Prime Video has sent the Italian instalment of the Russo Brothers’ global sci-fi event series Citadel into production and cast Matilda de Angelis (The Undoing, Leonardo) as its lead, as Amazon Italy execs today touted the streamer’s local growth here at the MIA Market in Rome.
De Angelis recently made her international breakthrough in Susanne Bier’s limited series The Undoing, alongside Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. It won her the Grandi Serie Silver Ribbon Award for the International Performance of the Year in 2021.
The Italian Citadel, currently untitled and part of Prime Video and AGBO’s expansive spy series, is being produced in Italy by ITV Studios-owned Cattleya.
Additional cast includes Lorenzo Cervasio, Maurizio Lombardi, Thekla Reuten, Julian Piaton, Filippo Nigro and Bernhard Schütz. Arnaldo Catinari (Suburra: Blood on Rome) is directing and Alessandro Fabbri is head writer. Gina Gardini (Gomorrah, ZeroZeroZero) is showrunner.
Cattleya’s Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Stabilini, Gina Gardini are co-producing with Amazon Studios and AGBO’s Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Mike Larocca, Angela Russo-Ostot, Scott Nemes, and David Weil (Hunters) overseeing production on the Italian Original and all series within the global Citadel universe. Josh Applebaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg serve as executive producers for Midnight Radio on the untitled Italian original and all series within the global Citadel universe.
“We are delighted to join forces with Cattleya and some of the most respected, productive and creative teams in Italy to raise the bar on our local productions with this exciting and ambitious production. We are thrilled for Italy to lead the charge as the first local Original in this visionary franchise from AGBO,” said Morganti. “The Italian Original series will be an epic television event, and we can’t wait to share it with our Prime Video audience in Italy and around the world.”
“Amazon and the Citadel franchise have given AGBO a remarkable opportunity to collaborate with top talent from around the world, and Italy is no exception,” said Angela Russo-Otstot, president of creative at AGBO and executive producer. “As enormous fans of Cattleya, we have been afforded a front-row seat to their superior work and leadership, and it has been a thrill. Together with David Weil, we are humbled to be partnering with Gina, Alessandro, all the writers, and the stellar cast of this incredible series.”
“Citadel is an exceptionally ambitious and challenging project, and it is an honor to be part of it,” commented Riccardo Tozzi, founder and president of Cattleya. “The Italian series is a spy story with elements of action, adventure, and fantasy—the genre is simply unprecedented for Italy and for Cattleya. Yet, even with its own creative and stylistic uniqueness, it fits into the fascinating Citadel universe. We are happy to have set out on this journey with great partners in Amazon Studios and all the talent involved. Citadel is new energy for us and, we believe, for Italian series.”
As previously announced, Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico), Richard Madden (Bodyguard), and Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games saga) will star in first-to-launch series within the Citadel universe, which comes from the Russo Brothers’ AGBO. Additional local-language Citadel productions are also in the works, including a confirmed India Original series developed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. (The Family Man).
Italian actress and singer Matilda De Angelis made her acting debut in television with the hit series Tutto può succedere in 2015. In recent years, she starred in the period drama Leonardo and made her international breakthrough in Susanne Bier’s limited television series, The Undoing, alongside Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. For this role, De Angelis won the Grandi Serie Silver Ribbon Award for the International Performance of the Year in 2021. In the same year, she also went on to win the David Di Donatello Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Rose Island. Prior to this, De Angelis was awarded the prestigious European Film Promotion (EFP) Shooting Star in 2018. Her upcoming projects include feature films Robbing Mussolini and Across The River and Into The Trees,directed by Paula Ortiz.
The untitled Citadel Italian Original series will join the thousands of TV shows and movies in the Prime Video catalogue, including the Original Italian productions Prisma, Bang Bang Baby, Gianluca Vacchi: Mucho Más, Laura Pausini – Pleased To Meet You, All or Nothing: Juventus, Anni da cane, Dinner Club, Vita da Carlo, FERRO, Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo S1 and S2, and LOL: Chi ride è fuori S1 and S2; award-winning series such asFleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, U.S. hits like The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Boys, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Coming 2 America, Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, Good Omens, and Carnival Row, in addition to licensed content, and the exclusive live coverage in Italy of the 16 top Wednesday night matches of the UEFA Champions League, as well as the UEFA Super Cup, for three seasons from 2021/22. Other Italian Original series, shows and movies announced include Autumn Beat, The Bad Guy, Everybody Loves Diamonds, Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo S3, Dinner Club S2, LOL Xmas and The Ferragnez – La SerieS2.