Rings of Power

Amazon Prime Video

I wondered how long after its season 2 finale it would take Rings of Power to drop off the #1 spot in Amazon Prime Video’s Top 10 list, and the answer is a little over a week. Not bad, I suppose. What has replaced it? Something actually quite unexpected.

That would be…Citadel? Yes, the Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra spy show that debuted in April of 2023. Here, over a year later, it’s back at #1. What is going on?

Well, the answer here, which is still a strange one, is that Citadel: Diana just released, an expansion of the “Citadel Universe” which was spawned by the English-language show, but now Diana is an Italian expansion. And an Indian expansion, Citadel: Honey Bunny, will arrive next month. So I guess the idea here is that Citadel: Diana has sparked interest in the original show, though Diana is #2 and the original is #1. I am still very surprised by all this, as you would not expect a series with no new season to surge to #1 after more than a year, much less…Citadel, which was not terribly well-received at launch.

Citadel

Amazon

Citadel Diana is being better received than the original, however. It has a 75% critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes (no audience score yet), while the first Citadel had a 51% critic score and a middling 63% audience score. Not ideal for one of the most expensive series ever made.

But Amazon is pressing on with this. Citadel is getting a season 2 and there are at least those two spin-offs happening. I think this current result may indicate that perhaps they’ve done the right thing, and if they can keep costs down (the first one reportedly cost $300 mainly because of so many reshoots), maybe it can be a successful franchise after all.

Rings of Power is suddenly down to #3, and it has still not been renewed for a third season, despite the fact that it seems like a foregone conclusion again, because of the investment Amazon has made in the show. And they were bragging about solid viewership to some extent last season.

The Legend of Vox Machina, a 100% scored series, is at #4 which I would consider quite good for a relatively niche animated series. Below that are offerings like Tulsa King, Special Ops: Lioness, Judy Justice and a few sports series.

So, Citadel? Yes, Citadel, and we may be seeing a lot more from it if it can keep up this surprising level of newfound interest.