5 Things We've Learned From 12 Years Of Disney's Star Wars TV Shows

Laura Hurley has been writing about the entertainment industry for more than twelve years, after a decade as a content producer and editor at CinemaBlend after writing for WhatCulture and Examiner. Attending events like SCAD TVfest and San Diego Comic-Con over the course of her career, she has been immersed in the world of network, streaming, and cable TV. 

The Star Wars saga is just one year shy of 50 years since A New Hope arrived in theaters and first took audiences to George Lucas' galaxy far, far away in 1977. The franchise went through a massive change in 2012, when Disney bought Lucasfilm and the rights to produce any future Star Wars content. The very first Disney addition to the franchise was an animated TV show in 2014, and the launch of Disney+ in 2019 kicked off the era of live-action Star Wars TV. Valuable lessons can be taken from hits and misses over the past 12 years.

The Disney era of Star Wars has been divisive, to say the least, and the focus of the franchise moved away from films for years after The Rise of Skywalker ended the sequel trilogy on the big screen. In fact, the franchise only returned to the big screen in 2026 with The Mandalorian and Grogu, which largely felt like several episodes of The Mandalorian were simply edited together. Television has been the main medium Star Wars content for nearly a decade now.

That has been enough to demonstrate some valuable lessons for the future of the galaxy far, far away. It's likely too late for Ahsoka season 2, and presumably Ryan Gosling's Star Wars: Starfighter, to make any massive changes before they debut next year, but it's a safe bet that Star Wars will never stay out of the zeitgeist for too long.

TV Shows Don't Need To Be Tied To The Skywalker Saga

The Skywalker Saga has been at the heart of Star Wars going back to 1977, with three film trilogies centering on one or more characters from the line of Anakin Skywalker. Most Star Wars projects are at least tangentially tied to the saga. In fact, the first TV show of the modern era, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, showcased Anakin as one of the main characters.

The Star Wars focus began to expand beyond the Skywalker Saga when Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012 and produced Star Wars Rebels. The four-season animated series still featured Jedi, and it took place around the familiar era of the original trilogy, but the majority of the show was independent of the stories of the films.

Rebels wasn't an immediate hit, and episodes airing on Disney XD didn't exactly reach a massive adult audience, but its legacy is strong enough now that some of the most exciting parts of Ahsoka's first season were basically Star Wars Rebels season 5.

Shows like Andor and The Mandalorian would continue demonstrating that stories told in the Star Wars franchise don't need to be specifically tied to the Force, the Jedi, and/or the Skywalkers to hook an audience. In fact, except for Obi-Wan Kenobi and elements of Ahsoka, a good amount of Star Wars TV can be enjoyed independently of the movies.

Starting Fresh And Standing Alone Pays Off

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Andor is widely considered the best live-action Star Wars TV show, and had the advantage of tying to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but Andor might never have had the chance to become a critical hit if The Mandalorian hadn't won over audiences in 2019. The first season of The Mandalorian was mostly distinct from the larger Star Wars universe, other than the obligatory nods to the fall of the Empire and a visit to Tatooine. Grogu using the Force didn't even involve the Jedi at the start of the series.

Even the introduction of the Darksaber at the end of season 1 was separate from the movies, despite its origins in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Of course, The Mandalorian standing alone changed in season 2 with the introduction of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Luke Skywalker, followed by The Clone Wars' Katee Sackhoff having a large role as Bo-Katan in season 3. Still, the more standalone first season earned a 93% from fans on Rotten Tomatoes, while season 2 dipped to 91% among fans, and season 3 dropped all the way down to 51% in the same category.

Standing alone was what won viewers over to The Mandalorian in the first place, and Disney+ can apply that approach to shows moving forward.

Star Wars TV Needs Shorter Breaks

Credit: Lucasfilm

The first two seasons of The Mandalorian released in the span of just one year, but that was the last time that a Star Wars TV show released new episodes in a timely fashion. The third season, which was the least successful on Rotten Tomatoes, didn't arrive on Disney+ until more than two years after season 2.

Andor also had a break of more than two years between the first and second season, although that break didn't harm the narrative too much, since Diego Luna's series jumped around in the timeline so much. Ahsoka will go down as the live-action Star Wars show with the longest break between seasons when season 2 arrives in early 2027. More than three years will have passed since the season 1 finale.

Considering that Ahsoka brings together lore from the prequel trilogy, The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and the original trilogy, the show is dense enough that such a long break may have killed off some of the excitement that followed the end of the first season. Even The Book of Boba Fett might have fared better if it didn't premiere a full year after The Mandalorian season 2 ended. Shorter breaks are better for Star Wars shows, especially since the breaks between movies are generally even longer.

Audiences Don't Need Jedi

Star Wars undoubtedly never would have become the pop culture juggernaut that it is today without A New Hope introducing Jedi and the Force, but some of the most popular characters of the whole saga, going back to the start, weren't Jedi. Han Solo, arguably one of the most iconic characters in the history of the saga, was never a Force user. Decades later, Andor proved that some of the best stories in the Star Wars universe can be told without leaning on the Jedi.

Not only did that allow Andor to go in its own direction without having to bring back another notable Jedi who everybody believed had died during Order 66, but it opened the franchise up to telling all kinds of stories without Force users making quick work of anybody with a blaster. It's surely no coincidence that Andor is one of the most well-received releases from the Disney era of Star Wars. Even The Mandalorian showed restraint with Jedi early on, since Grogu using the Force was rare compared to Mando solving his problems with blasters, beskar, and a jetpack.

The Book of Boba Fett would have qualified as a Jedi-free TV show if not for the bizarre interlude that more or less turned Temuera Morrison's show into The Mandalorian season 2 for a full episode, complete with appearances from Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker. The Book of Boba Fett's legacy might be considerably stronger if not for the Mandalorian interlude.

Animation Is A Great Medium

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Believe it or not, the Star Wars TV show with the highest score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes isn't Andor or The Mandalorian's first season. That honor goes to Star Wars Rebels, with a 98% average from critics and 85% from fans. Rebels was the very first release from the Disney era, preceding The Force Awakens by more than a year. Animation proved to be a great medium for not only bringing the galaxy far, far away to life on the small screen, but also doing it in a timely manner. The four seasons of Rebels released over four years.

What started out as a Disney XD series with a relatively small reach blossomed into a popular entry in the Star Wars franchise, especially with all four seasons available on Disney+ and Ahsoka featuring Rebels characters. In fact, one of the heroes died so tragically that his demise easily ranks among the saddest in the entire saga. Subsequent Disney animated series, including Star Wars Resistance, The Bad Batch, and Maul – Shadow Lord, haven't quite reached the same heights as Rebels over its four seasons, but it's quite clear that Star Wars doesn't have to be live-action to tell incredible stories.

Created by

George Lucas

First Film

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Cast

Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal

TV Show(s)

The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions

Movie(s)

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order

Character(s)

Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren

Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.