Paramount+ with Showtime ventures into truly strange territory with The Honey Trap: A True Story of Love, Lies, and the FBI, premiering Friday, December 6. This documentary tackles the baffling real-life romance between an FBI translator and Denis Cuspert, a German rapper who traded rhymes for a role as an ISIS recruiter, also known as Deso Dogg. Cuspert’s biography reads like a dark fever dream: from aspiring musician to MMA fighter to a key figure in ISIS propaganda efforts. Check out the trailer below.
Assigned to monitor Cuspert’s activities, the FBI translator instead developed a dangerous, obsessive attachment to him. Let’s just say professional boundaries were not observed. This complicated relationship creates the core of the documentary, a story that’s as much about the personal follies of individuals as it is about international intrigue.
Director Chris Moukarbel, whose previous work includes the documentaries Banksy Does New York and Gaga: Five Foot Two, helms this project, aiming to unpack not just the specifics of this unusual case, but also the mechanics of espionage, the power of propaganda, and the sometimes bewildering nature of human desire. The Honey Trap seeks to understand how personal choices can become entangled in the larger machinery of global events.
The Honey Trap premieres Friday, December 6 at 10 pm ET/PT on Paramount+ with Showtime.
The Honey Trap is produced by Showtime Studios and Vespucci.
