A short time ago, in a galaxy so close it's actually this one, The Mandalorian launched on Disney+, becoming an instant sensation. Baby Yoda merch flew off the shelf, Pedro Pascal got in some practice as a surrogate dad, and a whole new avenue of Star Wars stories was set soaring on streaming. After the money-printing-yet-polarizing sequel trilogy, these new live-action space tales were just what the medical droid ordered, delivering captivating adventures that expanded the lore and legacy of Star Wars in impactful ways.
Whether it's Din Djarin and young Grogu embarking on fearsome fetch quests of the week, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen returning as Obi-Wan and Anakin, Boba Fett surviving the Sarlacc, or beloved animated characters leaping to life like never before in live-action glory, these shows have what Star Wars fans crave: Bold new journeys, new unique characters, and even haunting revelations about tyranny and the true price of rebellion.
How do these Star Wars series rank, though? What stands at the tip top of the heap and which did fans find lacking? From Mando and Boba to Andor and The Acolyte, here are the Star Wars Disney+ live-action shows ranked from bantha fodder to Ben Solo's father. That's Han Solo. He's awesome. He's not on any of these shows but he is the opposite of bantha poop.
6. The Book of Boba Fett
It's hard to imagine that a show where Boba Fett rides into battle on a rampaging Rancor would come in dead last here, but that's the way frustrating detour series The Book of Boba Fett ultimately lands.
Boba Fett's role in Season 2 of The Manadalorian was very well-received, as was Attack of the Clones' Temuera Morrison returning to play the grown clone surrogate son of Jango Fett. Boba Fett had been an insanely popular character for decades based on very little. Mostly his armor. He looked f'n cool. And that was enough to captivate '80s kids. He was never a full, fleshed-out character, so The Book of Boba Fett was a chance to do just that. And it... just kind of didn't. Both Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen's icy bounty hunter Fennec Shand were grim, stoic badasses who offered little emotional payoff, and Boba's plan to become a "nice" crime lord, who we guess would only allow nice crimes in Mos Espa, was an unsatisfying goal.
Bizarrely structured, The Book of Boba Fett also devoted two of its seven episodes to Din Djarin, taking us out of Boba's story completely. And if you didn't watch The Book of Boba Fett then you would have no idea why Grogu was back with Din Djarin when The Mandalorian: Season 3 started. There were some cool things like live-action Cad Bane, knee rockets, and a more in-depth look at Tusken Raiders (who Boba spent five years with, even though it felt like a few months), but ultimately The Book of Boba Fett was calorically empty.
5. The Acolyte
Set a century before the rise of the Empire, The Acolyte is a family drama-mystery that contains cool ideas, awesomely impressive fight scenes, and the hottest Sith since Anakin got melted in the molten fires of Mustafar. And if you thought the Jedi were flawed and feckless in the Prequel Trilogy, wait until you see them as lying murderers covering up the accidental slaughter of an entire community. Yes, if you ever considered rooting for the Dark Side, The Acolyte’s here to push you toward those red kyber crystals.
However, despite its badass lightsaber battles, Red Wedding-style mid-season massacre, and expansion of engaging concepts – like large pockets of Force energy being used to create a life or the presumed reveal of “Sith Lord Who Can Also Do That” Darth Plagueis – The Acolyte was inconsistent or incomplete with its characters and disjointed in its execution (yes, we’re looking at you “Flashback Episode to the Flashback Episode that revealed all the things purposefully held back from us in the Flashback Episode”). There was an easier, less-gimmicky way to tell this tale, but The Acolyte opted for obfuscation.
Hopefully there’s a Season 2 on the horizon since there are many lingering threads left over from the finale, but as it stands if you’re looking for ferocious fights, brutal kills, and a gaggle of morally compromised Jedi Knights who probably should sign their own version of the Sokovia Accords, then The Acolyte’s your bag, baby.
4. Ahsoka
Of these six shows listed, Ahsoka was the one that came with the most "homework" – you know, if you consider homework watching two incredible Star Wars animated series, or even reading Timothy Zahn's awesome Thrawn Trilogy from the early '90s. But yes, bottom line, Ahsoka was a live-action sequel to Star Wars Rebels. Filled with impressive action, stunning visuals, and Hayden Christensen returning as Clone Wars-era Anakin, Ahsoka was a blend of Jon Favreau's Mando-verse and Dave Filoni's animated triumphs.
Animated Star Wars characters had made it to live-action crossovers before, like Saw Gerrera appearing in Rogue One. But it was really The Mandalorian that made major strides in blending the two worlds by first bringing Katee Sackhoff in as a live-action Bo-Katan Kryze and then Rosario Dawson as Anakin's former padawan, Ahsoka Tano. The Ahsoka series would then take it a step further by bringing in Sabine, Hera, Ezra, and Grand Admiral Thrawn for what's almost a Star Wars Rebels: Season 5.
Ahsoka's soaring adventure took her and Sabine Wren to a galaxy even farther, farther away to stop the evil machinations of Thrawn, though as far as cliffhanger resolutions go we’ll have to wait for Ahsoka: Season 2, which Lucasfilm confirmed Dave Filoni was developing back when The Mandalorian & Grogu movie was announced in January.
3. Obi-Wan Kenobi
"Hello there."
The hype for the Obi-Wan series was rightfully insane, as not only did it tout Ewan McGregor's big return to the role, but it also landed in the wake of the prequel trilogy being reevaluated and reclaimed by the generation that grew up with it. Everyone wanted to see Ewan's Obi-Wan back in action, having adventures like he did in the better parts of Attack of the Clones. And while Hayden Christensen would have a more satisfying return as Anakin on Ahsoka, he first came back as Darth Vader for this series, which picks up 10 years after Revenge of the Sith and finds Obi-Wan learning for the first time that Anakin WAS Vader.
In the midst of all the buzz generated around Obi-Wan and Vader being back in this series, they managed to keep it a secret that Leia was a big part of it too, as a revenge-bent Inquisitor uses the feisty Alderaanian princess to lure Obi-Wan out of his life as a hermit on Tatooine, watching over 10-year-old Luke from afar. There's some clunkiness to the series – which was developed to be a movie at first so there are definitely moments where the story feels stretched – and some fans didn't enjoy some of the retconning aspects of Obi-Wan and Leia having this big adventure (or even Luke getting chased down by a maniac with a red lightsaber) before the events of A New Hope, but the emotional highs here really worked and the two Obi-Wan/Vader showdowns were pretty epic.
Bookended by strong opening and closing chapters, Obi-Wan did right by the prequelness of it all, including a shame-spiraling Obi-Wan, Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Bail and Breha Organa, the Grand Inquisitor (timeline-wise, before he'd appear in animated form on Star Wars Rebels), Emperor Palpatine, and... yes, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn's Force Ghost.
2. The Mandalorian
The phenomenon that kicked off the ongoing run of Disney+ Star Wars shows, The Mandalorian was hailed as a return to form for Star Wars, as it debuted a month before The Rise of Skywalker’s release, and was still airing acclaimed, well-received episodes when that movie was in theaters. It also gave us the franchise's biggest cash cow in decades: Baby Yoda. Which is what we all called Mando's tyke, knowing he wasn't actually Yoda. His real name, Grogu, wasn't a notable improvement, but his sick Force skills, insatiable hunger for all things cute critter, and his rad IG-12 mech suit more than made up for it.
Set a few years after Return of the Jedi, and offering up a deeper dive into Mandalorian culture – including its hardline rules and internal strife – The Mandalorian was a look at the far, far away galaxy post-Battle of Endor as everyone tried to find their way in the midst of a rebellion victory. And also as remnants of the Empire, led by a warlord named Gideon, tried to reclaim power from the New Republic. The series was an instant hit, delivering two wild seasons before going a bit askew with its spinoff series, The Book of Boba Fett.
In Season 3, focus shifted to Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan and her quest to unite her people under one uneasy creed and reclaim Mandalore, sparking some fun debate over who actually was the titular Mandalorian. From post-Jedi Luke Skywalker in action to Timothy Olyphant playing a Tatooine marshal to Boba Fett joining the fray to impressive recurring roles for Bill Burr, Mercedes Mone, Amy Sedaris, and the late Carl Weathers, The Mandalorian was event TV and remains some of the best Star Wars to ever bullseye womp rats in a T-16.
1. Andor
Andor was always going to be an outlier among the rest of the live-action Star Wars shows, and the biggest risk. But the gamble paid off, maybe not in terms of viewers, but on the quality front. Andor presented us with a top-tier drama more reminiscent of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos than the soaring swashbuckling tone we'd usually recognize as "A Star War." Rogue One writer Tony Gilroy – who also wrote four Jason Bourne movies as well as writing and directing Michael Clayton – crafted a complex, grim antihero story about Cassian Andor, a fugitive-turned-bagman for the Rebellion during the five years before Rogue One. The show depicts the true cost of fighting back, and the abhorrent tactics that must be used against the stealthy slow-roll of tyranny.
Andor is exceptional Star Wars, with a divergent tone and style and truly matched the subject matter, which just so happened to be the most relevant to our modern life than anything that had preceded it in the franchise. A masterfully constructed political and espionage thriller unafraid to tackle real-world issues, Andor made quick believers out of fans who weren't initially excited for a Cassian origin story. The only Star Wars series to get an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy nomination, and the winner of IGN's own TV Series of the Year for 2022, Andor’s first season featured phenomenal performances from Diego Luna, Fiona Shaw, Andy Serkis, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Stellan Skarsgård – who gets a killer speech in the middle of the season about the humanity he’s had to shed and collateral damage he's had to cause in order to spark citizens into action. Yes, the magnificent "I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see" monologue.
But the exemplary writing doesn't end there. Let us never forget the timeless words of Nemik's manifesto:
Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. ... The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that.
But what does your ranking of the Star Wars shows look like? Let's discuss in the comments!
