Citadel returned to Prime Video on May 6, ending a three-year wait for the big-budget spy thriller with all seven Season 2 episodes released at once. A day later, the series had already become the second most popular title on the platform.
That is a quick rebound for a show that arrived under a cloud. The first season debuted on Apr. 28, 2023, opened with two episodes and then rolled out the remaining four weekly until May 26, 2023. Amazon renewed it for a second season a month before that premiere, long before the scale of the response was clear.
Citadel’s first season cost $300 million to bring six episodes to life, a figure that helped make it one of the most expensive television bets of its time. Yet the reception was mixed at best: the first season scored 51% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 62% Popcornmeter score, while reviewers called it “as generic as they come,” “mostly style over substance bogged down by clunky expositions,” and, in one blunt assessment, “blurry, expensive and empty.”
The series centers on Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra as elite agents working for an independent spy agency that is destroyed by a rival group, leaving them with wiped memories. That premise, along with the cost, is part of why Citadel drew attention far beyond the usual streaming crowd. The company has not disclosed the Season 2 budget, but estimates put the franchise’s total cost above $500 million when its two spin-offs are included.
Those spin-offs arrived in 2024 and gave the franchise a better reception abroad. Citadel: Diana premiered that year and earned an 80% rating, while Citadel: Honey Bunny also debuted in 2024 and earned 75%. Together, they showed the concept could travel even if the original series still split viewers.
The latest release suggests Prime Video is still willing to keep the brand alive despite the uneven response. The unresolved question now is not whether Citadel can make noise — it already has — but whether its second season can turn a costly, divisive series into one that lasts.
