★★★★☆

With talks about the potential contender for the next James Bond circulating around the internet every couple of months, Riz Ahmed’s passion project Bait plays right into that exact trap of continuous online speculation. 

What initially looks to be a comedic show about a man dealing with the inevitable criticisms and complexities of becoming the first person of colour to play James Bond, turns into a story that tackles identity, self realisation, and family. The show itself, baiting viewers in the best possible way.

A Man of Many Talents

Ahmed wears many hats; he’s the showrunner slash creator, a writer, the executive producer, and the star of Bait. Many times throughout the press tour Ahmed mentions how close this story is to his chest, and how it’s something he’s been actively thinking about since his come up in the industry in the mid 2010s.

The Academy and Emmy award winner has found success in starring in feature films like Rogue One, The Sound of Metal, and The Phoenician Scheme, and is now leading the charge with the six part black comedy series, Bait.

A Show Embedded in Reality

Amhed plays Shah Latif, a struggling actor who is on the rise to become the next James Bond. After getting papped leaving the initial audition, a media frenzy erupts at the possibility of a Bond who may be a person of colour. In the midst of one of the most exciting opportunities in his life, he spirals into an existential crisis that only gets more unnerving as we watch.

Dealing with the family dynamics within a culture who just doesn’t understand the arts, facing backlash from trolls on the internet, and the pressure to just be good, is something that feels inherently real. Without going into spoiler territory, watching everything unfold made me recoil into myself because of how embedded in reality it felt. So much so that I had to pause a couple of times due to secondhand embarrassment. 

We quickly move away from the fact Shah could be cast as the next Bond and shift into this reality and an insider’s perspective to having success as a person of colour in a creative industry; and speaking as a person of colour in said creative industry, I couldn’t help but wince at some of the off hand comments made by relatives in the show because it hits too close to home. 

Bait especially hits the nail on the head when it comes to portraying the pestering that comes from people close to you when pursuing a career or a dream that’s in the creative realm or a pathway that seems uncertain and unknown to them. There’s a sense of fear for your own future from people close to you, that doesn’t always translate in the right way, and instead comes out as a passive aggressive remark.

The show does really well at conveying the tricky dynamic of this without ever making anyone look like a villain.

The Heart of the Show

The conversations around who the next Bond will be has been making waves on the internet for what feels like years. The discourse around the exact narrative in Bait feels true to everything we’ve seen online and is incredibly meta. But the heart of the show is in Shah’s own self discovery. 

Shah seems to experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in this six part series. Going through physical, mental, and emotional turmoil, nothing seems to be going his way. But in discovering his sense of self and realising the importance of community, it’s a heartfelt story amongst the nail biting, chaotic good of Bait.

The show also feels innately British with its witty and dry sense of humour, that also nicely complements the action and drama throughout. So it was very easy to immediately get hooked in, especially with the episodes varying between 20 to 25 minutes. A perfect episode length if you ask me.

Ahmed. Riz Ahmed

While he may not be playing the next James Bond in the movie franchise (but at this point, who really knows), he gets to embody the iconic character through this show.

We’re first introduced to Shah in his first audition as Bond; a suave and well dressed man in a tuxedo in true Bond fashion. We get to see him don the tux a couple of times throughout the show, pulling punches, staring off broodingly, and delivering his buttery smooth lines to the camera. He even gets the form of Bond run right, fully transforming into this persona when the occasion arises. 

Ahmed plays the archetype of a struggling actor convincingly well (maybe a little bit too well), and becomes a pantomime of every up and coming actor trying really hard not to tell other people that he acts for a living. His descent into absolute madness is catastrophic, and you can’t help but feel bad for him as each episode comes and goes. But that’s a testament to Ahmed himself being so compelling in his role. There’s something about the way he holds himself makes you not want to look away. But if there’s anything to take away from Riz Ahmed’s performance, it is that he is effortlessly endearing and could very well be the next James Bond. 

Bait is a fast paced black comedy that puts Riz Ahmed in the spotlight. The meta show is a perfect blend of comedy, drama, and a little bit of action that’ll surprise fans who may have only gotten a glimpse of what this show is about.

All six episodes of Bait come out on March 25 on Prime Video.

Header Image Credit: Prime Video