Bait (TV series)

Bait (TV series)

Bait is a 2026 British limited 6-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 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

Bait (TV series)

An actor in London suffers an existential crisis while auditioning for the role of James Bond.

Cast

Bait (TV series)

• Riz Ahmed as Shah Latif • Muhammad Abdur-Rahman Toheed plays a 12 year old Shah in flashbacks. • Guz Khan as Zulfi, Shah's cousin • Ashwin Chandrasekaran plays a 13 year Zulfi in flashbacks. • Aasiya Shah as Q • Sheeba Chaddha as Tahira • Sajid Hasan as Parvez • Ritu Arya as Yasmin • Weruche Opia as Felicia • 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

Bait (TV series)

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Title</th><th>Directed by</th><th>Written by</th><th>Original release date</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>"Blatant, Not Subtle"</td><td>Bassam Tariq</td><td>Riz Ahmed</td><td>March 25, 2026 (2026-03-25)</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>"To Troll, To Provoke"</td><td>Bassam Tariq</td><td>Prashanth Venkataramanujam</td><td>March 25, 2026 (2026-03-25)</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>"House or Home"</td><td>Bassam Tariq</td><td>Azam Mahmood</td><td>March 25, 2026 (2026-03-25)</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>"Loyalty, Allegiance"</td><td>Tom George</td><td>Dipika Guha</td><td>March 25, 2026 (2026-03-25)</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>"Lure, Part of a Trap"</td><td>Tom George</td><td>Karen Joseph Adcock</td><td>March 25, 2026 (2026-03-25)</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>"The Subtle One"</td><td>Tom George</td><td>Ben Karlin</td><td>March 25, 2026 (2026-03-25)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Production

Bait (TV series)

The series was developed at Jax Media in association with Left Handed Films for Amazon MGM Studios and their streaming platform Amazon Prime Video. 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. Guz Khan, Sheeba Chaddha, Aasiya Shah, Ritu Arya, Weruche Opia and Sajid Hasan joined the cast in August 2024.

Filming took place in the United Kingdom in September 2024 under the working title Quarter Life.

Release

Bait (TV series)

The series had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival under the title Bait. Bait was released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on 25 March 2026.

Reception

Bait (TV series)

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 32 critics' reviews are positive. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

The series has generally been well received, with Ahmed's performance commended, although some have found the show to be more self-obsessive than self-aware.