Now that The Mandalorian season 3 is finally here, we think it’s time to look back on all the Star Wars TV shows that have been released so far. From Disney Plus’ first-ever live-action Star Wars series to last year’s surprise hit Andor, we’ve listed and ranked all of the televised installments based on George Lucas’ ever-expanding sci-fi fantasy universe.
While Star Wars led the charge on TV with animation and stuck to that plan for years under Lucas’ reign and during the early post-Disney stages, Disney Plus has allowed Lucasfilm to rapidly develop and put out high-profile live-action shows that often feel as cinematic as the movies. Taking fans and casual viewers alike on a seemingly endless journey all over the Star Wars timeline has yielded quite positive results so far for the House of the Mouse, so it makes sense that Lucasfilm’s upcoming Star Wars TV series schedule is packed.
After The Mandalorian’s long-anticipated third season and The Bad Batch’s second outing ends, we can look forward to Visions volume 2, Young Jedi Adventures, Ahsoka, and maybe even Skeleton Crew. And of course, on the gaming side of things, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is about to drop. The Force is strong with Star Wars fans this year.
11. Star Wars: Resistance
- Release date: October 7, 2018
- Cast: Christopher Sean, Scott Lawrence, Josh Brener
A striking cel-shading animation style couldn’t salvage Resistance from being a mostly forgettable romp. It could be argued this Dave Filoni-produced series was much more child-friendly than The Clone Wars and Rebels, and certainly less ambitious, but that doesn’t suddenly make it an exciting kids show.
The 40-episode series (split in two seasons) didn’t have much worldbuilding to work with nor enough freedom to come up with a unique storyline. Instead, it shyly complemented the sequel trilogy films with a colorful cast of characters that never got to soar high on their own.
10. Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Release date: May 27, 2022
- Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram
You probably expected to see Obi-Wan and Anakin’s long-awaited live-action return much higher on the list, but as excited as we initially were for the show, we ended up feeling disappointed by a limited series that was a decent follow-up to Revenge of the Sith at best and a surprisingly shoddy – and often cheap-looking – Lucasfilm production during its worst moments.
Script-wise, there isn’t anything particularly offensive about Obi-Wan Kenobi, but only the last two episodes took advantage of the gold opportunity that was having Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen back in their legendary Jedi (and Sith) roles. Star Wars has done both pulpy entertainment and grounded drama much better. Don't try to disagree, we have the high ground.
9. The Book of Boba Fett
- Release date: December 29, 2021
- Cast: Temuera Morrison, Ming-Na Wen, Frank Trigg
The second live-action Star Wars show lives in the shadow of The Mandalorian by design. After his explosive introduction in the second season of the Favreau/Filoni hit series, Boba Fett went on an unexpected journey of reflection and aimed to rebuild Tatooine as a “man of the people.” It was a welcome change of pace for the (one-note) character, but the execution was kind of messy.
The first four episodes, in spite of the uneven pacing, have nice tints of Conan and gangster films, and mostly deliver on the show’s promise of making us care about Boba. Then it suddenly becomes a (highly enjoyable) teaser for The Mandalorian’s third season, before capping off with a fun finale that inevitably felt unearned. We loved the Star Wars content presented in this one, but it largely felt like a misguided first draft.
8. Tales of the Jedi
- Release date: October 26, 2022
- Cast: Corey Burton, Ashley Eckstein, Liam Neeson
While Lucasfilm Animation’s main in-house project at the moment is The Bad Batch, the artists and storytellers there, led once again by Dave Filoni, found the time to knock out six notable shorts that explored important but never-before-seen, key moments in Count Dooku and Ahsoka’s lives. It offers some insight into Dooku’s falling out with the Jedi Order and Ahsoka’s growth from an innocent infant to a Jedi on the run.
Tales of the Jedi might not be the most exciting Star Wars animation around, but it instantly justified its existence by adding to an underdeveloped but intriguing Sith villain and our favorite Togruta heroine, all while packing an impressive budget which sang through somber, well-calculated cinematography.
7. Star Wars: The Bad Batch
- Release date: May 4, 2021
- Cast: Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang, Noshir Dalal
The first story arc in The Clone Wars’ final season introduced us to what we can only describe to newcomers as the A-Team but Star Wars. Unsurprisingly, the Bad Batch’s guns-blazing mission alongside the veteran characters was, in fact, a backdoor pilot.
The Bad Batch might not have Dave Filoni controlling every piece on the board (he’s busy with live-action storytelling now), and the show sometimes struggles to justify its existence without high-profile cameos, but the first season retained the high-quality animation of The Clone Wars’ seventh entry and its knack for punchy drama.
