Copenhagen Cowboy is Netflix’s strangest crime series — and that’s the point
Copenhagen Cowboy, a 2023 Netflix series from acclaimed Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, marks his return to his native country for the first time since his influential Pusher trilogy. The series centers on Miu (Angela Bundalovic), an enigmatic loner navigating Copenhagen’s criminal underworld.
Refn has built a three-decade career oscillating between accessible crime narratives—including the Pusher trilogy and Drive—and deeply experimental projects that test conventional storytelling. His 13-hour Prime Video series Too Old to Die Young exemplifies his maximalist approach, demanding considerable viewer commitment for ambitious, unconventional narratives.
Copenhagen Cowboy positions itself deliberately between these extremes of Refn’s filmography. The series balances his signature visual style and distinctive sensibility with more approachable narrative structures, offering longtime fans an entry point that acknowledges his work as an “acquired taste” while positioning its strangeness as artistic merit rather than obstacle. For viewers willing to embrace his unconventional pacing and aesthetic choices, the series provides the middle ground between Refn’s most conventional and experimental work.