As we look forward to the arrival of Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi in August and Ahsoka Season 2 in 2027, now is a great time to look back on all the Star Wars TV shows that have been released so far.
From Disney+’s first-ever animated Star Wars series to live-action smash hit Andor Season 2, 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 — unless you count the ill-fated Star Wars: Underworld. 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 on a seemingly endless journey across 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 Star Wars: Starfighter, coming in 2027, and other upcoming Star Wars movies set to push the franchise forward.
So, let's look back on all the Star Wars TV shows, ranked from worst to best.
18. 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 that 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 into two seasons) didn’t have much worldbuilding to work with, nor enough freedom to develop 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.
17. Obi-Wan Kenobi
Release date: May 27, 2022 | Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram
We all 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. The 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 golden 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.
16. 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. But as a first on-screen exploration of the High Republic era, 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.
15. 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, despite 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.
14. 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 despite 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 needed more time to fully come together.
13. Tales of the Underworld
Release date: May 4, 2025 | Cast: Nika Futterman, Corey Burton, Lane Factor
We didn’t have high hopes for 2025’s anthology of animated shorts after the slight disappointment of Tales of the Empire, but the bounty hunter-centric Tales of the Underworld landed closer to the level of engrossing storytelling we expect from the Lucasfilm Animation teams.
There isn’t much here for casual fans who aren’t too interested in what former Clone Wars villains Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane were up to as the Empire rose to power, but that pitch is exactly what gave the series space to explore the unseen side (and past) of these fascinating characters.
While it’s far from being a Star Wars must-watch, Tales of the Underworld knows how to play with these two fan-favorite baddies and take them into uncharted territory, and we thought that was more than enough to justify this third set of shorts. Watch out for a couple of setups that could spawn new tales elsewhere, too.
12. Tales of the Jedi
Release date: October 26, 2022 | Cast: Corey Burton, Ashley Eckstein, Micheál Neeson
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 Jedi-centric 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. It's not without its faults, but it proved that there's a future for on-screen Star Wars in the anthology format, too. And of course, this may have become a tradition following Tales of the Empire and Underworld's surprise releases.
11. 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.
10. 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.
9. Maul – Shadow Lord
Release date: April 6, 2026 | Cast: Sam Witwer, Gideon Adlon, Wagner Moura
After his shocking “resurrection” over 15 years ago — and recurring appearances across animated shows and even the spinoff movie Solo: A Star Wars Story — Maul finally got his own series in 2026.
While Season 1 suffered from the usual debut volume pains, it instantly set itself apart from other pieces of Star Wars animation with a darker tone and a level of focus rarely seen in its relatives.
Sam Witwer gets more space and time to shine as the titular ex-Sith Lord during the rise of the Empire, seeking new allies in Gideon Adlon’s Devon Izara — a confused Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66 — and coming across more colorful (but morally grey) characters like Wagner Moura’s police captain Brander Lawson.
It’s a small and muddy show when compared to the rest, but it made good on its promise of exploring not just Maul’s psyche and his journey to becoming an established crime lord, but also how the Empire’s creation affected the (massive) underworld of a galaxy far, far away.
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 and overseeing the entirety of Lucasfilm, so he may no longer be controlling every piece on the board for animated Star Wars shows, but The Bad Batch consistently retained the high-quality animation of The Clone Wars Season 7 and its knack for quality drama.
By the time we said goodbye to Clone Force 99, they were crucial to Star Wars lore, and the show had delivered some of the best character arcs we’ve seen in the entire franchise. Its relatively limited scope meant nothing galaxy-shaking — besides that one plot point — happened over the course of its three seasons, but that’s what helped it easily become a different kind of Star Wars series.
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 its 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 2023, featured work from all over the globe, making the entire series an even richer exploration of what-if scenarios. In 2025, the anthology series returned to Japan and delivered more amazing tales, with some acting as sequels to past ones and setting up actual, full-length shows coming soon...
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. It’s the sort of really freeing creative exercise that’s hard to get from massive franchises, and the Star Wars mythos as explored through Visions’ many international lenses has been immensely satisfying to experience so far.
6. Ahsoka
Release date: August 22, 2023 | Cast: Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
The "Mandalorian era" Star Wars shows were building towards a big crossover event movie helmed by Dave Filoni (apparently now on the back burner), and Ahsoka felt like the most important building block towards that 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.
Season 2 is officially on the way, and we can't wait.
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 post 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, expertly condensing everything important about Star Wars under a new yet old-fashioned guise.
ILM’s StageCraft tech brought most of the scale from the big screen to television, and 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?
The spin-off movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, was deeply fine, but we're hoping things get back on track if season 4 ever materialises.
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, because of the exciting promise of a spy thriller set in the Star Wars universe, but most fans doubted there was enough depth or charisma to Cassian's character to justify an entire multi-season show. Fast-forward to today, 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 very conflicting views on how to proceed forward and destabilize the nefarious Galactic Empire. The all-star team of co-writers and directors then helped it coalesce into the most important and relevant piece of Star Wars that's graced our screens so far.
It's a story that reaches beyond Cassian Andor to develop layered characters who are either suffering under the Imperials' boots or trying to rise within their ranks. It all made for one of the most engrossing shows of the 2020s, and the exquisite production design, cinematography, and directing only elevated already excellent scripts. As we march into an uncertain future for live-action Star Wars series, we have to wonder whether they'll ever be this good again.
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 that can take you through the most important story beats of the show, but we believe 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 while creating new icons that we’ll be seeing for years to come.
Star Wars TV shows FAQ
When is Andor set?
Andor is set in the year 5BBY, or 5 years before the Battle of Yavin, which takes place in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
That means Andor takes place some 15 years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and overlaps with the timeline of Star Wars: Rebels.
Andor concludes with Cassian going on a mission to meet an informant on the planet Kafrene. The series ends just at the beginning of Star Wars: Rogue One in which Cassian helps track down information about the Death Star for the Rebels, which leads to the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Do I need to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars?
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is widely regarded as one of the best Star Wars TV shows ever made, but it is not necessary to watch it to enjoy all of the other Star Wars series.
The Clone Wars takes place in between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and depicts the events of the Clone Wars in great detail. Many characters that appear briefly in other series, such as Ahsoka Tano or Count Doku, are given long story arcs that help explain their backstories and motivations. Anakin Skywalker is also given much more screen time, helping viewers understand his actions in Revenge of the Sith better.
So, while it's not fully necessary to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars to enjoy series like The Mandalorian or Skeleton Crew, diehard fans might want to watch it to fill out their knowledge of many of the Star Wars characters.
What other Star Wars TV shows are planned?
Though it’s been reported that more Star Wars TV shows are in development, the franchise’s immediate future on Disney+ is looking thinner than a few years ago. Lucasfilm is supposedly paying more attention to big-screen projects again, and it shows.
We know for sure Maul – Shadow Lord will return with a second season, and there’s the long-in-the-works Ahsoka Season 2 – set to arrive in 2027 – to look forward to in the near future.
"Star Wars Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi" is up next with an August 5, 2026, debut. Terrible title aside, it’s an all-new anime series telling a non-canon story, and it looks very exciting.
Beyond that, we’ll have to wait for official announcements.
