For many people sitting down to watch Bait, you may be thinking you're about to embark on some kind of extended audition for Riz Ahmed to be the next James Bond.
While it very much could be seen as a stellar example of just that, the series actually digs a little deeper, as it follows struggling actor Shah Latif (Ahmed) who messes up his Bond audition, gets papped walking out of it, is thankfully afforded another opportunity but is thrust deep into the media cycle in the process.
As well as using Bond as a plot device in the series, Bait really interrogates a lot more than just the glitz and glam that can come from fronting a major movie franchise – and it turns out that Ahmed's own turn in Star Wars inspired the story behind the new Prime Video series.
Chatting exclusively to Radio Times about crafting the idea for Bait, Ahmed revealed: “Yeah, something like that – coming up to 12 [years] now. It was about 2014/2015, I started becoming a little bit more well-known and particularly coming out of America with shows like The Night Of, stuff like that and Star Wars.
"I felt a massive distance between how I was seen in public and actually, who I really was. And that gap between your public and private self, I think, is something we can all relate to. There’s a version we’re performing online or in public and then, the kind of vulnerable, chaotic mess that we often are."
He continued: "I thought the distance between those two things is sometimes so stressful to keep up appearances that it’s actually kind of funny. So, I started writing down these stories, all these crazy things that kind of happened to me.
"The week that it got announced I was in Star Wars, I got banned from Tesco for suspected shoplifting just because of the way I was dressed … and so, things like that just made me think ‘You know what, I want to write about this.’ Actually, we can all relate to this feeling of being an imposter, of almost as though life is one big audition.”
Of course, Ahmed starred as Bodhi Rook in Rogue One, the 2016 Star Wars story that also starred Felicity Jones, Diego Luna and Ben Mendelsohn. The actor then went on to star in HBO's The Night Of, which won him the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a limited series.
While there is deeper meaning to be found in Bait, Ahmed does shine in the comedic role, especially alongside onscreen cousin Guz Khan, who stars as business-minded Zulfi.
View Green Video on the source websiteThe Man Like Mobeen star is actually friends with Ahmed in real life and so, thankfully the stars aligned for them to finally be on our screen together in something. Chatting about working with his friend on this, Khan told Radio Times: “Riz is somebody who’s done so much in his career so far but again, it’s really interesting that he mentions that everybody has this version of themselves that your fanbase or the media and the public perceives you as. I just know Riz as my guy and vice versa.
"So, when you have the opportunity to take those elements, those relationships into this format? One thing you knew from the start with me and him is: hey listen, whenever you make television, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at, how long you’ve been doing it, until you’ve made it and it goes out into the world, you can never really tell what people are going to think.
"But we knew our chemistry would be bang on and I think that is something that has come to fruition in the show."
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"But I’m so glad that after all these years, where people are often kept apart for lots of different reasons – teams want you to get to the top by yourself, achieve this by yourself. But to do it together is a real blessing.”
Bait is coming to Prime Video on Wednesday 25 March 2026. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that.
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