Citadel: Troubled production to ambitious future plans, what you need to know about Priyanka Chopra-Richard Madden series

What is Citadel?

Here’s the show’s official synopsis, according to AGBO, the Russos’ production company: “Eight years ago, Citadel fell. The independent global spy agency—tasked to uphold the safety and security of all people—was destroyed by operatives of Manticore, a powerful syndicate manipulating the world from the shadows. With Citadel’s fall, elite agents Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives. They’ve remained hidden ever since, building new lives under new identities, unaware of their pasts. Until one night, when Mason is tracked down by his former Citadel colleague, Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), who desperately needs his help to prevent Manticore from establishing a new world order. Mason seeks out his former partner, Nadia, and the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world in an effort to stop Manticore, all while contending with a relationship built on secrets, lies, and a dangerous-yet-undying love.”

Watch the Citadel trailer here:

Who plays who

Richard Madden plays Mason Kane, described by Prime Video press notes as “a highly skilled Tier-One agent for Citadel.” The description continues, “After the fall of Citadel at the hands of Manticore, Kane narrowly escapes by having his memory wiped. When a trusted colleague from his past resurfaces with news of Manticore’s new deadly plot, Mason sets off to find his former partner, Nadia Sinh, to stop the nefarious spy agency.”

Priyanka Chopra plays Nadia Sinh, “an elite spy for Citadel, who is also a part of the Tier-One program alongside her former partner Mason Kane. When Kane reconnects with Sinh eight years after the fall of Citadel, the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world in an effort to stop Manticore.”

Stanley Tucci plays Bernard Orlick, “Citadel’s tech genius, who has developed systems and new technology to ensure the organisation’s supremacy worldwide and to take down terrorist organisations and nefarious state governments. Later in his life, Orlick grew close to Kane, forming a father/son bond with the younger spy.”

Leslie Manville plays the villain Dahlia Archer, “the British Ambassador to the United States, whose loyalties may lie elsewhere. She’s highly cunning and ambitious, making her both a valuable asset and a formidable foe.”

Production troubles

The show entered production in 2021, under the stewardship of writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, with Game of Thrones vet Brian Kirk attached as director. But The Hollywood Reporter revealed in 2022 that the series had run into significant trouble, leading to the ouster of Appelbaum and Nemec, and prompting an expensive round of reshoots. Differences first arose after the series concluded filming in December 2021, and Amazon was reportedly unhappy with the footage and asked the Russos, who were then busy directing The Gray Man for Netflix, to jump in. Two competing cuts were pitted against each other; one championed by Appelbaum, and the other by Joe Russo. In the end, Amazon chose to bat for Russo.

Appelbaum and Nemec departed the project along with Kirk, who had directed five episodes. The budget had originally been locked at $160 million, but Amazon had agreed to overhaul the show by commission reshoots worth $75 million. David Weil, who created the big-budget flop Hunters for Amazon, was brought in as the new showrunner.

Then, earlier this month, THR published another story that claimed the budget had escalated beyond $250 million, and was now touching $300 million. The planned eight-episode season had been reduced to six episodes of less than 40 minutes each. The report also quoted Amazon executives as openly questioning the company’s decision to keep betting big on the Russos. Salke retorted, “Given the choice of making it mediocre or f**king great — we made the right call there. And at the end of the day, our customers will be the judge.”

The future

The Italian spinoff, starring Matilda De Angelis, has already wrapped production. The series is co-produced by Amazon Studios and Cattleya, a part of ITV Studios. The Indian spinoff, created by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, recently began filming with Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan attached as stars. Priyanka said in a recent interview that the timeline for each series is different, but there will be crossovers. Varun, on the other hand, told Collider recently that ‘there’s a very strong link’ between the Indian and American shows, and that ‘there are characters that can travel back and forth’. According to a Vanity Fair article, Weil has been designated the ‘creative spymaster’ and will oversee the grand arc of the franchise.

A second season for the mothership show has already been renewed for season two, but The Hollywood Reporter said that deals with talent are still being finalised. Season two will be filmed in Los Angeles.

Citadel also stars Osy Ikhile as Carter Spence, Ashleigh Cummings as Abby Conroy, Roland Møller as Anders Silje and Davik Silje, Caoilinn Springall as Hendrix Conro. The series will premiere with two episodes on April 28, followed by one episode a week for the next month.

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