6. Star Wars: Visions
- Release date: September 22, 2021
- Cast: Michael Sinterniklaas, Neil Kaplan, Adam Sietz
Lending the Star Wars IP to Japanese animation studios always sounded like an instant win, and it paid off big time when Visions arrived last year. Each studio brought their A-game to the table, making excellent use of the (unheard of) creative freedom Lucasfilm allowed for this project.
It’s hard to deny that some episodes barely feel like Star Wars, or that others are content with simply retreading overdone Jedi lore, but the purely visual aspects in each of them make this anthological take on the universe a must-watch.
5. The Clone Wars (2D micro series)
- Release date: November 7, 2003
- Cast: André Sogliuzzo, James Arnold Taylor, Mat Lucas
Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars remains a fan-favorite Star Wars production, and with good reason: it was a highly stylized exploration of what could be done with the franchise on television, more concerned with having fun with the medium than actually following a rulebook.
The miniseries was the story that “officially” filled the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. But it quickly collided with novels and comic books that also dealt with the massive conflict. Later, it was finally kicked out of the canon by the 3D Clone Wars show, but it’s still a two-hour (more or less) watch that shouldn’t be missed.
4. Star Wars: Rebels
- Release date: September 26, 2014
- Cast: Dave Filoni, Taylor Gray, Freddie Prinze Jr.
Rebels had a lot to live up to after The Clone Wars’ (temporary) cancellation right after Disney’s acquisition of George Lucas’ empire. While Dave Filoni remained on board, the starting budget was several steps below what fans had grown accustomed to, plus it seemed like a rather irrelevant adventure at first, but it progressively became one of the best pieces of audiovisual “classic Star Wars” storytelling around.
The show’s first season might be rough, and even the (much bigger) second and third volumes struggle with filler episodes due to Disney XD’s exhausting 22-episode orders, but Rebels quickly wins over your heart and doesn’t let go. It’s both an excellent prequel to the original trilogy (and Rogue One) and a deeply spiritual exploration of the weirdest side of Star Wars – that fourth and final season is a doozy.
3. The Mandalorian
- Release date: November 12, 2019
- Cast: Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Barry Lowin
The first ever live-action Star Wars series turned out way better than anyone was expecting. Jon Favreau’s scripts surprised fans and critics alike, and expertly condensed everything important about Star Wars under a new yet old-fashioned guise, plus ILM’s StageCraft tech brought most of the scale from the big screen to television.
There’s just something incredibly appealing about a show that goes deep into Star Wars lore while remaining accessible and inviting for viewers who aren’t well-versed in the history of Lucas’ universe. Yes, the connections to other Star Wars stories are becoming increasingly present, but so far The Mandalorian has juggled all its elements well enough.
Plus, how adorable is Baby Yoda? You can grab your very own Lego Star Wars The Child to have at home. There are also other The Mandalorian-themed Lego sets you can get your hands on, just check out our list of the best Lego Star Wars sets.
2. Andor
- Release date: September 21, 2022
- Cast: Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly
Some of us were excited about Andor, the Diego Luna-led Rogue One prequel, since its inception because of the exciting promise of a spy thriller set in the Star Wars universe, but many fans felt like there wasn’t enough depth nor charisma to Cassian’s character to justify an entire multi-season show. Fast-forward to early 2023 and everyone is still raving about Andor, calling it the most important piece of Star Wars in years.
Showrunner Tony Gilroy’s touch can be felt all over the series, starting with the deeply grounded, street-level point of view that illustrates how the Rebellion as we all know it was built from the ground up. That includes conflicting views on how to proceed forward and destabilize the nefarious Galactic Empire.
It’s a story that reaches beyond Cassian Andor to develop layered characters which are either suffering under the Imperials’ boots or trying to rise inside their ranks. It all made for one of the most engrossing seasons of televised fiction of 2022, and the exquisite production design, cinematography, and directing only elevated already excellent scripts. We can’t wait for the second (and final) season, which will lead directly into Rogue One and feature more legacy characters.
1. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Release date: October 3, 2008
- Cast: Tom Kane, Dee Bradley Baker, Matt Lanter
What began as another seemingly innocent animated production for TV ended up becoming a key part of the franchise’s past and future. The Clone Wars did it all, bridging and honoring the whole Star Wars mythos while answering lingering questions that had bothered fans for decades.
You can find handy lists online which can take you through the most important story beats of the show, but we’re of the opinion that the whole journey is worth taking. Some filler episodes might be weak, but The Clone Wars never feels dull and takes big swings to nurture pre-existing characters and create new icons that we’ll be seeing for years to come.
