With the modern explosion of content on Disney+, it’s easy to forget that there have been Star Wars TV shows since 1985. George Lucas always knew he was building something far bigger than a film franchise. The first Star Wars tie-in novel, Alan Dean Foster’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, was published in 1978 – before the release of The Empire Strikes Back. When Lucas wrapped up the original trilogy with 1983’s Return of the Jedi, his attention initially turned to the small screen, where he continued to license stories set in a galaxy far, far away.
Disney has evolved Star Wars into a trailblazing transmedia franchise; the films have essentially been on hiatus since the end of the sequel trilogy, but the saga continues in high-profile Disney+ TV shows. These have had an unprecedented cultural impact, ensuring Star Wars remains a vital part of popular culture. But how do all these diifferent Star Wars TV shows compare, ranked from worst to best?
The Star Wars franchise initially seemed to be over after Return of the Jedi. Then, in 1984, viewers tuned in to watch a family-friendly feature-length adventure starring the Ewoks. Lucas believed Star Wars was principally aimed at children, and the Ewoks – never named in the Skywalker saga – were created to appeal to kids. The film sired an animated TV shows by Nelvana, the animation house behind the Care Bears.
Ewoks is an odd show, not even marketed using the Star Wars brand, and it always sat uncomfortably with the lore. The quality of character designs and animation visibly declines as Ewoks continues, although season 2 feels better-written than the first. The final episode twists away into standard Star Wars, with the Empire arriving on Endor to steal Ewoks‘ MacGuffin, the mystical Sunstar. It feels as though Ewoks suddenly remembered the galaxy it was supposed to be part of.
Ewoks may have forgotten it was part of the Star Wars galaxy, but its companion Star Wars: Droids was much more important to canon. Podracing plays a major part in the first arc, there’s a four-armed alien who feels like a proof of concept for Dexter Jettster in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and even some planets are name-dropped in Lucas’ prequel trilogy. Modern viewers will be taken aback by the character of Kea Moll from the first episode, who bears a striking resemblance to Rey; later, there’s a space pirate with the name “Kybo Ren.”
Viewers can check out Star Wars: Droids on Disney+, with the House of Mouse making a Star Wars show available that, for years, had been almost impossible to watch. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of Star Wars, and it may well have had more of an impact on the franchise’s evolution than it seems at first glance. Unfortunately, that still doesn’t stop it feeling rather dated.
A TV show set far later in the canon Star Wars timeline, Star Wars Resistance explores the battle against the First Order during the sequel era. The characters do grow as the two seasons progress, and there are some occasions where Resistance feels as though it adds something of real value to the ongoing narrative. Here, for example, is an explanation for the swift advance of the First Order, or a bit more detail on Hosnian Prime, the planet destroyed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Sadly, Resistance is undermined by an inconsistent narrative, and it really didn’t feel as though Lucasfilm cared too much about this spinoff in the Skywalker saga. This is likely because Lucasfilm kept changing their plans for the sequels, so it would have been impossible to tie Star Wars Resistance into the story. In the end, this particular transmedia experiment unfortunately failed.
Boba Fett survived the Sarlacc, and the gun-for-hire became star of his own Disney+ TV show set after the events of Return of the Jedi. The Book of Boba Fett is another odd TV show, with the first few episodes dividing their time between a story in which Boba Fett becomes a Tatooine crime boss and flashbacks explaining why he’s become so different. The fundamental problem, though, is that it fails to make this new status quo particularly gripping; in fact, by the end of the show, it’s really not clear what Boba Fett even does as a crime boss.
Even the show’s writers seem to lose interest in their reinvention of Boba Fett, pivoting away from him and essentially turning the last three episodes into The Mandalorian season 2.5. There are character moments for Din Djarin and Grogu that really should be in their own shows. All in all, there does feel like potential, but The Book of Boba Fett fails to realize it.
