Amazon RENEWS Citadel starring Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden for a second season... after the spy thriller's debut cost an astounding $300million and earned lackluster reviews
Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden are in for another pricey round of globe-trotting spy games since Amazon has officially renewed their show Citadel for a second season.
The first season reportedly cost $300 million, becoming the second most expensive show ever produced in Hollywood history.
But that astounding price tag failed to buy stellar reviews, as critics have largely given the flashy new spy thriller a major thumbs down.
'Citadel is a $300 Million Disaster for Amazon,' trumpeted Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall, who blasted the series as 'bland.'
The Daily Beast branded Citadel as 'garbage TV,' while Variety proclaimed that it was 'a business plan in search of a show.'
![Round two: Priyanka Chopra, 40, and Richard Madden, 36, are in for another pricey round of globe-trotting spy games since Amazon has officially renewed their show Citadel for a second season](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/26/23/71465173-12129955-Round_two_Priyanka_Chopra_40_and_Richard_Madden_36_are_in_for_an-a-57_1685140773728.jpg)
Round two: Priyanka Chopra, 40, and Richard Madden, 36, are in for another pricey round of globe-trotting spy games since Amazon has officially renewed their show Citadel for a second season
![Breaking the bank: The first season reportedly cost $300 million, becoming the second most expensive show ever produced in Hollywood history; Chopra and Madden pictured at the world premiere of Citadel in London last month](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/26/23/71465185-12129955-Breaking_the_bank_The_first_season_reportedly_cost_300_million_b-a-56_1685140773724.jpg)
Breaking the bank: The first season reportedly cost $300 million, becoming the second most expensive show ever produced in Hollywood history; Chopra and Madden pictured at the world premiere of Citadel in London last month
Amazon and MGM Studios boss Jennifer Salke sounds like she would definitely disagree with those assessments, since she praised the show as 'global phenomenon' in her renewal announcement.
'Citadel is a truly global phenomenon,' she proclaimed. '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.'
Concluding her statement, Salke referenced how Amazon is making the first episode of season one available for free through Amazon Freevee, starting on Friday.
'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.'
The series is reportedly a big passion project for Salke, and that passion paid for a six-episode first season that would break the bank at most studios.
But Amazon is in the business of making costly TV, as they currently hold the number one when slot when it comes to most-expensive programming – Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cost a whopping $58 million per episode.
Through their production company AGBO, the Russo Brothers serve as the creative force behind Citadel and they seconded Salke's enthusiasm with their own effusive statement.
![Lackluster: The show's astounding price tag failed to buy stellar reviews, as critics have largely given the flashy new spy thriller a major thumbs down. 'Citadel is a $300 Million Disaster for Amazon,' trumpeted Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall, who blasted the series as 'bland'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/26/23/71465171-12129955-Lackluster_The_show_s_astounding_price_tag_failed_to_buy_stellar-a-58_1685140773731.jpg)
Lackluster: The show's astounding price tag failed to buy stellar reviews, as critics have largely given the flashy new spy thriller a major thumbs down. 'Citadel is a $300 Million Disaster for Amazon,' trumpeted Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall, who blasted the series as 'bland'
![Yikes: The Daily Beast branded Citadel as 'garbage TV,' while Variety proclaimed that it was 'a business plan in search of a show'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/26/23/71465169-12129955-Yikes_The_Daily_Beast_branded_Citadel_as_garbage_TV_while_Variet-a-59_1685140773746.jpg)
Yikes: The Daily Beast branded Citadel as 'garbage TV,' while Variety proclaimed that it was 'a business plan in search of a show'
![More to come: Amazon is looking to expand Citadel into a franchise with spin-offs, building a bingeable universe around the tentpole series](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/26/23/71465177-12129955-More_to_come_Amazon_is_looking_to_expand_Citadel_into_a_franchis-a-60_1685140773781.jpg)
![More to come: Amazon is looking to expand Citadel into a franchise with spin-offs, building a bingeable universe around the tentpole series](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/26/23/71465181-12129955-More_to_come_Amazon_is_looking_to_expand_Citadel_into_a_franchis-a-61_1685140774071.jpg)
More to come: Amazon is looking to expand Citadel into a franchise with spin-offs, building a bingeable universe around the tentpole series
The filmmakers said: 'AGBO is thrilled to embark on this next phase of the spy-verse with Jen, [head of television] Vernon [Sanders], and the entire team at Amazon. The innovative storytelling of Citadel has paved the way for an incredible, worldwide collaboration with creatives in front of and behind the camera.'
Amazon is looking to expand Citadel – which includes some steamy sex scenes between Chopra and Madden – into a franchise with spin-offs, building a bingeable universe around the tentpole series.
Citadel's renewal comes one day before the finale for season one drops on Amazon.
The official synopsis for season one reads: 'The global spy agency Citadel has fallen and the memory of its agents has been erased. Now, the powerful Manticore crime syndicate is filling the power vacuum. Citadel agents must remember their past and find the strength to fight back.'
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