Future of Citadel franchise uncertain after Amazon studio head leaves MGM Studios

The departure of Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke inevitably draws attention to the spy thriller franchise Citadel. Based on an idea by Salke and one of her pet projects, Citadel was perhaps the biggest gamble of her tenure at Amazon MGM Studios — an ambitious, sprawling and expensive, multi-series, multi-country undertaking for which she brought in production company AGBO, run by the Russo brothers.



Salke’s (pictured) departure comes with season two of the main series, starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, in post-production, and the first two international spin-off series, Italy’s Citadel: Diana and India’s Citadel: Honey Bunny, awaiting word on their futures after their first seasons launch in September and December, respectively.

The main series has already faced intense scrutiny over the troubled development and production of its first season, which saw multiple showrunner changes, multiple cuts and reshoots, reportedly pushing its budget to over $200 million for six episodes.

Given the skyrocketing costs and respectable but not extraordinary ratings — Citadel was Prime Video’s second most-watched new original series outside the U.S. at the time, and the fourth most-watched series worldwide after 24 days of modest U.S. viewership — Amazon’s decision to order a second season came as a surprise to many.

It took nearly five years between Amazon’s announcement of Citadel in 2018 and the series’ 2023 premiere, and there could be three more before season two hits the streamer. Sources say the new season, originally targeted for a fall 2025 release, is now likely to debut in spring 2026.

A representative for Amazon MGM Studios declined to comment because the company has not yet announced a start date for Citadel Season 2.

While Citadel: Diana and Citadel: Honey Bunny have done well in their local markets, they haven’t been global breakthroughs. Of the two, Citadel: Honey Bunny is considered to have a better chance of renewal, with both potentially being canceled.

It’s unclear how soon decisions on the two spinoffs will be made, but plans for other potential spinoffs in countries like Mexico have been put on hold, as the focus is squarely on wrapping up season two of the main series. Nothing is likely to be canceled until the parent series returns.

As for Citadel, with the series’ biggest champion, Salke, gone, it will likely have to reach a significantly higher bar than its first season to earn a new renewal.

The drama follows the story of the spy agency Citadel and its powerful enemy syndicate, Manticore. In addition to Madden and Chopra-Jonas, it stars Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville.