Citadel (TV series)

Citadel is an American spy action thriller television series created by Josh Appelbaum, Bryan Oh, and David Weil for Amazon Prime Video, with the Russo brothers acting as executive producers. It stars Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Citadel agents Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh, respectively, with Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville among the main cast

With a production budget of US$300 million, the six-episode first season ranks as one of the most expensive television shows of all time. The first season premiered on April 28, 2023, with its first two episodes. In March 2023, it was renewed for a second season, with Joe Russo announced to direct all the episodes in the season.

Multiple non-English language spin-off shows have been announced, with settings being in the Italian Alps, India, Spain, and Mexico. An Italian series, Citadel: Diana is set to premiere in 2024. An Indian series, Citadel: Honey Bunny, is in production.

Main

 * Richard Madden as Mason Kane, a top-class Citadel spy agent and Nadia's work partner/lover; and as Kyle Conroy, Mason's identity after his memory was erased by Bernard; Abby's husband
 * Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Nadia Sinh, a top-class Citadel spy agent, Mason's work partner and lover; and as Charlotte Vernon, a restaurant manager in Valencia after her memory was wiped by Bernard
 * Ashleigh Cummings as Abby Conroy, wife of Kyle; and as Celeste Graham, a former Citadel spy
 * Roland Møller as Anders and Davik Silje
 * Osy Ikhile as Carter Spence
 * Caoilinn Springall as Hendrix Conroy, “Kyle” and “Abby’s” daughter
 * Lesley Manville as Dahlia Archer, a UK ambassador and Manticore agent
 * Stanley Tucci as Bernard Orlick

Guests

 * Moira Kelly as Joe
 * Timothy Busfield as Simmons
 * Nikki Amuka-Bird as Grace
 * Paul Bazely as Rahi Gambhir

Development
Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke first came up with the idea for the series and approached the Russo brothers and their independent studio AGBO about creating an ambitious, global spy show in mid-2018. The series was originally a partnership between AGBO and the screenwriting collective Midnight Radio, comprising Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec. Appelbaum and Nemec departed the show during production in 2021, due to creative differences with the Russos. The Russos set up a second editing team and cut an alternate version of the season to compete with the main team, and Amazon chose the Russos' version after focus-group testings. This led to the hiring of David Weil as the new showrunner and extensive reshoots in 2022.

As of 2023, Citadel was the second most expensive series of all time with a budget of US$300 million, largely due to the reshoots following Weil's hiring. Prime Video renewed the series for a second season on March 14, 2023.

Casting
Starring alongside Madden and Chopra, Roland Møller will play Laszlo Milla, a lead operative of Citadel's rival intelligence agency, Manticore.

Filming
Filming on the main series began in January 2021 and wrapped the following December. However, reshoots occurred in early and mid-2022 under the supervision of Weil, the Russos, and director Thomas Sigel.

Music
Alex Belcher composed the first season, while Henry Jackman served as score producer. Sony Classical released the soundtrack.

Release
The six-episode series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 28, 2023, with its first two episodes.

Spin-offs
Citadel will include spin-off shows in different languages set in the Italian Alps, India, Spain, and Mexico.

The Indian series, titled Citadel: Honey Bunny, starring Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, will be directed by Raj & DK.

The Italian series, titled Citadel: Diana, is being produced by Cattleya, part of ITV Studios, and will be released in 2024. At the end of season 1 of Citadel, there was a trailer for the franchise's spin-off titled Citadel: Diana, which will air in 2024.

Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 51% approval rating with an average rating of 5.7/10, based on 79 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Citadel spares no expense but still feels underdeveloped, yielding a fairly fun spy caper that nonetheless creaks under the weight of its own exorbitance." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 51 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The Economist called it "a big-budget, low-imagination thriller with plenty of explosions and no surprises."

Accolades
Citadel was nominated for two awards at the 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards.