New Delhi: Priyanka Chopra starrer ‘Citadel’ failed to do well on the global level. As per reports, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is seeking answers after the poorly received debut of the spy series ‘Citadel’, starring Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden. The show, which struggled to gain traction among viewers, cost the company a staggering $250 million (over Rs 2000 crore) to produce. This expense has raised concerns within Amazon about the budget allocation for certain shows.
According to Bloomberg, Jassy has requested a detailed analysis of the budgets for Amazon's major productions, particularly focusing on six shows that have underperformed in the past nine months. This scrutiny comes as Amazon plans to lay off thousands of employees and discard projects deemed unnecessary. Several recent high-budget shows, including ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’,‘The Power’, ‘Dead Ringers’, and ‘The Peripheral’, each costing $100 million, failed to make Nielsen's list of the top 10 most-watched shows in the US.
Even the highly anticipated and expensive ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,’ which reportedly cost Amazon $400 million, struggled to retain its audience throughout its debut season. However, the show receiving the most scrutiny is ‘Citadel’, which underwent a significant creative overhaul after Amazon rejected the initial version delivered by creator Josh Appelbaum. The company opted for a new version from executive producers Joe and Anthony Russo, which required an additional $80 million. Despite this investment, ‘Citadel’ only managed to crack Nielsen's top 10 once, trailing behind Netflix's "Barbecue Showdown."
Under the leadership of Amazon Studios chief Jen Salke, Amazon pursued first-look deals with notable talents like Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jordan Peele, and Donald Glover. However, these deals have not yielded the desired results. Similarly, the partnership with Priyanka Chopra has not seen significant success.
Even though some supporters of Salke acknowledge that ‘Citadel’ was initially approached as a business venture rather than a creative endeavor, it was intended to be a global franchise. The first season was planned to have a budget of $20 million per episode for eight episodes, but ultimately, only six episodes aired. To mitigate some of the production challenges faced in the first season, Joe Russo has been appointed as the director for each episode of the show's second season, for which he will reportedly be paid $25 million.
In June, Odetta Watkins, head of drama series at Amazon Studios, admitted that ‘Citadel’ needs time to grow and that the US audience has become jaded. She viewed the show as a victory due to its global appeal. Notably, an Italian spinoff of ‘Citadel’ has already completed production, and an Indian spinoff featuring Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan is currently in production.