Bait Reviews: Riz Ahmed’s James Bond Comedy Hailed As ‘Genius’ By Critics

Riz Ahmed has been showered with praise for his new experimental comedy Bait.

The six-part series sees the British actor playing Shah Latif, a British actor who finds himself at the centre of a media storm – and public debate – when he’s named as the new favourite to play James Bond.

As the series progresses, things for Shah become increasingly surreal as he’s presented with big questions on subjects as varied as fame, family relationships, national identity and racism.

Since it began streaming on Amazon Prime Video, the series has been met with near-unanimous praise, initially debuting on Rotten Tomatoes with that oh-so-rare 100% critical score, which has since fallen to a still-enviably-high 94% at the time of writing.

Here’s a selection of reviews, showing why critics are calling it one of the most “electrifying” and “genius” shows of 2026…

“The series is at once satirical and celebratory; Bait feels abundant, both in its presentation of a culture, which has the ring of documentary truth, and as a beautifully realised work of art.”

“Bait is best when Ahmed-the-performer is bouncing off one or more of the excellent cast, and when Ahmed-the-writer is exposing his most petty, narcissistic and self-absorbed instincts.”

“Near-perfect […] aside from a handful of hurdles, however, the unpredictability only made the viewing experience more fun. It’s definitely the type of show that needs to be seen to be believed.”

“Presenting as TV’s latest entertainment industry satire, Bait is ultimately less like Hacks or The Studio or The Franchise and more like Disney+’s Wonder Man (mixed with a dash of Baby Reindeer), in which the main character’s dream of taking on a franchise-leading role in a blockbuster becomes a proxy for unresolved trauma and a desperate need to find a place in a world that has tried to exclude him.

“Like its main character, Bait is a series that feels like it’s constantly on the verge of a breakthrough, constantly on the edge of finding a next gear either satirically or emotionally. Instead, it’s more interesting and worthy of admiration than necessarily great, but you can see the greatness on the periphery.”

“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.”

“A stroke of hilarious, introspective genius […] Where many comedies these days feel more drama than straight comedy, Bait packs in all the quick wit and quibbles of any great sitcom.”

“The line between fiction and reality is very fine indeed in Riz Ahmed’s undefinable new series […] Mixing comedy, satire and, yes, Bond-style espionage thriller, at times it feels like Ahmed (who also wrote and produced the show) has crammed too many ideas into the mix. Yet the half-hour episodes move at such a thrilling pace that you’ll quickly cease to care.”

“As Shah’s life (and, possibly, mind) fractures, Bait becomes an unnerving and haunting pastiche of a paranoid spy thriller […] Ahmed can do bruised and soulful, and he can do James Bond too, but here he reminds us (in case we forgot, following Four Lions) that he is a terrifically funny actor […] There are more laugh-out-loud moments in this show than your average out-and-out sitcom.”

“Bait has two contradictory concepts that uncomfortably co-exist inside the same six-episode season. On the one hand, the show is a deeply personal story from star and creator Riz Ahmed about what it’s like to be a South Asian, British and Muslim actor with deep roots in London, a biography Ahmed shares with Bait protagonist Shah Latif. On the other, it’s a canny act of IP exploitation, with the mega-corporate and the individual making for a discordant set of priorities.”

“Bait, the new Prime Video miniseries Ahmed created, wrote, and stars in, is both an exercise in self-analysis and an interrogation of it, a breakneck romp through farce, satire, thriller, family drama, and romantic walk-and-talk that transforms itself in each of its six episodes […] Flaws, deviations, and all, the series always feels like a singular, boldly conceived experiment…”

Bait is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.