Outside of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” the Russo Brothers-produced “Citadel” was Prime Video’s most expensive series to date with the six-episode first season coming in at a budget of $300 million in total.
The show scored mixed reviews with the critics but needed to do well with audiences – especially as Amazon has bet big on the espionage thriller and has already renewed it not just for a second season but is in production of several local market international spin-offs as well.
The series launched on April 28th and wrapped its run two weeks ago. Shortly after the premiere, Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke said that those first two episodes had “attracted one of the largest global audiences in the history of Prime Video”.
However, the series has repeatedly failed to make the recent Nielsen streaming charts since its launch. Nielsen measures in the U.S. alone, so viewers in other countries are not accounted for in them – markets where the show is presumably doing better.
Speaking on a panel at the Banff Media Festival that kicked off today (via Deadline), Amazon Studios’ drama series chief Odetta Watkins says the series was a “victory” for the streamer and plans to develop similar ‘global franchises’ for other genres:
“I think the show was conceived to be able to speak to the world, and it has. Every show is not going to hit in every place on the same level. But as the franchise grows, I feel like the numbers will grow all over, including domestically. You’ll start to see the audience respond differently as it goes on.
[Jennifer Salke] wanted something that could speak to the world. The idea of the franchise from its inception with different chapters around the world, I’ve never seen this before. It is the first of many to come”
The series will continue with the first of the spin-offs, the Italy-set “Citadel: Diana,” launching in 2024.
