“It’s a real mixed bag. It’s comedy."
Prime Video has released first-look images and a special preview clip for Bait, the highly anticipated comedy series starring Riz Ahmed.
All six episodes will be available from March 25, 2026, exclusively on the streaming platform in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Ahmed stars as Shah Latif, a struggling actor whose last chance to succeed comes in the form of an audition of a lifetime.
The series tracks Shah over four chaotic days as his life spirals out of control, with family, an ex-lover, and the public weighing in on whether he is the right man for the role.
Riz is supported by an ensemble cast.
Guz Khan plays his entrepreneurial cousin Zulfi, who runs a budget Uber-style service aimed at British Muslims.
Meanwhile, Polite Society‘s Ritu Arya appears as his ex-girlfriend Yasmin.
Other cast members include Sheeba Chaddha, Sajid Hasan, Aasiya Shah and Weruche Opia.
Bait explores Shah’s pursuit of fame amid cultural expectations, identity, and the intersections of class, masculinity, and race.
Part madcap psychodrama, part meta-satire, part espionage thriller, the series pulses with the adrenaline of Uncut Gems.
Shah’s double-O dream quickly turns into a nightmare for the hapless British-Pakistani actor from London.
Riz Ahmed told GQ: “It’s a real mixed bag. It’s comedy.
“It’s also trying to look at some emotional things. It’s about family, it’s about ambition, it’s about trying to belong.”
Bait opens with Shah’s tuxedoed Bond screen test, a captivating cold open in which Riz exudes all the debonair refinement and confidence UK bookies once predicted he might bring to the role in real life.
A lifeline then emerges: a paparazzo captures Shah leaving the audition. The photos spark public speculation, and suddenly, he is Bond-elect overnight.
Initial excitement seems to favour Shah. TikTok users celebrate the prospect of a first non-white Bond, and his career appears poised for a revival.
But the situation soon darkens. A severed pig’s head is thrown through his Muslim parents’ window, signalling a racist backlash.
From that moment, Shah’s confidence erodes, and his mind begins a slow unravelling.
Riz continued: “For Shah, [Bond] is the ultimate symbol of success and acceptance.
“Of cinematic achievement, alpha masculinity. He’s everything that he wishes he was, and is not. Decisive, desirable, in control.
“And so his pursuit of Bond is actually about wishing he was someone else.”
Bait premieres at the Sundance Film Festival before its global release on Prime Video on March 25.
Watch the 1st Look
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