Priyanka Chopra-starrer Citadel's failure forces Amazon to evalute budgets for major shows

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has requested a detailed budget analysis for major shows, including the lackluster spy thriller series Citadel, according to a media report. The Priyanka Chopra starrer show has received mixed reviews and failed to make an impact on Nielsen's top 10 list. Despite a massive budget of $250 million, the show underperformed in captivating viewers as expected.

Despite Amazon's significant investment in the production, with reports indicating a staggering budget of $250 million ( ₹2,000 crore), Citadel failed to captivate the audience as expected. 

Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, has reportedly requested a comprehensive budget analysis for the streaming platform's major shows, including Citadel, according to Free Press Journal.

Amid reports of impending layoffs affecting tens of thousands of employees, Amazon is now said to be scrutinizing the budget details of its prominent shows, including Citadel. Additionally, the media report revealed that Amazon's deal with Priyanka Chopra Jonas has not yielded significant results thus far.

The report further suggests that the debut season of Citadel was originally planned to have a budget of $20 million per episode and span eight episodes. However, only six episodes were ultimately aired. To address the production challenges encountered in the first season, Joe Russo has been appointed as the director for each episode of the show's second season. Reportedly, he will be compensated with a staggering $25 million for his role.

Meanwhile, Amazon miniTV, the free video streaming service available on the Amazon shopping app and Fire TV, has announced the launch of a new category, “miniTV Imported”, that will premier international content dubbed in Hindi. Spanning genres such as romance, drama, thriller and others, the “miniTV Imported” vertical will stream global shows every month ranging from Korean, Turkish, Mandarin and Spanish dramas.

The first set of shows which includes Cheer Up, Heart Surgeons, and Doctor Detective, all dubbed in Hindi, will stream from 7 July.