Bait (TV series)
British limited television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bait is a 2026 British limited six-part television series created by and starring Riz Ahmed. It follows a struggling British Pakistani actor as he auditions for the role of James Bond amid public backlash and family relationships.
| Bait | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Created by | Riz Ahmed |
| Directed by | Bassam Tariq Tom George |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Shruti Kumar |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Cinematography | Frank Lamm |
| Editors |
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| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 23–27 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Release | 25 March 2026 |
Bait had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, and was released on 25 March 2026 on Amazon Prime Video. It received positive reviews from critics.
Premise
An actor in London suffers an existential crisis while auditioning for the role of James Bond.[1]
Cast
- Riz Ahmed as Shah Latif
- Muhammad Abdur-Rahman Toheed plays a 12 year old Shah in flashbacks.
- Guz Khan as Zulfikar "Zulfi", Shah's cousin and friend
- Ashwin Chandrasekaran plays a 13 year Zulfi in flashbacks.
- Aasiya Shah as Q
- Sheeba Chaddha as Tahira Latif, Shah and Q's mother; Zulfi's aunt
- Sajid Hasan as Parvez Latif, Shah and Q's father; Zulfi's uncle
- Ritu Arya as Yasmin Khan, Shah's ex-girlfriend
- Weruche Opia as Felicia, Shah's agent and friend
- Maxine Peake as Helen
- Rafe Spall as Nigel
- Soni Razdan as Naila
- Himesh Patel as Raj Thakkar
- Sian Clifford
- Patrick Stewart as the voice of Pig Head
- Gassan Abdulrazek as Sid
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Blatant, Not Subtle" | Bassam Tariq | Riz Ahmed | March 25, 2026 |
| 2 | "To Troll, to Provoke" | Bassam Tariq | Prashanth Venkataramanujam | March 25, 2026 |
| 3 | "House or Home" | Bassam Tariq | Azam Mahmood | March 25, 2026 |
| 4 | "Loyalty, Allegiance" | Tom George | Dipika Guha | March 25, 2026 |
| 5 | "Lure, Part of a Trap" | Tom George | Karen Joseph Adcock | March 25, 2026 |
| 6 | "The Subtle One" | Tom George | Ben Karlin | March 25, 2026 |
Production
Development
The series was developed at Jax Media in association with Left Handed Films for Amazon MGM Studios and their streaming platform Amazon Prime Video.[2] It is executive produced by Ahmed and Allie Moore for Left Handed, and Jake Fuller on behalf of Jax Media. Ben Karlin is an executive producer, writer and is showrunning with Ahmed. The series writers include Dipika Guha, Prashanth Venkataramanujam, Karen Joseph Adcock and Azam Mahmood. Roopesh Parekh is also an executive producer.[3]
Casting
Guz Khan, Sheeba Chaddha, Aasiya Shah, Ritu Arya, Weruche Opia and Sajid Hasan joined the cast in August 2024.[4][5][6]
Filming
Principal photography took place in the United Kingdom in September 2024 under the working title Quarter Life.[7]
Music
Bait features a score by Shruti Kumar and a soundtrack containing a mix of orchestral music, psychedelic 1970s Pakistani film music, and songs from British and South Asian artists.[8][9] Bait (Music from the Original Series) was released on 25 March 2026, with an extended edition of the soundtrack set for release on 16 April.[9] It includes "Price of It All" by Jorja Smith, an Urdu cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Anish Kumar featuring Arooj Aftab, and "Pulling Me Back" by Jay Sean featuring Véyah.[8][10]
Release
The series had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival under the title Bait.[11][12] Bait was released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on 25 March 2026.[13]
Reception
Metacritic review
breakdown (unweighted)
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 46 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Riz Ahmed creates and stars in this compassionate, humor-filled meta-satire that dazzlingly lures in its audience like delicious BAIT."[14] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]