Here’s The First Look At Sacha Baron Cohen As Israeli Spy Eli Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen as Eli Cohen, in Netflix’s ‘The Spy’ Image by David Lukacs/Netflix

By Jenny Singer August 28, 2019

To paraphrase Rihanna — “Must be Mossad on the brain!”

Chris Weitz dramatized the Mossad’s 1960 capture of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann in “Operation Finale,” just last August.

Chris Evans brought us the Mossad’s 80s-era Ethiopian escape gambit in “The Red Sea Diving Resort” last month.

And this month theatergoers enjoyed — sort of — seeing Diane Kruger and Martin Freeman play Mossad agents in “The Operative.”

As far as the Schmooze is concerned, this has all been a warmup — a bootcamp, a psychological training center, if you will, for the main event: Sacha Baron Cohen as Mossad legend Eli Cohen in “The Spy.”

Netflix dropped the trailer on Wednesday for the limited series, starring the “Borat” and “Who Is America” actor in a rare dramatic role. The six-episode series will stream on Netflix on September 6, given you plenty of time to plan a viewing party with friends from both If Not Now and AIPAC. “The Spy” will follow Cohen during the years he spent undercover in Syria gathering intelligence for Israel, under the assumed identity of a rich playboy.

“The Spy” is written and directed by Gideon Raff, the creator of the hit Israeli show “Prisoners of War,” upon which the American TV hit “Homeland” is based, as well as the man behind “The Red Sea Diving Resort,” a mission that had significantly less of a payoff. We’re rooting for this one — without giving too much away, Cohen’s adventures contain themes that still feel immediate — Jewish ethnic ambiguity, war in Syria, Russian interference, and doom.

Don’t mess this one up, Netflix.

Jenny Singer is the deputy life/features editor for the Forward. You can reach her at Singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO