Andor holds the distinction of being the highest-rated Star Wars television series worldwide, with its second season achieving a 98% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes across 153 reviews. This makes it not only the top-rated Star Wars show but officially the highest-rated Star Wars production ever made, surpassing every film and series in the franchise’s nearly fifty-year history. The show accomplished something unprecedented in live-action television when five consecutive episodes of Season 2 scored 9.5 or higher on IMDb, with episode “Who Are You?” reaching a notable 9.8 out of 10.
The gap between Andor and other Star Wars television productions is significant. While The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian Season 2 both earned respectable 91% audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, Andor’s first season already sat at 96% with critics and 87% with audiences before its finale improve the series further. The show’s combination of critical acclaim and passionate fan response represents a departure from the divisive reception that has plagued other Disney-era Star Wars projects. why Andor resonates so deeply with worldwide audiences, how it compares to other Star Wars series in measurable fan engagement, and what its success reveals about viewer preferences within the franchise.
Table of Contents
- What Makes Andor the Highest-Rated Star Wars Show Among Global Fans?
- How Andor’s IMDb Scores Compare to Other Star Wars Television Series
- Why The Mandalorian’s Audience Scores Dropped Significantly by Season 3
- The Clone Wars’ Legacy and Its Enduring 91% Audience Score
- Comparing Critic and Audience Scores Across Star Wars Television
- What Andor’s Success Reveals About Star Wars Fan Preferences Worldwide
- The Future of Star Wars Television After Andor’s Record-Breaking Run
What Makes Andor the Highest-Rated Star Wars Show Among Global Fans?
andor‘s record-breaking scores stem from a deliberate creative approach that distinguishes it from typical franchise television. Creator Tony Gilroy constructed a spy thriller that happens to exist within the star Wars universe rather than a Star Wars show that borrows thriller elements. This inversion of priorities attracted viewers who had grown fatigued with familiar franchise patterns while satisfying longtime fans hungry for mature storytelling. The show earned 22 Emmy nominations across its two seasons, including Outstanding Drama Series recognition for both installments.
This level of industry acknowledgment for a franchise spinoff is virtually unheard of and signals that Andor achieved something beyond competent brand extension. Critics noted the series invested “startling conviction and gravity into the Star Wars sandbox,” treating its rebellion narrative with the seriousness typically reserved for prestige historical drama. Season 2’s April-May 2025 release generated 714.6 million minutes watched during just one week in early May, demonstrating that critical acclaim translated into actual viewership. The combination of enthusiastic word-of-mouth, strong reviews, and accessible streaming availability created momentum that carried through the entire twelve-episode run.
How Andor’s IMDb Scores Compare to Other Star Wars Television Series
The IMDb performance of Andor Season 2 established a record that extends beyond Star Wars into television history itself. Episodes eight through twelve scored 9.8, 9.7, 9.6, 9.5, and 9.7 respectively, making it the first live-action series ever to achieve five consecutive episodes rated 9.5 or higher on the platform. This streak occurred during the show’s final arc, suggesting that the storytelling built effectively toward its conclusion rather than losing steam. By comparison, The Mandalorian’s highest-rated episodes cluster around 9.0 to 9.2 on IMDb, with occasional standout installments reaching slightly higher. The clone Wars animated series, beloved by fans who grew up with it, shows strong aggregate scores but lacks the concentrated peak ratings that Andor achieved.
The Book of Boba Fett struggled to maintain consistent quality in fan eyes, reflected in its 66% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, raw numbers require context. IMDb ratings can be influenced by organized fan campaigns, sample size variations, and the self-selecting nature of who bothers to rate television episodes. Andor’s scores benefit from an audience that actively sought out the show rather than casual viewers who might rate more harshly. the consistency across multiple review platforms and the sheer volume of high ratings suggest genuine enthusiasm rather than manipulation.
Why The Mandalorian’s Audience Scores Dropped Significantly by Season 3
The Mandalorian provides an instructive contrast to Andor’s sustained quality. Season 2 achieved a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, matching The Clone Wars and establishing the show as a flagship Disney Plus success. By Season 3, that number collapsed to 50%, representing one of the steepest quality perception drops in recent Star Wars history. Several factors contributed to this decline. The season devoted substantial runtime to setup for other Disney Plus series, fragmenting the core Din Djarin and Grogu storyline that audiences had invested in.
