The surprise departure Thursday of Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon MGM Studios, inevitably is drawing attention to one of her pet projects, global spy thriller Citadel.
Based on an idea by Salke, Citadel was probably the biggest gamble of her tenure atop Amazon MGM Studios — an ambitious, expansive and expensive multi-series, multi-country endeavor for which she brought in the Russo brothers‘ AGBO.
Salke’s exit comes with Season 2 of the mothership series, starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, in post-production, and the first two international spinoff series, the Italian Citadel: Diana and Indian Citadel: Honey Bunny, awaiting word on their future after launching their first seasons in September and December, respectively.
The main series already has been facing immense scrutiny over its tortured development and Season 1 production history that included multiple showrunner changes, multiple cuts and reshoots that reportedly pushed the budget north of $200 million for six episodes. In light of the sky-high cost and respectable but not extraordinary ratings performance — Citadel became at the time Prime Video’s second-most-watched new original series outside the U.S. and fourth-most-watched worldwide after 24 days of release with modest U.S. viewership — Amazon’s decision to order a second season caught many by surprise.
It took almost five years between Amazon’s Citadel announcement in 2018 and the series’ premiere in 2023. It might take three more for Season 2 to hit the streamer. THR is reporting that the new season, originally targeting a fall 2025 premiere, now likely will debut in spring 2026.
According to sources, Season 2 has been on target for a late-2025 delivery and likely will be released in Q1 2026. A rep for Amazon MGM Studios declined comment as the company has not announced a Citadel Season 2 premiere date yet.
Meanwhile, while they have done well in their local markets, Citadel: Diana and Citadel: Honey Bunny have not been global breakouts. Of the two, Honey Bunny is believed to have a better shot at renewal, with the possibility of both getting canceled.
It is unclear how quickly decisions on the two offshoots will be made but plans for other potential spinoffs in countries like Mexico have been put on hold as the focus is put squarely on finishing Season 2 of the main series. No cancellation calls are likely until the mothership series returns.
As for Citadel, with the show’s biggest champion, Salke, gone, it likely will have to clear a significantly higher bar than Season 1 to earn another renewal.
The drama is tracking the story of spy agency Citadel and its powerful enemy syndicate, Manticore. Starring alongside Madden and Chopra-Jonas are Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville.
From Amazon MGM Studios and AGBO, Citadel is executive produced by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Angela Russo-Otstot and Scott Nemes for AGBO, with David Weil serving as showrunner and executive producer.
