Every Star Wars TV Series, Ranked
Star Wars is undoubtedly one of the most successful franchises in cinematic history, setting numerous financial records for box office revenue and defining entire generations of moviegoers' imaginations. So much about the franchise has entered an iconic status among pop culture today, from general terms used in the series like the oft-quoted “May the Force be with you” to any of the series' legendary characters like Darth Vader or Han Solo.
As popular as Star Wars has proven among moviegoing audiences, the series has also seen several spinoff television series that follows some of its most famous heroes and shows that focus on original characters. Some of these shows have even proved to be as popular and critically acclaimed as Star Wars‘ more recent films, such as The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, both of which drew significant viewership numbers from dedicated Star Wars fans.
With the recent release of Disney+'s Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, we thought it a good opportunity to look back at the best Star Wars shows, ranking them from worst to best.
13. Star Wars: Ewoks
Ewoks themselves remain a somewhat touchy subject among the biggest Star Wars fans. Some view them as an adorable addition to the Star Wars universe; others view them as an annoying, unnecessarily cute marketing ploy meant to sell toys. Regardless of which camp you fall into, there's no arguing that Star Wars: Ewoks is easily the strangest and most harebrained concept for any Star Wars show out there.
For Kids
A short-lived spinoff of the poorly-received television movies, Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and its '85 sequel, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, Star Wars: Ewoks was on air for just two seasons, running from 1985 to the end of 1986. Set before their official introduction in Return of the Jedi, Ewoks follows its titular race of cuddly aliens on the forest moon of Endor, getting into all kinds of family-friendly hijinks with the moon's other, more surly inhabitants.
As to be expected, Ewoks was geared more towards younger audiences, centering around the harmless misadventures of its main characters. However, it did little to generate fan interest or meet younger viewers' expectations and has more or less faded into obscurity today.
12. Star Wars: Droids
A show that's as equally strange if somewhat more obscure than Ewoks is Star Wars: Droids, an animated series that (like Ewoks) similarly ran from 1985 to 1986, focusing on Star Wars' original droids — C-3PO and R2-D2.
Set before the events of A New Hope, the series follows R2 and 3PO as they serve a variety of different masters, often resulting in numerous unlikely escapades for the hapless duo. Throughout the single season, the two battle pirates, gangsters, bounty hunters, the Empire, and other hostile droids.
One and Done
Like Ewoks, Droids was released to little fanfare in the mid-1980s, suffering from many of the same faults as Ewoks had previously (poor writing, unremarkable animation, and few memorable storylines), leaving little mystery as to why it only lasted one season.
11. Star Wars Resistance
Dave Filoni's third animated Star Wars series, Resistance, is set in the largely unexplored period following the original trilogy, following a skilled New Republic pilot enlisted by the Resistance to spy on the activities of the First Order.
Taking place shortly before and during the events of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars Resistance was a decent enough show in its own right, providing some fascinating insight into both the Resistance and the First Order.
Not the Best
Compared to Filoni's earlier work on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, though, Resistance comes up somewhat short, failing to measure up to the engaging storylines or nuanced characters of Filoni's other shows. Resistance ran for two seasons before its conclusion in 2020 and tends to remain overshadowed by almost every other Star Wars show that has been released.
10. The Book of Boba Fett
One of the most exciting revelations that came out of The Mandalorian‘s second season was that the fan-favorite bounty hunter, Boba Fett, had officially, in the Disney canon, survived his fall into the Sarlaac pit in Return of the Jedi.
Having become a key ally to the eponymous Mandalorian, Boba Fett takes over his old employer Jabba the Hutt's seat of power as Tatooine's crime lord by the season's end. In The Book of Boba Fett, audiences witness how Fett survived his brush with the Sarlaac and his rise to the top of Star Wars' ruthless criminal underworld.
Good Enough
Complimented by appearances from Luke Skywalker, Din Djarin, and a returning Cad Bane (who makes his live-action debut in the series), The Book of Boba Fett feels more like a prologue to The Mandalorian‘s third season than it does a full-fledged spinoff centered solely around Boba's character — which, depending on the viewer, can be a good or bad thing.
Mired by a few filler episodes where little happens, it may not live up to every fan's expectations, but it mostly delivers an enjoyable enough show in its own right with plenty of action throughout.
9. Obi-Wan Kenobi
The most recent addition to Star Wars‘ catalog of TV series, the widely-anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi series features Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen‘s return to the Star Wars universe after Revenge of the Sith 17 years prior.
Better Together
Seeing McGregor reunite with Christensen onscreen was fan service done right, giving audiences everything they could've hoped for in terms of one last showdown between the two main protagonists of the prequel trilogy. Despite this, the pacing of the show and the quality of its writing left some viewers dissatisfied, although praise was persistent regarding the series' action and for McGregor and Christensen's performances.
8. Star Wars: The Bad Batch
A spinoff of his earlier, ultra-popular Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, Star Wars: The Bad Batch follows the titular Bad Batch — a squad of genetically modified clone troopers introduced in the final season of The Clone Wars.
