Amazon Had 2 Versions of ‘Citadel.’ It Chose the Russo Cut
“Citadel” cost Amazon a ton of money to make. Perhaps if Prime Studios had only commissioned one cut of the Priyanka Chopra Jonas spy thriller…
Tucked into a Wednesday Bloomberg story was the backstory of how “Citadel” came to be one of the most expensive series in TV history, with a price tag north of $250 million for one season. (That number only doesn’t look totally insane if placing it side-by-side with Amazon Prime Video’s “Lord of the Rings” series, “The Rings of Power,” which cost $400 million for Season 1.)
More from IndieWire
Amazon ended up with two different cuts of “Citadel” Season 1, per Bloomberg, one from O.G. writers Josh Appelbaum and Bryan Oh and another semi-secret one from Joe and Anthony Russo. What you see on the service is an expanded version of the latter, a costly decision that blew the show’s budget out of the water.
An Amazon Studios spokesperson did not immediately respond to IndieWire’s request for comment on the Bloomberg story.
Appelbaum and Oh originally developed a series about dueling spy rings that fit a vision from Amazon Studios chief Jen Salke, who wanted a globetrotting series for her Prime Video service that could lead to numerous local spinoffs. It seemed like a good group all-in: Applebaum and the Russos already had an overall TV deal via his Midnight Radio and their AGBO, and Salke and the brothers worked together on NBC’s “Community.” That doesn’t mean the parties played nicely on this one.
The Russos didn’t love the plotted-out love story between Chopra Jonas and her co-star Richard Madden, as well as “other plot elements,” according to Bloomberg. So they set up a second editing group in Los Angeles — the official one was in London — and created what the business publication called an “alternate version” of “Citadel.” That cut was submitted to Amazon “without showing it to the full team,” the story continues, which caused the London operation to send its own “rushed” cut to Salke.
The decision was made to back the Russos, best known as the stewards of the MCU; their cut also tested better with focus groups, per Bloomberg. But it also necessitated “substantial” reshoots — more than half of the show needed to be re-filmed — as well as a new writer, David Weil. A show with a reported $20 million-per-episode budget added “at least” $80 million in costs. Talk about Marvel territory.
Unfortunately, Amazon hasn’t seen much of a return on the gigantic expense — not as far as we can tell, at least. “Citadel” Season 1 never charted on Nielsen’s Top 10 most-watched streaming programs in the U.S. (It did once make the Top 10 for originals only.)
Odetta Watkins, Amazon’s head of drama series, said at last month’s Banff World Media Festival in Canada that the series “needs time to grow” its audience in America. She also said U.S. viewers are “jaded.”
Amazon renewed “Citadel” for a second season May; Joe Russo is set to direct each episode, which will reportedly make him $25 million richer. It’s a good thing the company got the same amount in tax credits to relocate filming for Season 2 from the UK to California.
At the time the renewal was announced, Amazon touted the series’ “breakout success” internationally, including in India. “Citadel” is Prime Video’s “second most-watched new original series outside the U.S.,” per that press release.
Best of IndieWire
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
