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Renewed: Citadel

Spy thriller with Richard Madden & Priyanka Chopra Jonas gets a second season -and premiere episode is available with no paywall this weekend.

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Newly-launched spy thriller Citadel, starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, has been renewed for a second season.

The series, featuring Lesley Manville and Stanley Tucci, will see Joe Russo back as director and executive producer David Weil return as showrunner.

Prime Video claims the series is the second most-watched new original series outside the U.S., and fourth most-watched worldwide, but did not supply any viewing numbers.

It has also offered the first episode free to stream without membership on Prime Video from Friday, May 26 – Sunday, May 28 2023.

“Citadel is a truly global phenomenon,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon and MGM Studios. “Our goal was always to create a new franchise rooted in original IP that would grow Prime Video’s international audience. This show has drawn an outsize number of new international customers to Prime Video. Its massive worldwide debut audience is a testament to Joe and Anthony Russo’s remarkable vision, the incredible talents of Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Lesley Manville and Stanley Tucci, and the tireless work of the creative teams, cast, and crew. Given the overwhelming number of our customers who have embraced this show, we are not only thrilled to share the premiere episode of Citadel globally without membership, but also confirm that the series will return for a second season.”

“AGBO is thrilled to embark on this next phase of the spyverse with Jen, Vernon, and the entire team at Amazon,” said executive producers Anthony and Joe Russo.

“The innovative storytelling of Citadel has paved the way for an incredible, worldwide collaboration with creatives in front of and behind the camera.”

All episodes will be available to Prime Video customers beginning Friday, May 26.

8 Responses

  1. The first episode was fantastic – lots of action, intrigue and interesting characters. Then it gradually lost its way as the action gave way to long dialogues and flashbacks, so watching the finale yesterday I really didn’t care about the characters anymore. It became a chore to get through the last two episodes.

  2. I do like well made spy yarns but was mostly attracted to Citadel to see how Richard Madden performed in a big budget ($300 million) spy show, especially with him being frequently touted as a Bond replacement, but I was disappointed, Richard looked gaunt and perfunctory, probably because he was constantly stumbling about in Priyanka’s shadow, all the good work he had done as an alpha male in Bodyguard was forgotten, having said that there are one or two more episodes to go, so I might change my mind about Richard’s Bond prospects. I note the Hollywood promo hype by Prime Video, but any quick check will find that Citadel fell a bit flat with some TV critics, with Variety’s Alison Herman summing Citadel up as ‘a business plan’ rather than a TV show, at the time Citadel had already been greenlit for season 2 and optioned for a global franchise. Amazon must be getting impatient for some success.

  4. Positive sign. I’ve just started watching, following a new Amazon sub. I’m getting into this genre more (including Jack Ryan, The Terminal List, Jack Reacher) as well as The Summer I Turned Pretty and really liking all of them from what I’ve seen so far. My previous viewing was heavily dramatic and ‘dialog-y’ on Binge and Paramount (The Staircase, The Undoing, Euphoria, Succession, Tulsa King, Yellowstone and its prequels and new/classic procedurals like L&O/:CI/SVU and NCIS. Good to mix it up, keep options wide open and chop-change services from time to time, same goes for FTA channel surfing.

      1. I remember watching an aged British spy show called ‘The Sandbaggers’ the screenplay was concise and to the point like the stoic acting, only the lack of location filming, wobbly plywood interior sets and harsh studio lighting, reveal the shows low budget, but The Sandbaggers had a good writer Ian Mackintosh who died in a light plane crash when the final season 3 was in production, his plane was never found and Mackintosh’s disappearance became a mystery, with rumours that he was actually a spy himself and killed.

    2. I agree on mixing things up Sully… But I take it one step further. I’ll stand corrected if I’m wrong, but all of those many series you mention have 1 thing in common: The country they are made in (despite them containing many international actors). I actively attempt to not watch more than 3 American shows in a row. There are many British series around, with most just as good, if not better… And definitely not as bloated. I also like to throw in the occasional Aussie series too. It really works at not keeping viewing too stale. All of those shows (especially from a similar genre) are going to merge into one soon enough.

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