Bait finds actor struggling to keep his career alive

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Creator Riz Ahmed stars as Shah Latif, a struggling actor who has bungled his biggest audition yet as the new James Bond. After his ill-fated try at the part, a quick-thinking and desperate Shah decides to make a public appearance outside of the auditions to get his name in the papers, and perhaps a second chance at the part. His scheme works, kind of, and soon his family is peppering him with questions. 

The show leans into Ahmed’s Pakistani roots and the British culture surrounding them. Ahmed knows how to play earnest, and his Shah is no exception. He’s clearly invested in the storyline and his character as the creator and lead of the show. 

Soon public backlash and racism show their ugly faces, and Shah’s world becomes increasingly complicated as he tries his best to trip his way to success. Enlisting the help of his cousin, Zulfi (Guz Khan), as his “security guard,” Shah navigates a world with a talking severed pig head (voiced by Patrick Stewart), MI5, and a real sense that he is teetering on the edge of mental breakdown. This six-part series has heart and laughs, and with a total runtime 144 minutes, it’s bingeable in a single night. (six approximately 25-min. episodes) ∆

This article appears in April 2-9, 2026.