Before Riz Ahmed was an Oscar-nominated actor (and Oscar-winning filmmaker), an Emmy winner, a magnet for indie filmmakers, and Tom Cruise’s co-star in the upcoming Digger, he made his name as a musician. His work under the stage name Riz MC and as one half of the hip-hop duo Swet Shop Boys all but ensured that music would be an integral part of the first TV series he created. Luckily, Bait‘s boisterous soundtrack—supervised by I May Destroy You‘s Ciara Elwis—is full of earworms befitting the story of Shah Latif (Ahmed), a struggling and self-absorbed British-Pakistani actor who becomes an overnight sensation after paparazzi photos of him exiting a James Bond audition go viral. How the soundtrack zeroes in on the protagonist’s incredibly specific yet fundamentally universal world is why Elwis deserves the acknowledgement for Outstanding Music Supervision at this year’s Emmy Awards.
Bait‘s six episodes offer a surreal, poignant deep dive into Shah’s Muslim identity, how he navigates newfound fame (mostly poorly, in this case), and the cultural and societal pressures he’s put under as some sort of torchbearer of representation. The ensuing backlash and scrutiny from his family, peers, community, and the entire internet make him spiral; over the course of four days, he grapples with why he’s desperate to hold onto an iconic but historically white franchise. Since the show deftly balances a unique tone—heightened comedy mixed with emotional drama—the music has to match the energy. That is, a compelling soundtrack full of juxtapositions to amplify a story about a brown actor striving to both stand out and fit in. As Elwis stated recently, it all began with a playlist Ahmed created that she then contributed to and expanded.
The incomparable soundtrack brings together artists from across the globe, including contemporary British and South Asian singer-songwriters like Natasha Noorani, Jai Paul, Abdullah Siddiqui, Anik Khan, AJ Tracey, and Jorja Smith, whose songs capture Shah’s predicament and dualities. The track Smith recorded specifically for Bait, “Price Of It All” is a particularly effective piece of contemporary R&B that wouldn’t sound out of place as the theme to an actual Bond movie, but the soundtrack also features throwbacks from Bollywood and Pakistani films, catchy hip-hop bangers, and even a soulful Urdu version of Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” courtesy of Arooj Aftab and Anish Kumar. That last track plays when Shah learns he earned a callback—right after someone throws a decapitated pig’s head through his window.
The fusion of musical styles and genres not only emphasizes Shah’s frazzled state of mind, but also immerses the audience in his multicultural London world. Take episode four, in which Shah reunites with his journalist ex-girlfriend, Yasmin (Ritu Arya), to understand why she wrote a critical op-ed about him as the next 007. Together, the two hop around and bond in Brick Lane—known for its lively desi community—on Eid al-Fitr. It’s a mid-series mini-rom-com, with Sohail Rana’s melancholic “Al-vida” and Sophie’s explosive “bipp” elevating the tension between Shah and Yasmin, but also between Shah and himself as he reckons with just how addicted he is to the idea of stardom, and what he’s willing to sacrifice to achieve it.
Elwis (along with Ahmed and original score composer Shruti Kumar) avoids the familiar with Bait, and ambitiously introduces up-and-coming artists to give the series a more distinctive and playful sound. Each track heard on Bait has a clear purpose, none more than to bring South Asian musical influences—both new and old—to the forefront. It goes hand in hand with the show’s themes, bridging the gap between cultures in a way that Ahmed has tried to do in projects like 2020’s The Long Goodbye, the concept album whose short-film spin-off won Ahmed his Oscar. Elwis understands and doubles down on that type of vision. Shah Latif might be suffering from an identity crisis, but in Elwis’ hands, Bait‘s music is as self-assured and resonant as it gets.
Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic.
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