Prime’s new series “Bait” opens with its protagonist, Shah Latif (Riz Ahmed), donned in a black tuxedo, hair meticulously styled as he does a screen test for the newest James Bond film. We quickly learn that this cold open, in which Ahmed delivers all the suaveness one could expect from the next actor to inhabit the role, is completely unlike Shah or the rest of the series, as he begins to flub his lines, before pathetically begging the director for a do-over. As he dejectedly leaves the studio, he’s photographed by the paparazzi, which throws him headfirst into stardom and allows him a callback for a re-test, but also puts him directly in the firing line of racist online trolls.
A failed actor up until this point, Shah becomes a household name overnight. While this may cause concern for some, instead, Shah desperately attempts to cling to any sense of notoriety he can. This does not come from a place of ego, rather a desperation to become something and someone, not only for himself, but for his family, friends, and, as Shah tells himself, brown actors everywhere. When a severed pig’s head is thrown through a window in his family, it becomes clear that Shah isn’t the only one in danger from his newfound fame, and it causes his mind, his family, and his career to slowly unravel.
Plunging us headfirst into the existential crisis this ignites, which takes place over a dizzying four days, “Bait” forces its audience to confront not only the heavy price of fame in today’s world, but how this price looks different for specific demographics that try to achieve it. Shah’s desire for fame doesn’t just stem from wanting a gig that pays well; it comes from a desperate desire to belong not only in the acting world but in a United Kingdom that has never fully felt like home to him. If he were to land the role of James Bond, he would have the potential to prove to his parents that he’s more than just another failed actor.
But it becomes clear within the show’s second episode that the role of Bond isn’t just a way for him to land a fat check; the role would allow Shah to prove that, despite his race, he has what it takes to play a hero who has defined the country’s pop-cultural landscape for decades.
By forcing Shah to confront his place in the world, Ahmed, who also wrote the series, uses this story as a vehicle to explore how the entertainment industry manipulates identity politics and often chews up its actors of color before quickly spitting them out. His sharp writing is paired with neon lights and dizzying camerawork, all of which combine to make this journey as disorienting as the current modern era is. But, despite its serious subject matter, the show never takes itself too seriously, both poking fun at Shah’s own blatant complacency and the odyssey he finds himself on, which involves chase scenes on train platforms and monologues delivered by the same severed pig’s head that was thrown through the window of his home earlier in the season.
There are lines so disarmingly funny throughout that it’s impossible not to periodically pause the show, like when a rival actor of Shah’s, played by Himesh Patel, is asked if he’s Muslim, to which he replies in earnest, “Aren’t we all?” Unafraid to expose the hypocrisy of the entertainment industry and modern politics, the series never lets Shah get away with his own biases, as his growing paranoia begins to blow up his life even more than the initial reporting of his potential casting did.
What results is a fascinating exploration of a man desperate to find recognition in a world that is more comfortable leaving people like him behind. Because of this, we watch as he attempts to conform to the wills of the higher-ups around him, shrinking himself in an attempt to play the role of the perfect child of immigrants.
An engaging mix of “Uncut Gems” and “Fleabag,” Ahmed has crafted a thrilling tale following one of this year’s most fascinating protagonists. He’s even provided himself a vehicle in which he can show off his own acting prowess, which hasn’t been given enough of a chance to shine in recent years.
With only six thirty-minute episodes, the series thankfully never overstays its welcome, forcing its audience to join Shah on this unexpectedly poignant journey to find himself in an industry and country that threatens to swallow people like him whole. A fascinating look at the psychological cost of performing, both on- and off-camera, “Bait” is undeniably one of the funniest and most electrifying shows of the year.
All episodes were screened for review.