Bait, a fairly original and tongue-in-cheek show from Prime Video Canada, gives actor Riz Ahmed a chance to get personal. He looks into the hypocritical flaws of Hollywood, the landscape for artists of color, and is able to poke fun at his own background and religion. Even more scathing in its depiction of the struggle to break into Hollywood than something like The Studio or The Player, Bait follows Shah Latif, a rapper-turned-actor from a West London Muslim family, who is dropped into the middle of a social media craze when he auditions for the role of James Bond.
While it should be standard, it’s refreshing to see a major studio like Amazon MGM use its IP in a more parodical and satirical way (usually this is left to comedians like Nathan Fielder, SNL, or Matt Johnson). Giving Riz the greenlight for a project like this is admirable in itself. The show takes advantage of the fact that it can say almost anything Barbara Broccoli—the manager of the James Bond franchise—approves of regarding Bond and comment on what he represents.
Riz also gives it his all, as the show covers a lot in its 25-minute pilot alone. The acting, production, and eccentric personalities are all on display as social media, real-life fanatics, and agents come for his head. Riz himself delivers a mostly serious performance, letting the surrounding characters embody the chaos that makes his honest reactions comedic. Between his family, who hold shocked and critical perspectives on Shah’s auditioning, and his agent, who pushes him to do outrageous things to stay in the headlines, the quest for fame and his attachment to family threaten to collide multiple times throughout the show.
The series uses filming techniques, editing, and mise-en-scène to pull off subtle tricks that immerse viewers in Shah’s unbalanced headspace. One scene, where he criticizes his inability to deliver lines correctly during his audition, is reminiscent of Birdman, capturing the punishing weight of self-loathing and the pressure to be the artist everyone wants him to be—or that he wants to be. The camera sometimes whirls around him, club lights flash at a surreal pace, and the image shake mirrors Shah’s mental state. It’s an exciting TV debut for Riz, a man who has both the status and skill to get a show like this made, while also grounding a character who is very much like him. The bits are genuinely funny, the situations keep you on the edge of your seat, and the energy is inviting, thanks in large part to the editing and music. Bait is a show that tries something new in television and should be admired for that—stay for the comedy, the biting commentary, and the excellent craft.
Bait is available now on Prime Video
