Television series

The Spy

Name: The Spy
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Espionage
Released: 2019
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Noah Emmerich, Hadar Ratzon Rotem, Yael Eitan, Moni Moshonov

A taut six-episode limited series about Eli Cohen, the Israeli spy who infiltrated Syrian high society during the Cold War. Sacha Baron Cohen—unrecognizable in a rare dramatic role—brings vulnerability and tension to a man living a double life at the edge of catastrophe. Gripping, intimate espionage that privileges character over spectacle.

TVMaze rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a patient, meticulous espionage story where the tension comes from daily performance, small social slips and the cost of lying well, rather than from car chases.

Skip it if you need constant action or a lighter touch; this is hushed, grim and sometimes slow, with its tension built from waiting rather than set pieces.

What it asks of you: Six episodes of roughly fifty-four minutes, paced deliberately, with long quiet stretches and a double life to keep track of across every scene and every dinner party.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Americans2013

Two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American couple navigate decades of deception, marriage, and moral erosion. Like The Spy, it's a slow-burn exploration of identity fractured by ideology and duty, with genuine stakes.

But Six seasons is a major commitment, and some viewers find the middle chapters repetitive. The final act divides fans.

Bridge of Spies2015

Spielberg's measured Cold War thriller about negotiating the release of a captured American pilot and Soviet spy. Tom Hanks embodies the same quiet competence and moral weight that Cohen carried—it's espionage as exhausting bureaucracy.

But Deliberately paced to the point of slowness. If you want action and intrigue, this prioritizes dialogue and waiting.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy2011

Gary Oldman hunts a Soviet mole inside British intelligence. Deliberately cryptic, beautifully shot, entirely focused on the psychology of betrayal and the men who live in shadows. A masterclass in restraint.

But Aggressively slow and deliberately obscure. You must pay close attention, and even then, some plot threads remain opaque.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Spy

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Conversation1974

Both are about men who become the instrument of other people's will, watching themselves compromise their morality one transmission at a time. Both end in death that feels both inevitable and unbearable.

Francis Ford Coppola's paranoia masterpiece about a surveillance expert consumed by the ethics of what he can hear. Gene Hackman carries it with obsessive precision—not action, but the internal landscape of a man watching himself betray his conscience. Prophetic about the cost of secrets.

But 1970s pacing. Almost nothing happens, and the ending will feel ambiguous or incomplete unless you surrender to the texture of dread.

A Most Wanted Man2014

Philip Seymour Hoffman's last film, about espionage and moral compromise in post-9/11 Hamburg. Le Carré's world of betrayal and bureaucracy mirrors the spiritual weight of The Spy's final reckoning.

But Heavy, downbeat, and the stakes feel distant. Some viewers find it depressing rather than compelling.

Slow Horses2022

MI5 misfits navigate betrayal, loyalty, and the cost of knowing too much. Like The Spy, it braids personal vulnerability with institutional paranoia, and Gary Oldman brings world-weary gravity to every scene.

But British spy-speak and internal MI5 politics can feel impenetrable. The first season has pacing issues before it finds its rhythm.

Le Bureau des Légendes2015

A French series about undercover operatives in the DGSE. Methodical, character-driven, and unsparing about the psychological toll of living in covers. Each mission peels back another layer of trauma.

But Subtitled, and the bureaucratic procedurals can feel like wheel-spinning. Not every episode lands.

Atomic Blonde2017

Charlize Theron as an MI6 agent navigating Berlin during the Cold War's endgame. Stylish action paired with genuine emotional fracture—it's about the loneliness of the job, and what you lose in tradecraft.

But The plot is secondary to action set pieces. If you're watching for tight narrative, the logic occasionally frays.

Our Kind of Traitor2016

Ewan McGregor stumbles into Russian espionage. Smaller scale than The Spy but similarly tense about ordinary people caught in extraordinary moral quicksand with no good exit.

But Mild-mannered and a bit forgettable. It doesn't linger in the memory after the credits roll.

A Spy Among Friends2022

Benedict Cumberbatch as le Carré's George Smiley, hunting a Soviet mole. Quieter and more interior than typical spy drama, focused on the cat-and-mouse psychology between men who understand each other too well.

But Four episodes, minuscule plot momentum. If you need forward motion, it will frustrate you.

Le Samouraï1967

Both explore men who live by systems that demand complete dehumanization. Both understand that the price of perfect tradecraft is the erasure of the self.

Alain Delon as a hitman living by code in Paris. Ritualistic, visual, spare—almost entirely wordless. It's about a man defined by loyalty to an abstraction, moving through the world as a ghost. The opposite of naturalism, but the spiritual twin of Eli Cohen's isolation.

But Glacial, almost entirely silent, and the plot is tissue-thin. If you need dialogue or plot momentum, this will feel like watching paint dry in slow motion.

A Prayer Before Dawn2018

Both are about men stripped of their old identity and forced to build new ones under pressure that never relents. Both find a terrible kind of freedom in surrender.

Mark Wahlberg as an American boxer imprisoned in Thailand, training in Muay Thai in a real prison alongside actual inmates. Brutal, intimate, and about a man finding identity through discipline and survival. Shot handheld and visceral—the opposite of The Spy's cool intelligence craft, but identical in its study of men remade by forces beyond their control.

But Genuinely difficult to watch. Not entertaining in any conventional sense. The exploitation element, even if earned, may alienate you.