Priyanka Chopra’s ‘Citadel’ needs ‘time to grow’ with U.S. audience

Priyanka Chopra’s spy show, Citadel may not be doing so great in U.S. rankings but Amazon Studios’ head of drama series Odetta Watkins is optimistic that it is a victory.

In response to a question from Variety about Citadel’s slow performance in U.S. but strong showing otherwise, Watkins said, “I can tell you from a creative perspective, for me, it’s a victory, because the show was conceived to be able to speak to the world.”

Watkins explained that “every show is not going to hit in every place on the same level, but as the franchise grows, I feel like the numbers will grow all over, including domestically.”

She continued, “I think there are so many chapters to this. I think you’ll start to see the audience start to respond differently as it goes on. In the U.S., we are very jaded and watch everything with a discerning eye, like, ‘Hmm, that [season] wasn’t as good as the last one.’ I just think [‘Citadel’] needs time to grow.”

Watkins, a former Warner Bros. Television executive who was hired by Amazon Studios in 2021, previously spoke about Prime Video’s international outlook, and making shows “a global audience can enjoy without having to give up something,” such as cultural differences or language barriers.

“I think authenticity is a big deal when you’re looking at a show — that it’s true to that audience and they’re seeing something that feels real as opposed to what you think an audience may want,” said Watkins.

Citadel stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Nadia Sinh and Richard Madden as Mason Kane, two spy agents hiding to take down a powerful crime syndicate called Manticore.