Prime Video Celebrates ‘Bait’ World Premiere at Sundance Opening Night as Riz Ahmed Teases His “Audition” to Play James Bond
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Riz Ahmed’s Sundance-opening comedy ‘Bait’ is a chaotic, sharp, and painfully relatable spiral about modern validation — and yes, he very much wants to be 007.
Prime Video officially kicked off Sundance 2026 in style. On January 23, Prime Video celebrated the world premiere of its highly anticipated comedy series ‘Bait’ as the Sundance Film Festival’s opening night selection — a major moment for the streamer as the festival enters its final year in Park City. The six-episode series stars Riz Ahmed as Shah Latif and will debut all episodes on March 25, 2026, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
The evening began with Ahmed and co-star Guz Khan walking the red carpet at The Library, one of Sundance’s most iconic venues, joined by executive producer and co-showrunner Ben Karlin, executive producer Allie Moore, and director Bassam Tariq, who helms episodes 101 through 103. Ahmed introduced the first three episodes to a packed room of Sundance attendees before returning for a post-screening Q&A alongside Khan, Tariq, Moore, and Karlin, moderated by Sundance’s Adam Montgomery.
‘Bait’ centers on Shah Latif, a struggling actor whose life is jolted into chaos when his last shot at success arrives in the form of a career-defining audition. Told across four increasingly wild days, the series follows Shah as everything around him begins to spiral — with his family, his ex-lover, and the internet itself weighing in on whether he’s “the guy” for the job. It’s a premise built for modern obsession, where identity becomes performance and every personal moment feels like it’s being graded by strangers.
The cast rounds out with Guz Khan as Zulfi, Sheeba Chaddha as Tahira, Sajid Hasan as Parvez, Aasiya Shah as Q, Weruche Opia as Felicia, and Ritu Arya as Yasmin.
Behind the scenes, ‘Bait’ is executive produced by Ahmed and Moore under Left Handed, with Jake Fuller producing on behalf of Jax Media. Ben Karlin executive produces and serves as showrunner alongside Ahmed. The series is produced by Jax Media and Amazon MGM Studios.
But the night’s biggest headline didn’t stay confined to the screen.
During a Sundance interview at the Variety Studio presented by Audible, Ahmed leaned into the series’ most viral hook: a James Bond audition that sends his character into an existential free fall. While Ahmed clarified that the show isn’t actually “about Bond,” he admitted the role is absolutely on his mind — especially as the franchise enters a new era under Amazon, the same studio backing ‘Bait.’
“I had been keeping notes of all the contradictions that make up my life,” Ahmed said, describing the inspiration behind the series. “The difference between public and private self. What inspired it is sometimes life feels like one big audition. We’re all trying to prove ourselves online, chasing the validation of strangers and looking for approval. I wanted to make a show that explores that.”
Still, when the conversation shifted to Bond casting rumors, Ahmed didn’t exactly play it cool. He joked that ‘Bait’ is his audition tape for 007, referencing how Daniel Craig’s pre-Bond work in ‘Layer Cake’ helped solidify his candidacy. With the next Bond film set to be directed by Denis Villeneuve, and rumors swirling online about Jacob Elordi as a possible frontrunner, Ahmed delivered the line that instantly became the quote of the night.
“I don’t mind who plays James Bond as long as it is me,” Ahmed said, before playfully walking out of the interview when Khan teased that Elordi would land the role instead.
Even as he laughed it off, Ahmed returned to the deeper point behind the Bond obsession — and why it works so well as a narrative engine inside ‘Bait.’ In the series, Bond isn’t just a dream job. He’s a symbol. A fantasy of control. A version of masculinity and confidence that Shah believes he needs to become in order to be seen as worthy.
“James Bond in our show is a symbol of what my character wants to be, the ultra alpha-male,” Ahmed explained. “He just wants to be someone else, which so many of us want to be. That’s the relatable part.”
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With its Sundance-opening launch and a premise engineered for cultural conversation, ‘Bait’ is already positioning itself as one of Prime Video’s biggest spring swings — a comedy with bite, anxiety, and self-awareness baked directly into the DNA. Whether or not Ahmed ever gets to actually step into the tux, he’s already made one thing clear: he’s not done auditioning.
See Photos from the BAIT Premiere arrivals Below:
