Star Wars TV shows ranked, worst to best

As we look forward to the arrival of Andor season 2 in April, 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 animated Star Wars series to Skeleton Crew, we’ve listed and ranked all of the televised installments based on George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away.

For years under Lucas’ reign and during the early post-Disney stages, the focus was primarily on creating animated Star Wars TV shows. But since 2019, as a direct result of Lucasfilm’s deeper integration into the Disney family, we’ve received a bunch of high-profile live-action shows that, more often than not, have felt just as cinematic as the movies. Whether they’ve been worthy additions to the ever-growing Star Wars canon is an entirely different discussion.

Regardless, taking fans and casual viewers alike on a seemingly endless journey all over the Star Wars timeline on Disney+ has been a success for the House of the Mouse. Lucasfilm is slowly shifting its efforts back towards big-screen adventures like The Mandalorian & Grogu, coming in 2026, and other upcoming Star Wars movies, but their TV efforts continue with second seasons of both Andor and Ahsoka on the horizon.

So, now is the perfect time to look back on all the Star Wars TV shows and rank them from worst to best.

16. 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.

15. 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.

14. Young Jedi Adventures

• Release date: May 4, 2023
• Cast: Jamaal Avery Jr., Juliet Donenfeld, Dee Bradley Baker, Emma Berman

Young Jedi Adventures is an animated series created for Disney Plus as well as the T.V. network Disney Junior, and is aimed at younger viewers (soon-to-be Star Wars fans). On those terms, it's been a resounding success for Disney and Lucasfilm.

As a first on-screen exploration of the High Republic era, however, it feels too limited in scope (and that has nothing to do with tone or target audience). We also wonder why they couldn't just use a variation of the visual styles of The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Bad Batch. Especially since we've known for years that children enjoyed those shows just fine and the many YouTube shorts are already covering that same early-years space.

13. 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.

12. Tales of the Empire

• Release date: May 4, 2024
• Cast: Diana Lee Inosanto, Meredith Salenger, Rya Kihlstedt

Unlike Tales of the Jedi, Lucasfilm Animation’s second go at an in-house animated anthology series largely felt like a disappointment in spite of the overall high production quality and some hard-hitting scenes.

Tales of the Empire was the perfect opportunity to learn more about the Empire’s inner workings through the eyes of well-established villains. Instead, we got an origin story for Morgan Elsbeth (from Ahsoka) that didn’t really add much to her character and a more convincing and emotional tale for Barriss Offee following her Clone Wars departure. The latter was a bit of a highlight, but at the same time, her character arc is awkwardly paced and simply needed more time to fully come together.

11. Tales of the Jedi

• Release date: June 4, 2024
• Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Manny Jacinto, Lee Jung-jae

While Lucasfilm Animation’s main in-house project until early 2024 was 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. And of course, this may have become a tradition following Tales of the Empire’s surprise release in 2024.

10. The Acolyte 

• Release date: June 4, 2024
• Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Manny Jacinto, Lee Jung-jae

The first live-action foray into the High Republic era took a while to get going and convince us it was worth our time, but it ultimately became an exciting expansion of the Star Wars timeline as well as previously established canon that affected both Jedi and Sith.

Sadly, The Acolyte reportedly won’t get to finish its story, at least not on Disney Plus, casting a shadow of doubt over the on-screen possibilities of the Star Wars brand away from the Skywalker Saga and familiar eras of the chronology. Nonetheless, we believe Leslye Headland’s show had some interesting character dynamics going on in the end and maybe the best lightsaber fights since the George Lucas-directed prequels.

9. Skeleton Crew

• Release date: December 2, 2024
• Cast: Jude Law, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter

The relatively low-stakes, New Republic-era adventures presented in Skeleton Crew weren’t as memorable as the franchise’s biggest TV highs, but the uncomplicated nature of its premise – a bunch of children from an isolated planet getting lost and coming across pirates, treasures, and whatnot – was undeniably charming and well-executed throughout its eight-episode season.

Many argue that Star Wars needs to drop nostalgia entirely to survive and evolve. Now, while we don’t disagree, we’d say the ‘meta’ layer of homesickness introduced by series creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford enabled an interesting commentary on the universe and what it might look like to newcomers and children who are inheriting the franchise from past generations that still dream of past glories. It also had Jude Law chewing every scene he was in, which totally helps.

8. 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.

Dave Filoni is now quite busy with live-action storytelling, so he may no longer be controlling every piece on the board for The Bad Batch. The show also sometimes struggles to justify its existence without high-profile cameos. However, the two seasons released so far have retained the high-quality animation of The Clone Wars season 7 and its knack for quality drama.

7. 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 in 2021. Each studio brought their A-game to the table, making excellent use of the (unheard of) creative freedom Lucasfilm allowed for this project. The Star Wars: Visions volume 2 shorts, released in 202,3 featured work from all over the globe, making the entire series an even richer exploration of what-if scenarios.

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.

6. Ahsoka

• Release date: August 22, 2023
• Cast: Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

We now know all the "Mandalorian era" Star Wars shows are building towards a big crossover event movie helmed by Dave Filoni, and Ahsoka (which almost assuredly will have a second season) has felt like the most important building block so far. It's a mostly fantastic examination of Ahsoka as a "ronin" of sorts and the season 5 of Star Wars: Rebels fans were hoping for (minus the animation).

Some might argue this show is somewhat hard to follow and connect with if you haven't watched the Filoni-created animated series, but a good chunk of the casual audience says they managed just fine. If you ask us, Ahsoka has been one of the most refreshing on-screen explorations of the more mystical side of the Star Wars universe.

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, yet so far The Mandalorian has juggled all its elements well enough, even during its bumpier third season.

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.