‘Citadel’ makers delve into global spin-off strategy

The masterminds behind Prime Video’s ‘Citadel’ series offer new insights into their ambitious international spin-off strategy.

The first season of “Citadel,” starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas alongside Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville, became Prime Video’s second most-watched new original series outside the US, and the fourth most-watched series worldwide. The series, produced by the Russo Brothers’ AGBO, follows spy agency Citadel and its powerful enemy syndicate Manticore.

Developed by Alessandro Fabbri and from showrunner Gina Gardini, the Italian spin-off “Citadel: Diana” is set in Milan, 2030, where Citadel was destroyed by Manticore. Since then, Diana Cavalieri (Matilda De Angelis), an undercover Citadel agent, has been alone, locked behind enemy lines like a mole in Manticore. When she finally sees a way out and the chance to disappear forever, the only way to do it is to trust the most unexpected ally, Edo Zani (Lorenzo Cervasio), the heir to Manticore Italy and son of the head of the Italian organization. Ettore Zani (Maurizio Lombardi), who struggles for leadership against the other European families.

Creators Raj & DK and writer Sita R. Menon’s Indian spin-off “Citadel: Honey Bunny” follows stuntman Bunny (Varun Dhawan) who recruits struggling actress Honey (Samantha) for a side job in the 1990s. Years later, as their dangerous past catches up, estranged Honey and Bunny must reunite and fight to protect their young daughter Nadia.

Executive producers Anthony Russo and Angela Russo-Otstot spoke with creator David Weil Variety about the joint approach driving the expansion of their spy thriller universe in Italy and India.

“This show is like a grand experiment in collaboration in a way that has never been attempted before,” said Anthony Russo. “The main reason is the creative partners we found both in Italy and India,” Russo said of the decision to create the spinoffs in Italy and India. “It can’t possibly work without finding people whose work we admire, whose work process we connect with, whose vision we can share and participate in.”

The rich film traditions of both countries played a crucial role in the decision. “Every country has an amazingly strong film tradition,” Russo said. “And so to be able to connect with that tradition and figure out how that tradition and those creatives want to reinterpret ideas that were released in the ‘Citadel’ universe, that was very exciting for us.”

The Russians and Weil granted their international partners considerable creative freedom. “There were really no guidelines or mandates at all,” Weil said. “It was about trying to come up with the best story that felt authentic and felt real, and that really inspired them.”

Russo-Otstot added: “Ensuring that DK, Raj and Sita, that Gina and Alessandro felt the freedom to tell a story that was authentic to their visions as artists, that is the most powerful thing we can all achieve. We were confident that these expressions would ultimately be so powerful that they would appeal to an audience far beyond.”

This cross-pollination of ideas is already influencing the main series. Weil revealed that elements from the spinoffs will be incorporated into season two of “Citadel,” which is currently in production. “There may be some characters in Season 2 that originate and appear first in ‘Honey Bunny’ and ‘Diana,’ which we can then play with in our season,” he said. “So you’ll definitely see a lot of things that we picked up from these series that we got to plant in Season 2 and hopefully beyond.”

The Indian spin-off ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’ sets the story thirty years in the past. Raj said, “She [the Russos and Weil] didn’t specify a time setting or what era it should be, it’s just all about the Nadia side of it. So we decided to actually go back, go retro, 30 years and thought that would give us the canvas to create new characters.

DK said that “Citadel” is a “highly technologically advanced universe,” and decided to go the other way. “That was part of the charm for us, to go retro. And even the technology in ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’ is advanced for its time, but it’s very archaic now, if you look at it from today’s perspective.”

The spin-off features themes of broken homes and the importance of cinema in Indian culture. Menon said, “All our characters are largely broken. They come from broken backgrounds, broken homes. So the absence of family is very significant for all of them, and that applies to them throughout the show.”

The series also focuses on the economic changes in India in the 1990s. DK said: “In the mid-1990s, India became a very liberal economy. Big difference between 1992 and 2000 in how people lived and what was available. So it’s not just an eight year difference in time. We have been at a very critical turning point in economic conditions in India for eight years now.”

Raj & DK’s spy series ‘The Family Man’, whose second season starred Samantha, was a huge success for Prime Video. “It’s very difficult for a female actor to get a role like that, and especially in entertainment and in series when you think of a spy action thriller, you immediately think of big car chases, big gadgets and certainly a male actor who plays the leading role. at the center of it,” she said. “But I think this is different, and I get to kick ass too, and it’s extremely equal and it’s just so great to be part of a series like this where I have so much to do and so much to give.”

“Citadel: Diana” is now streaming. “Citadel: Honey Bunny” streams November 7.