Citadel Makes a Historic, Global Splash As Number One Title In Nearly 200 Countries and Territories

By: AGBO Staff

Amazon Prime’s new thriller spy show, Citadel, starring Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Lesley Manville, and Stanley Tucci is making history as the platform’s first instantaneously global hit. Following its launch on April 28, Citadel has already broken international streaming records by becoming the number one title in nearly 200 countries and territories.

It’s the first time that an original IP series has yielded such impactful global results. And that was exactly its intent from early on.

Citadel’s executive producers, award-winning filmmakers and AGBO cofounders Anthony and Joe Russo and team, joined forces with Amazon Studios to conceptualize a show whose storyline would not only resonate with international audiences, but also make a major global splash. The plan included casting actors with international origins (including Scotland, India, UK, and Denmark, and more) and setting the series in a stunning number of locations like Spain, Norway, and Morocco.

Leading up to the series’ debut, Citadel was already making history as the first “interrelated” series franchise to not only be filmed internationally and set in multiple countries, but also produced in native languages using local talent, in front of and behind the cameras. The show centers around a global spy agency fighting to protect the world from a powerful crime syndicate, and will evolve to connect various international storylines to create a globally accessible “universe.”

“[The Russo Brothers and AGBO’s] ability to build a global franchise, and to put their arms around big, ambitious ideas that might be overwhelming to others, creatively or logistically, is really their sweet spot,” Amazon Studios Chief Jennifer Salke told Variety.  

For AGBO, Citadel sets the stage for more global productions–opening the door for future stories that are meant for international viewers and that explore the universal elements of the human condition in ways that are geographically and culturally specific.

Chopra Jonas praised the global focus of the series in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter: “I think with streaming coming in, we have the ability as storytellers to be able to tell hyper-specific stories, and there’s an audience wanting to watch good cinema. Citadel is such a great example of that, because on this show we have filmmakers and writers from America, from the U.K., from India, from Italy, which are all the major film industries in the world, coming together and contributing to one large story and one large universe,” she remarked.

Madden, Citadel’s co-lead, also noted how the franchise’s international and expansive storytelling approach makes more room for character growth across episodes and seasons.

“We don’t just have a longer screen time to tell a story, but we also get a larger cast to explore different layers of storytelling, to explore each character and their backstories,” the Scottish actor said.

Viewers around the globe can tune into Amazon Prime each Friday for a new episode, with episode 3 available on Friday, May 5.

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