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Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden’s Citadel gets lukewarm welcome: ‘Deathly dull mess’

‘Not unwatchable-bad, but thoroughly unremarkable’

Peony Hirwani
Friday 28 April 2023 06:50 EDT
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Citadel trailer

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Fans seem to giving Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden’s new Amazon Prime Video thriller show Citadel a lukewarm welcome.

The storyline revolves around the global spy agency Citadel, which has fallen and the memories of its agents erased. Now, the Citadel agents must remember their past and find the strength to fight back.

In addition to Chopra and Madden, the show’s cast includes Stanley Tucci, Ashleigh Cummings, and Leo Woodall.

Many fans aren’t that happy with the first two episodes which were released on Friday (28 April).

“So #Citadel is quite bad so far. Not unwatchable-bad, but thoroughly unremarkable,” one person wrote on Twitter.

Another person added: “This is all they’ve got? #Citadel is shockingly banal, and Priyanka is all dressed up, going nowhere.”

“...so much sound & fury & interviews & hungama (fuss) over this deathly dull mess. But then we prefer demanding logic from #Pathaan Two preview episodes later I am out of it. Forget Priyanka Chopra, what are Stanley Tucci & Lesley Manville doing in it!” wrote film journalist Namrata Joshi.

One person wrote: “Even the action sequences felt off, and the dialogues – they are so bland and devoid of emotions it’s almost laughable. What’s a better alternative? Take an afternoon nap! #Citadel.”

(Prime Video)

Journalist Kirsten Howard wrote: “All the money in the world can’t make Amazon’s pricey new spy thriller series Citadel seem fresh or exciting.”

The series scored 7.1 out of 10 on IMDb and 3.9 out of five on Gadgets 360.

The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager called the episodes “pretty ridiculous”.

Citadel is Chopra’s second Hollywood TV show.

Earlier this year, the Quantico star opened up about why she left India and moved to America to kick-start her career in the Hollywood industry.

During an appearance on Dax Shepherd’s podcast Armchair Expert, Chopra said: “I was being pushed into a corner in the [Bollywood] industry.

“I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break,” she said.

Chopra then spoke about her short music career, which also ended up being her entryway into Hollywood.

From 2015 to 2018, Chopra starred as Alex Parrish in the ABC thriller series Quantico, becoming the first South Asian to headline an American network drama series.

Soon after that Chopra has been cast in films such as Baywatch, Matrix: Revolutions, and The White Tiger.

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