Citadel (TV Series)

''Citadel'' is an American spy action 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 as Citadel agents Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh, respectively. Kane discovers a new organization, Manticore, led by Dahlia ( Lesley Manville), leading to a bad accident. Eight years later, he is living quietly as Kyle Conroy, with his memory wiped, until an old colleague ( Stanley Tucci) needs his help.

With a production budget of US$300 million, the six-episode first season ranks as one of the most expensive television series ever made. 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. The Italian series, '' Citadel: Diana'', premiered October 10, 2024, while the Indian series, '' Citadel: Honey Bunny'', premiered November 7, 2024.

Cast

Main

* Richard Madden as
** Mason Kane: a top-class Citadel spy agent; Nadia's work partner and lover; Asha's father (2023–present)
** Kyle Conroy: Mason's identity after his memory was erased by Bernard; Abby's husband (2023)
* Priyanka Chopra as
** Nadia Sinh: a top-class Citadel spy agent; Mason's work partner and lover; Asha's mother (2023–present)
** Charlotte Vernon: a restaurant manager in Valencia after her memory was wiped by Bernard (2023)
* Stanley Tucci as Bernard Orlick (2023–present)
* Lesley Manville as Dahlia Archer, a UK ambassador and Manticore agent

Recurring

* 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
* Matt Berry
* Michael Trucco
* Jack Reynor
* Rahul Kohli
* Merle Dandridge
* Gabriel Leone

Guests

* Moira Kelly as Joe
* Timothy Busfield as Simmons
* Nikki Amuka-Bird as Grace
* Paul Bazely as Rahi "Bunny" Gambhir, Nadia's father

Production

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.

Episodes

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 Italian series, titled '' Citadel: Diana'', is produced by Cattleya, part of ITV Studios, and was released in 2024. At the end of season 1 of ''Citadel'', there was a trailer for ''Citadel: Diana.'' The series was aired on October 9, 2024.

The Indian series, titled '' Citadel: Honey Bunny'', starring Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, was directed by Raj & DK and revolves around the story of Honey and Bunny, who are the parents of the character Nadia Sinh. It premiered on November 7, 2024.

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 51% approval rating with an average rating of 5.7/10, based on 80 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 29 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.

References

External links

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{{Amazon Video original series

2023 American television series debuts
2020s American drama television series
2020s American science fiction television series
American action television series
American spy drama television series
American spy television series
Amazon Prime Video original programming
American English-language television shows
Science fiction adventure television series
Television shows filmed in the United Kingdom
Television series by Amazon MGM Studios
Television shows filmed at Pinewood Studios
Television shows filmed in India