It’s difficult to place Genndy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars in.any ranking like this. The Emmy award-winning animated TV show is so good – and yet its cultural impact has become sadly muted over time, simply because it was rendered non-canon long before Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney in 2012. Inspired by Japanese animation, Star Wars: Clone Wars is a swashbuckling adventure in which the Jedi lead from the front in the battle against Count Dooku and his Separatists.
The villains are tremendous, with General Grievous feeling like a genuine threat to the Jedi, while the heroes’ struggle to maintain balance even in a time of conflict feels tremendously powerful. Many fans suggest this should be seen as in-universe pro-Republic propaganda, a smart way of giving Star Wars: Clone Wars continuing relevance. It will always be loved.
Lucasfilm’s latest release, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is a series of six animated shorts; three star Ahsoka villain Morgan Elsbeth, and another three star Jedi traitor Barriss Offee. It’s set during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign, and there’s a powerful sense of oppression and evil running through the stories. At times they’re a little too dark; Lucasfilm Animation need to relearn how to do night and shadow without it feeling overwhelming. Still, in general, the animation is tremendous.
Tales of the Empire appears relatively low on this list because, sadly, it doesn’t quite feel complete. Although it fleshes out some of Morgan’s story, other key moments are left untouched, and her motives don’t make sense; it’s unclear just who she’s seeking revenge against in working with the Empire, for example. Meanwhile, Barriss Offee’s redemption is a little too neat, and her off-screen (alluded to) reunion with Ahsoka Tano is unsatisfying. Ultimately, the ideas are strong, but this just doesn’t quite hold together as a self-contained show.
Featuring the return of Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV show should have been one of the biggest event series in the history of Star Wars. To be fair, it’s compellingly written, with some fascinating ideas in play and a standout young Leia Organa. It also occupies a unique space, because it’s cleverly positioned so it can be considered part of the old Expanded Universe timeline as easily as it stands in the modern Disney canon.
The problem, though, is that Obi-Wan Kenobi feels as though it had too much potential, meaning it was doomed to disappoint. CG, sets, and costumes look surprisingly cheap, and the final confrontation between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader is murky and difficult to follow. Sadly, it now looks as though Obi-Wan Kenobi season 2 is unlikely to happen.
The Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi series hopefully shows the future of the franchise’s animations. These shorts focus on key moments in the lives of two characters; they tell the story of Dooku’s fall to the dark side, and add more depth and detail to Ahsoka Tano’s life. They aren’t without their problems; several details sit uncomfortably with canon, reinforcing the sense that Lucasfilm Television is a law unto itself, and the final episode erases an important LGBTQI+ character from E.K. Johnston’s novel Ahsoka. Still, they’re tremendously effective and beautifully animated, with sharp and concise storytelling.
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of The Mandalorian for the evolution of Star Wars.The Mandalorian was a huge success for Disney+, with the first episode premiering alongside the release of the entire streaming platform; Lucasfilm had managed to keep Baby Yoda (now known as Grogu) a secret, meaning the first live-action Star Wars TV show immediately went viral. The first season of The Mandalorian was an absolute hit, justifiably so, with strong and compelling character arcs.
There have been massive flaws, however, explaining why the show doesn’t rank higher on this list. Season 2 lost momentum to fan-service, while season 3 struggled to head in a new direction, with inconsistent story arcs that meant the retaking of Mandalore lacked the emotional weight it deserved. Still, hopefully Lucasfilm’s upcoming movies set during this era will fix these problems.
Helmed by Dave Filoni, Ahsoka is very difficult indeed to place on this Star Wars ranking. It features some of the best casting in Star Wars to date, with Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Eman Esfandi, and the late Ray Stevenson all worthy of particular praise; Rosario Dawson puts in a creditable performance as the titular character too. Helmed by Dave Filoni, this is essentially a continuation of the story he began with Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, albeit with an additional time-jump to ensure viewers new and old are on a level playing field in terms of needing to adjust.