Bait: Review

Whilst it's hooked around the tease of who will be the next James Bond, Riz Ahmed's six-episode series Bait is about more than the coveted role of 007 - and that serves more as an entrance point to get viewers in, rather than a raison d'etre.

Ahmed is struggling actor Shah Latif, a Pakistani who comes from a good family, who all have their own issues and who is constantly bombing out when auditions offer him opportunities. However, when he deliberately chooses to put his own name out into the world in connection with the high-profile role, Shah begins to discover his life is falling apart and he's the only one who can fix it - not a golden role in Hollywood.

What's fascinating about Bait is how it emerges as a commentary on identity, on your place in society and in many ways, what it means to be British as well.

Self-sabotaging Shah may be, but Ahmed makes his character feel like he's stuck in a maelstrom of his own making, a man who continuously trips himself up when all others would seize on the moment and make it their own.

As a result, what starts out as a bit of a comedy farce in the first episode develops into something more psychologically intriguing, a tale of claiming identity among the chaos of your own demons.

Taking place over a four-day period and coinciding with the ceremony of Eid, Bait becomes more of a discussion about immigration, bullying and abuse as well as self-doubt and despair; what it means for a person of colour to play James Bond and to be a Pakistani in London. The series takes in some lesser-seen locations around the capital, giving it a sense of a world that's lived-in and real as Shah shambles from one moment to the next.

While everything resolves a little too neatly and this isn't some kind of subtle exclamation of who the next James Bond will be, Bait is an enjoyably bingeable enough show that excels because of Ahmed's performance and the very real imposter syndrome fears many of us face on a daily basis.

Bait begins streaming on Prime Video from Wednesday, March 25.
All six episodes of Bait were viewed for the purpose of this review.