While Amazon-MGM is currently casting a new James Bond for a reboot of the franchise, the company’s streaming network, Prime Video, is looking to cash in on brand synergy with a meta-comedy about casting the next 007. Bait, written and starring Academy Award-nominee Riz Ahmed, will focus on a struggling actor Shah Latif, who is given the opportunity of a lifetime when he auditions for the part of James Bond. Prime Video released a new clip, showcasing Latif’s family reacting to the headline-breaking news that he is auditioning to play James Bond.
Alongside Ahmed, Bait will star Guz Khan (Our Flag Means Death), Sheeba Chaddha (Doctor G), Aasiya Shah (Raised by Wolves), Sajid Hasan (Jee Ve Sohneya Jee), Ritu Arya (Umbrella Academy), and Werunche Opia (I May Destroy You). The six-part series will be available globally to stream on Prime Video starting March 25. Watch the first clip below.
Amazon MGM and Prime Video Are All in On James Bond
Bait is the latest in a string of meta-comedies about Hollywood. The concept has exploded thanks to the critical acclaim of Apple TV’s The Studio, which recently won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series. HBO tried to recapture the glory days of Entourage and Extras with The Franchise, but the series was canceled after one season. Even Marvel Studios is getting in on the fun with the upcoming series Wonder Man, which looks to be a satirical take on superhero movies, reboots, and much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe machine.
News of Riz Ahmed’s comedy series about a struggling actor coming to Prime Video first broke in July 2024, with filming beginning in September of that year. While Amazon had acquired a significant stake in the James Bond franchise in 2021 after its purchase of MGM Studios, it was not until February 2025 that the studio took over the property after producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson gave up complete creative control. It is unclear whether Bait, originally filmed under the title Quarter Life, was conceived from the beginning as a meta-casting story for James Bond and essentially a cross-promotional advertisement for the new film, but now it certainly looks like a way to draw interest in Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming reboot.
Bait‘s first clip certainly gets a lot of laughs out of the idea of how people would react to news of casting a non-white actor to play James Bond, a discussion many fans have been having since Daniel Craig stepped down. It will also certainly draw comparisons to whoever is finally cast as 007, and possible criticism if the upcoming reboot casts a traditional white leading man, when Prime Video made an entire series about a British-Pakistani playing Bond. If Bait is part of Amazon MGM and Prime Video’s James Bond cross promotion, hopefully, it is a sign that the streamer is truly looking at a wide net of actors who could play James Bond and not just making a joke out of it.
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