Netflix has released the first trailer for the upcoming limited series The Spy, which is based on the true story of an Israeli clerk named Eli Cohen who turned secret agent to go deep undercover inside Syria on a perilous, years-long mission to spy for Mossad. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Eli Cohen, and there’s no hint of comedy to be found here. While this isn’t Cohen’s first foray into dramatic territory—he stretched his acting chops in Les Miserables and Hugo—it is a rare tone for the guy behind Borat and Who Is America?

Cohen looks to be giving a swell performance here, and he’s under the direction of Prisoners of War creator and Homeland executive producer Gideon Raff who wrote and directed all of The Spy, with Max Perry co-writing episodes 3-6. As a fan of The Americans, it’s also fun to see Noah Emmerich getting his spycraft on once again.

Check out the Spy trailer and poster below. The series also stars Hadar Ratzon Rotem and Waleed Zuaiter and premieres on Netflix on September 6th.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Spy:

In the 1960s, Israeli clerk-turned-secret agent Eli Cohen goes deep undercover inside Syria on a perilous, years-long mission to spy for Mossad.

 

The series stars Emmy-nominated Sacha Baron Cohen (Who is America?) as Cohen, a man who wants nothing more than to be of service to his country, but he does his job so well that he finds it hard to strip off his double identity. Noah Emmerich (The Americans) plays Dan Peleg, Eli’s Mossad handler who tries to ease his own guilt over the sacrifices Eli makes, Hadar Ratzon Rotem (Homeland) portrays Eli’s wife, Nadia, who is left to raise their family on her own and knows something isn’t right about her husband’s government job, and Waleed Zuaiter (Colony) plays Amin Al-Hafez, a military officer who thinks he’s found the perfect ally in the undercover Cohen. THE SPY is written and directed by Emmy-winner Gideon Raff (Prisoners of War, Homeland and Tyrant). Raff and Max Perry co-wrote episodes 3-6. The series is produced by Alain Goldman (La Vie en Rose) and Légende Films.

 

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Image via Netflix

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