f one is ever so inclined to indulge the filmmaker's predilection for the self-congratulatory, then Copenhagen Cowboy will work a treat. If the opposite is true, then buckle up, as this is about to be one wild yet extremely unpleasant ride." Austen Goslin of Polygon wrote, "Refn misses about as often as he hits in Copenhagen Cowboy â even if a few of those hits are home runs." Steph Green of Sight & Sound shared a similar opinion, writing, "Copenhagen Cowboy will be manna for those partial to Refn's acidic, arcane films ... it's an overly languid journey, however visually striking it may be."