Clone Wars Continuation
Dave Filoni's fourth animated series, The Bad Batch is a decent enough continuation of The Clone Wars, filling in some critical junctions in Star Wars‘ canonical history and elaborating on what became of the clone troops after Revenge of the Sith. Nevertheless, its overall storyline seemed a little too similar to The Mandalorian for some (what with the whole elite warriors protecting a young child whom the Empire hunts), seeming more directly aimed at dedicated Clone Wars fans.
7. Ahsoka
A continuation of both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, Ahsoka also acts as a loose spin-off from The Mandalorian, following the titular character’s (Rosario Dawson) quest to track down the elusive Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
A Cadre of Familiar Faces
With notable appearances from fan-favorite characters like Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen), Ahsoka provides longtime fans of The Clone Wars and Rebels an ambitious live-action follow-up to Dave Filoni’s treasured animated series.
6. Star Wars: Rebels
Star Wars: Rebels was every bit as ambitious a show as Star Wars: The Clone Wars had been earlier, illustrating the foundation and early years of the Rebel Alliance and how they came to pose such a serious threat to the Empire in the original trilogy.
Very Complex
Released to an initially shaky start, Rebels would grow and evolve into one of the more complex shows to take place within the Star Wars universe, integrating elements and characters from Filoni's earlier Clone Wars series. It may not be quite as great as The Clone Wars, but its inclusion and exploration of Ahsoka Tano, Darth Vader, Captain Rex, Maul, and Grand Admiral Thrawn make it well worth seeing.
5. Star Wars: Visions
An anthology series of animated short films, Star Wars: Visions is made up of several uniquely-drawn short films that rely on an anime style of animation rather than traditional 3D animation as seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Rebels, or Resistance.
From the moment Visions was announced, fans were instantly stoked to see what the talented artists at the several Japanese animation studios contracted to produce the episodes had in store. And luckily, the showrunners didn't disappoint, with each episode managing to deliver a drastically different kind of Star Wars story, unlike anything viewers had seen before.
Very Short
There's something for everyone in Star Wars: Visions, whether you're looking for a black-and-white stylized short film that might've been directed by Akira Kurosawa, or a more goofy, cartoonish short centered around a comedic alien rock band.
4. Andor
Andor was the series nobody asked for but everyone excitedly received. A prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it sheds light on the Han Solo-esque Rebel spymaster, Cassian Andor, focusing once again on the stretch of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
True Grit
One of the best things about Rogue One was its grittiness and hard-edged approach to the Star Wars universe, especially compared to the lighter, family-friendly tone of the original Skywalker saga. Preserving that mature tone, Andor is the perfect follow-up to Rogue One in every way imaginable.
3. Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)
One of the earliest and most criminally underrated Star Wars series, 2003's Star Wars: Clone Wars was an animated show developed by Genndy Tartakovsky of Samurai Jack fame.
Though long since retconned by the later 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, Tartakovsky's series provided an initial illustration of what the years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith looked like, introducing several key players like General Grievous and Asajj Ventress.
Impressive Animation
Time and subsequent Star Wars animated series may have caused this series to be overlooked among Star Wars fans today. Still, the original 2D Clone Wars series remains just as impressive from a visual and narrative perspective as it did in 2005. Spanning three seasons and with episodes only lasting around five to 10 minutes, it's one of the most under-appreciated series to bear the Star Wars name, boasting some incredible animation and captivating action sequences.
2. The Mandalorian
One of the most popular and well-received additions to the Star Wars franchise, The Mandalorian was the first live-action Star Wars TV show, incidentally remaining the best live-action series to date. The show follows the lead character of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), a calm and capable Mandalorian bounty hunter who travels the universe, hunting some of the galaxy's most dangerous wanted criminals.
Mass Appeal
It's fair to say that few shows have impacted mass audiences as The Mandalorian — a series as widely-watched as Game of Thrones. It's the show that helped build Disney+ into the global streaming giant they are today, introducing contemporary Star Wars fans to dozens of new characters to fall in love with, from the endlessly adorable Grogu to the effortlessly awesome Din Djarin.
1. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
When Star Wars: The Clone Wars was first released, it was little more than a minor cartoon meant to expand upon Obi-Wan and Anakin's adventures shortly before Revenge of the Sith.
With each new season, The Clone Wars became one of the most enjoyable and fascinating series in all of Star Wars' continuity. It provided exciting explorations of its characters (especially Anakin and Obi-Wan), and introduced dozens of new, fan-favorite characters to audience members.
12 Years
Released over the course of seven seasons from 2008 to 2020, it's easily the most beloved animated series in the Star Wars universe and quite possibly the most popular Star Wars show to date. Its success launched a successful spinoff series (The Bad Batch), with its characters and storylines having been referenced in several Star Wars films and shows that have been released since (including Star Wars: Rebels, The Mandalorian, and the upcoming Ahsoka series).