Dhruv Sharma
With a blend of fiction and real historical events, ‘The Spy’ walks us through the life of Israel’s most prominent spy, Eli Cohen, who goes undercover in the dangerous lands of Syria to infiltrate the Syrian Ministry of Defense. While the Six-Day War of 1967 develops in the show’s backdrop, Cohen picks up the identity of Kamel Amin Thaabet and easily disguises himself as a part of the Syrian high society. As a result, he is able to establish close ties with influential people, get appointed as the country’s Deputy Defense Minister, and then become the future president’s confidant.
With that said, if you were blown away by the period setup and vintage set designs of the series, read on further to know all about the filming locations where Netflix’s ‘The Spy’ was shot.
The Spy Filming Locations
As mentioned above, ‘The Spy’ is based on the real-life story of Mossad agent Eli Cohen (played by Sacha Baron Cohen), who was amongst the best intelligence operative intelligence operatives for Isreal. The show’s action ensues in the 60s where Cohen goes undercover in Syria and even infiltrates a Syrian military base there. So, for the most part, the section of the show that portrays Cohen’s professional life is set in Syria. On the other hand, the segment of the show’s storyline that gives us a glimpse of his personal life with his wife Nadia (Hadar Ratzon Rotem) is set in Isreal.
However, when it comes to the actual filming locations of the series, none of its scenes were filmed in Isreal or Syria. Considering the Civil War situation in present-day Syria, it wouldn’t even be possible for the creators of the show to shoot it there. Due to this, the crew of the series recreated three different locations—Morocco, Hungary, and the UK—in such a way that they very well came in tandem with the show’s original setup.
Morocco
As reported by several reliable local news sources, ‘The Spy’ was filming in Morocco in August 2018. Its filming took place in several different locations of the Kingdom of Morocco, including Rabat, Sale, Kenitra, and Fez. In April the same year, a recruitment agency was also hiring actors and extras in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, which suggests that some parts of the show were also filmed in the port city. In the past, filmmakers from all over the world have used the old bustling towns, high ups of Atlas mountains, and the dry spells of Morocco’s Sahara desert as backdrops for their movies. Some of the best movies among these include Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much,’ ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ ‘The Mummy (1999),’ and Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception,’ among many others.
Hungary
In August 2018 itself, Sacha Baron Cohen and his wife were spotted at Budapest’s Sziget festival, where many suspected that the actor was in the city for the filming of a new series or show. According to several sources, Hungary’s capital was another primary filming location for the series. Here are a few stills of the actor spotted in different locations of Budapest:
United Kingdom
The details regarding the show’s filming in the UK are still under the covers, but several sources have confirmed that it was one of its filming locations.
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