Suspenseful, hard-hitting, nerve-wracking, and slow-burning, Andor is unlike anything you've seen in Star Wars. When Disney first announced the show about the handsome rebel spy from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2018, I had the same thoughts as others: "Why are they making a show about him?" and "Who'd wanna watch that?"
But filmmaker Tony Gilroy's Andor is a bolt of lightning you didn't expect to strike. It isn't your average Star Wars production. It is indisputably the franchise's best release since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.
As of 2025, the show has raked in over $300 million in subscriber revenue. Andor's resounding success won't surprise you if you are familiar with showrunner Tony Gilroy's past work in Rogue One and Matt Damon's Bourne franchise. However, if you aren't yet convinced of Andor's greatness, the following seven reasons will dispel all your doubts.
1. Forget the repetitive Skywalker family drama
I speak for all Star Wars fans when I say we've had enough of the Skywalkers, or any family drama for that matter. In the original trilogy, it was Luke and his daddy issues with Darth Vader. Next, Anakin tries to kill his wife, Padmé, and their unborn children in the prequel trilogy.
Then the sequel films tried retconning the washed-up trope by including Kylo Ren's issues with his uncle Luke and his parents, Han Solo and Princess Leia. If this wasn't mind-numbing enough, somehow Palpatine survived and it turns out our beloved heroine Rey is related to him.
Even Disney's Star Wars shows have struggled to distance themselves from this nonsensical family trend; just take a look at The Acolyte's twins Osha and Mae.
Diego Luna's Andor makes the ballsy move to side-step this beaten-to-death trope. It asks you, "Haven't you had enough of this?" And the answer from all fans is a resounding "YES!"
2. No padawan-master sob story
Another overly abused Star Wars trope is the Padawan-master sob stories. Exploring Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi's lost brotherhood and Anakin's burned bridges with his padawan Ahsoka seemed like revolutionary storytelling twists at first. But to unravel Luke Skywalker's happy ending just to retcon this exhausting cliché in the sequel trilogy with Kylo Ren? Are there no fresh ideas left to explore?
Andor does just that. The show is a breath of fresh air, and it proves that Star Wars doesn't require this trope or the Jedi-Sith lore to be legendary. A strong, meaty script with impeccable execution will do the trick.
3. We finally see true extent of the Empire’s cruelty
While most Star Wars shows and films have given us a cartoonish portrayal of Emperor Palpatine and his evil minions, Andor flips the perspective. It shows you what the Emperor and Darth Vader's fascist reign truly looks like and how it impacts the common, non-supernaturally abled folks.
If you assume killing Mace Windu, ordering the execution of Order 66, or commissioning the Death Star are the worst things Palpatine has done, think again!
Think about oppressive military rule in your home planet, ginormous taxes on the working class, and LITERAL slavery, with death the only way out. Sounds a lot like the real world, doesn't it?
4. Andor shows the ugly side of Star Wars
From the inhuman treatment of prisoners on Narkina 5 to Bix Caleen's torture by imperial officers, many of the scenes from Andor season 1 cut close to the bone. Andor season 2, however, shows you the ugliest side of Palpatine's rule.
It gave us the franchise's first-ever (attempted) sexual assault scene and the painfully unfiltered version of the Ghorman Massacre. Andor is Star Wars for adults, without being gory and sexually charged like Game of Thrones.
5. Impeccable acting and great dialogue
Despite starring many Hollywood legends like Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford, Natalie Portman, and Samuel L. Jackson, Star Wars isn't a franchise you'd typically associate with strong acting performances.
Andor flips this notion on its head. It features some of the deepest and most layered performances on TV from the likes of Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O'Reilly, Fiona Shaw, and Andy Serkis.
The show also has some of the best and deepest dialogues in a franchise in which "May the force be with you" is thrown around often to add more weight to high-stakes situations. Andor's characters give long monologues about the spirit of rebellion and urge you to fight against fascism. Don't tell me your blood didn't boil during Maarva's season 1 finale speech, or that you weren't devastated by Kino Loy's final moments when he tells Cassian he can't swim after they break free from the prison on Narkina 5.
6. Andor has the most relatable Star Wars characters
I am well aware that George Lucas intended Star Wars to be a grand space adventure meant to satisfy our inner child. Hence, relatability is the last thing we are looking for when watching grand Jedi-Sith fights or space army battles.
This is another trend that Andor breaks. It proves that a saga set in a galaxy far far away where hyperspace travel is the norm and fantastical creatures co-exist with humans can feel rooted in reality with relatable characters.
Mon Mothma's nerves before and during her senate speech about the Ghorman massacre are extremely palpable. You can feel Cassian's exhaustion when he tells Bix he wants to leave the rebellion and live a quiet life with her. You feel claustrophobic and physically drained seeing the prisoners' lives in the prison on Narkina 5.
7. Andor refuses to nostalgia bait fans
Who doesn't want more of Darth Vader? The answer is Tony Gilroy. The Andor showrunner bluntly revealed in an interview that the Sith Lord will never cameo in his show because “Writing for Darth Vader is really limiting. I’ve done it. He doesn’t have a lot to say.”
It's no secret that Disney-Star Wars often nostalgia-baits fans with mindless cameos to make up for weak scripts. It's important to keep in mind that Palpatine, Darth Vader, Master Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke, Leia, and many more Star Wars characters are around during the events of Andor.
But season 2 only brings in a handful of characters from Rogue One. "Everything that we're gonna bring in to get to Rogue is going to be organic," Gilroy said. "There's nothing we're bringing in for fun. Or just because somebody wants to see it. It has to be germane to the story."
Hence, don't expect to see Han Solo making a pit stop at one of the rebel bases for a side-quest that could make him some extra cash.
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