Bait follows Shah, played by Riz Ahmed, a struggling British-Pakistani actor whose unexpected, last-shot audition to play James Bond throws his and his family’s life into chaos. A media frenzy ensues, pulling every corner of his private life into the limelight, with everyone sharing their opinions on whether he is or isn’t right for the role. Charting Shah’s exponential spiral, the singular, frenetic comedy-drama explores ideas of identity, belonging, and self-worth, as well as the pressure to be a specific version of yourself. A version that placates the cultural narratives you’re part of, and the expectations of the industry you’re in, your family and the public. 

As its creator, producer and star, Riz Ahmed, puts it, “the show is really like how life can feel like one big audition,” and whilst someone can project one version of themself, there are plenty of other selves underneath. Collaborating closely with Riz and Left Handed Films, Pentagram created the title sequence and location cards for Bait, exploring the show’s themes of identity, espionage and the emotional toll of chasing validation in a hyper-visible, hyper-judgemental world. 

Pentagram’s title concept explored these complexities, reflecting the shifting inner and outer perceptions of Shah’s identity through a visual mechanic of colour filters, drawing from theatre colour scrollers and secret message reveals. Within a single typographic layout, Bait and subsequent episode titles are revealed, each containing a different definition of the term, such as its place in British slang to mean blatant trolling, using someone as bait, or its meanings in languages relevant to the show. In Urdu, bait means loyalty or allegiance; in Arabic, home. All of these connotations speak to Shah and the story that unfolds throughout the series.

Much like Bait’s different definitions, the revealing and concealing of the titles contained within one composition reflect the show and Shah in a multitude of ways—just as all versions and identities of Riz’s character exist at once, so do all of Bait’s episode titles; the audience is simply asked to look at things a little differently to see them. 

In theatrically hiding and then exposing the episode titles, the system highlights the contrast between Shah being in the spotlight and trying to control the spotlight he’s confined by, fluctuating between blending in and standing out. Asking Shah how vulnerable he is willing to be to drop the mask he wears. Whilst the titles also speak to the underlying themes of espionage and spycraft—it equally reflects the broader subject of race. The show deals with the potential of a non-white James Bond and, with it, plumbs what it means to be British or, at least, who gets to be seen as British. The filters and hidden coded layers of the title treatment channel the multiple identities Shah has as a British-Asian man and the identities others project onto him.

Given the impetus of the plot involves James Bond, the world’s most famous spy, undertones of the genre of intelligence and espionage are alluded to, in both the choice of a monospace typeface, and in the widely tracked, code-like setting of it. This typographic approach extended to the location cards, carrying the visual language throughout the show. 

Bait proves that nothing is as singular as we think, not character, not perception, nor truth. Pentagram’s title mechanic reflects the multiplicity of this view, distilling language, secrecy and identity into an identity that reveals more and more as the show and story progresses.