Riz Ahmed’s ‘Bait’ 21 Category Emmys Submissions

Amazon is putting out some “Bait” to hook Emmy voters.

The streamer’s British six-part miniseries “Bait,” starring Riz Ahmed, is making a push for the Emmy season, with plans to submit in 21 categories, including outstanding limited or anthology series, Variety has learned exclusively.

“Bait” follows Shah Latif (Ahmed), a struggling British Pakistani actor navigating an existential crisis while auditioning for the role of James Bond amid cultural backlash, professional pressure and strained family relationships. The Prime Video series, which premiered globally on March 25 after debuting earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, has received positive reviews from critics and currently sits at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.

On the Emmy front, “Bait” will mount a wide-ranging campaign spanning major series and craft categories.

Ahmed, an Oscar winner for producing the live-action short “The Long Goodbye” (2021) and a best actor nominee for the intense drama “Sound of Metal” (2020), has established himself as a multi-hyphenate across film, television and theater. At the Emmys in 2017, he made history as the first South Asian and Muslim man to win an acting Emmy for his role as Nasir Khan in HBO’s miniseries “The Night Of.” That same year, he earned a second nom in guest actor for HBO’s comedy “Girls.” He’ll be a huge focus for the campaign, going for another nomination for lead actor (limited).

Guz Khan, who portrays Shah’s cousin Zulfi, will be submitted for supporting actor (limited), while Sheeba Chaddha, who plays Tahira, will vie for supporting actress. Actors may self-submit for Emmy consideration, and many final choices regarding episode submissions for artisans will not be fully known until nomination voting begins in June.

Director Bassam Tariq will put forth episode 3, titled “House or Home,” which will also serve as the official writing submission for writer Azam Mahmood.

Along with Ahmed, the series’ executive producers are Allie Moore, Ben Karlin and Jake Fuller, with Chris Sheriff, Karen Joseph Adcock, Dipika Guha, Prashanth Venkataramanujam and Azam Mahmood serving as producers.

This year’s Emmy timeline begins with nomination-round voting from June 11-22, followed by nominations on July 8.

The full list of Emmy submissions for “Bait” is below:

All six episodes of “Bait” are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.