Episodes functioned as backdoor pilots or universe-building exercises rather than self-contained narrative achievements. fans who tuned in for the simple bounty hunter adventure format found themselves watching something closer to a Star Wars anthology with Mandalorian framing. This trajectory underscores what made Andor’s approach successful. Tony Gilroy maintained a singular vision across both seasons without visible interference from franchise-wide planning. The show told its complete story without requiring viewers to watch other series or setting up spinoffs that might never materialize. For audiences burned by interconnected universe fatigue, Andor offered something increasingly rare: a beginning, middle, and end.
The Clone Wars’ Legacy and Its Enduring 91% Audience Score
Star Wars: The Clone Wars occupies a unique position in the franchise’s television landscape. Its 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes reflects decades of accumulated goodwill from viewers who discovered the show as children and rewatched it as adults. The series ran from 2008 to 2020 with a revival season, giving it time to develop characters and arcs that paid off across years rather than weeks. The animated format allowed Clone Wars to take creative risks that live-action productions often avoid. Budget constraints paradoxically freed the storytelling, as the show could depict massive battles, exotic locations, and Force powers without the financial limitations that ground live-action in practical reality.
Episodes ranged from political intrigue to philosophical meditations on war, all filtered through animation that grew more sophisticated as the series progressed. Clone Wars also benefits from its position in Star Wars chronology. Set between the prequel films, it rehabilitated characters like Anakin Skywalker who had received mixed reception in the movies. Audiences who disliked Hayden Christensen’s film performance often cite Matt Lanter’s voice work in Clone Wars as their definitive version of the character. This retroactive improvement of existing material created unique emotional investment.
Comparing Critic and Audience Scores Across Star Wars Television
A notable pattern emerges when examining both critic and audience scores for Star Wars shows: the gap between professional reviewers and general audiences varies dramatically by series. Andor shows relative alignment, with high marks from both groups, while other productions reveal significant disconnects. The Book of Boba Fett earned a 66% critics score but generated polarized audience response, with many fans disappointed by the title character’s reduced role in his own show. The Mandalorian maintained stronger consensus in its first two seasons before the audience score divergence in Season 3.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka both received middling receptions that satisfied neither critics seeking quality nor fans seeking fan service. These variations suggest that Star Wars audiences are not monolithic. Some viewers prioritize nostalgic callbacks and familiar characters, while others reward narrative ambition and production quality. Andor succeeded by largely ignoring the franchise’s famous names and iconography, betting that a well-told story would generate its own appeal. The gamble paid off, though it required patience from Disney to support a show without built-in character recognition.
What Andor’s Success Reveals About Star Wars Fan Preferences Worldwide
The worldwide enthusiasm for Andor challenges assumptions about what Star Wars fans want. Conventional wisdom held that the franchise required lightsabers, Jedi, and recognizable legacy characters to attract audiences. Andor features almost none of these elements, focusing instead on ordinary people organizing against tyranny through espionage, theft, and political maneuvering. This success suggests audiences respond to execution quality over franchise checkboxes.
A well-crafted story set in the Star Wars universe can outperform a mediocre story featuring beloved characters. The 714.6 million minutes watched during Andor’s May 2025 peak week demonstrates that streaming audiences will find quality programming through word-of-mouth even without massive marketing campaigns built around nostalgia. International audiences proved particularly receptive to Andor’s approach. The show’s themes of resistance, surveillance, and institutional corruption resonate across cultural contexts in ways that specifically American nostalgia for 1970s and 1980s Star Wars cannot. Viewers in countries with their own histories of authoritarian rule found the rebellion narrative spoke to universal experiences rather than franchise-specific mythology.
The Future of Star Wars Television After Andor’s Record-Breaking Run
Andor’s conclusion in May 2025 leaves Lucasfilm with both a template and a challenge. The show proved that Star Wars can compete with prestige television when given appropriate creative freedom and resources. Whether the studio applies these lessons to future productions remains uncertain, as the economics of streaming continue to shift. The 22 Emmy nominations across both seasons provided validation that Star Wars can earn industry respect beyond box office performance and merchandise sales.
This recognition may influence how future projects are developed, potentially encouraging Lucasfilm to pursue limited series with complete creative visions rather than ongoing shows designed for indefinite extension. For fans, Andor represents proof that their standards are not unreasonable. The franchise can produce work that satisfies critics, casual viewers, and dedicated enthusiasts simultaneously. The question is whether this will remain an exceptional achievement or become the new baseline expectation.
