Citadel is a 2023 spy thriller television series created by Josh Applebaum and Bryan Oh, and executive produced by The Russo Brothers. It is intended to be the “mothership” of an international franchise for Prime Video with several local language spin-off series in development for multiple regions.
The story follows an elite global spy agency with loyalty to no one nation called Citadel. When a new enemy destroys it, its agents are memory wiped and sent off into the world to live normal lives. Eight years later, former top agents Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra) are called upon by an old Citadel colleague (Stanley Tucci) to do battle with their old enemies once more.
The series premiered on Prime Video April 28, 2023, with a second season having already been announced. An Italian spinoff, Citadel: Diana, has been announced for a 2024 release.
Previews: Trailer 1
, Trailer 2
Citadel contains examples of the following:
- 20 Minutes into the Future: The show takes place around 2030 or so, judging by Bernard's comments that Citadel was founded "about a hundred years ago" during the run-up to World War 2.
- Amnesiac Hero: Both Mason and Nadia become this as part of Citadel’s Crazy-Prepared nature, with their original memories “backed up” in injectable format. However, Mason’s “memory juice” ends up spilled before he can use it, leaving him a straight take on this trope as he still doesn’t remember most of his past, while Nadia gets her injection and remembers everything.
- Black-and-Grey Morality: Although Citadel are nominally the "good guys," working for the greater good and bringing down existential threats to human freedom and progress, they are no less ruthless and violent in carrying out their ends than any other clandestine spy organization. They can only say they're morally superior to Manticore because Manticore is so blatantly evil that they don't even bother with any pretense.
- Blatant Lies: Bernard convinces Anders to help him escape so they can find Brielle (who is now known as Kyle's wife Abby. Dahlia kills Anders for his treachery and then lies to his brother Davik that Bernard was the one who killed him. Anders doesn't buy it.
- Cool Train: The trailer opens with Mason and Nadia meeting aboard a luxurious train.
- Face–Heel Turn: Former international social worker Dahlia joined Manticore when she lost her husband in a botched Citadel operation. She also manages to convince her son Mason to do the same.
- Identity Amnesia: According to Bernard in the trailer, both Mason and Nadia have no memories of their time as Citadel agents. The second episode reveals this is actually an intentional effect from Citadel activated in the wake of their survival of the train crash.
- Irony:
- Bernard had to pick the one Citdal agent who was the mole who sold them out to "save" the organization.
- Mason going through all this to take on Manticore with no idea he was one of them.
- The Mole: Manticore was able to bring down Citadel with the help of a Citadel insider, and figuring out who they were is a minor arc for the first season. Turns out it was Mason. Except he thought Dahlia would use the information he gave her to hold Citadel accountable for its actions, not kill everybody.
- Mugging the Monster: After narrowly escaping the fateful train crash, Nadia hitches a ride from a man driving in the woods. Unfortunately for her, the man is a rapist who intended to keep her prisoner. Unfortunately for him, Nadia is a very capable espionage agent.
- Nebulous Evil Organization: Manticore, an organization that wiped out Citadel 8 years ago, and answers to several wealthy families that apparently does War for Fun and Profit.
- The Needs of the Many: Citadel was designed to act independently of any government or organization in order to serve a "Greater Good": what's best for humanity as a whole.
- Private Intelligence Agency: The Citadel Agency is stated in the trailer to be loyal to no nation.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: One of the trailers shows a clip in which Mason's remembered his real identity but Nadia hasn't, leading Mason to throw a knife at her in the hopes that she'll instinctually do a badass knife-catch, thus proving to her she's not a regular person. But Nadia sensibly just ducks—even for a super-spy, there's no reason to catch an airborne blade if you can just get out of the way. The trailer then shows Mason awkwardly explaining what he was trying to do to a now-even-less-convinced Nadia.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Carter had been friends with Mason for a decade and noted that him threatening her brother was not normal for him. He later learned that Nadia had the raid team's leader hide the Oz key and that Mason was aware of this; Mason accusing Celeste of being a mole was him taking suspicion off Nadia.
- Red Herring: Both the audience and characters in-universe are lead to suspect that Nadia was the double agent that helped bring down Citadel. The season one finale reveals that the mole was actually Mason.
- The Reveal:
- Abby, Mason's civilian wife is a Citadel agent herself.
- The secret Nadia is keeping in Season 1 is she had Mason's child, who's been kept hidden.
- Mason turns out to have been the mole who brought Citadel down and Dahlia's son.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The final scene of Season 1 reveals Mason gave his mother the information on Citadel, agreeing with her on bringing all their illegal activities to the public and have the bosses tried in an international court. It wasn't until the massacre began that he realized his mom was planning all along to wipe it out.
- Wham Shot: Held prisoner, Bernard tells his torturer that the man's long thought dead love, Brielle, is still alive. He then shows her photo...and it's Mason's wife, Abby.
