Warning! This post contains minor spoilers for Andor season 1.Andor is the exact project Star Wars fans have been asking for since Disney took over the franchise, so it is slightly bewildering that more people are not watching. Since Andor began, viewership numbers and online clamor for the series have been at a low point when compared to other Star Wars TV shows. From shows like The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and The Book of Boba Fett to the animated efforts of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, or Tales of the Jedi, Andor simultaneously marks a high point regarding quality, but also an unfortunate low with audience numbers.
This comes as a surprise for many reasons. Most notably, Andor is the type of Disney Star Wars show for which fans have supposedly been clamoring. Since Disney took ownership of Lucasfilm and delivered the sequel trilogy to divisive fan reaction, Star Wars fans have begged for stories outside the norm, moving away from Star Wars stalwarts like the Force, Sith, Jedi, and the Skywalkers. Andor is that series, which takes a more grounded, mature, political look at the Star Wars universe. Despite all of this, the online hype and chatter surrounding the series has been at a minimum, highlighting a significant problem among Star Wars as a whole, but more specifically the fan reaction to different projects.
Andor Is Among The Very Best Of Disney Star Wars
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about Andor’s low viewership comes from seeing the sheer quality on display in Andor season 1. Andor is easily one of the very best projects Disney has produced in the Star Wars universe and arguably stretches beyond that. Many would argue that Andor is the best project in the Star Wars franchise since 1980 and the release of The Empire Strikes Back. This argument certainly holds merit, with Andor having everything from interesting, compelling characters to fantastic writing, mature themes, and outstanding performances from its cast. All of this makes Andor something different from anything that has come before it, while still holding that intangible Star Wars feel, making it stand tall above the sea of Star Wars projects released since the franchise’s inception.
Why Andor Hasn’t Been As Popular As Other Star Wars Shows
Despite Andor’s evident quality, the fact remains that it simply is not as popular as the Star Wars shows that came before it from The Mandalorian to The Book of Boba Fett to name a few. Recent insights into the show’s social media posts, blogs, and search traffic among other factors, found that Andor ranked significantly lower than its peers in terms of popularity. The most popular Star Wars show up to this point was the one that began them all on Disney+, The Mandalorian season 1. The reasons for Andor’s more unpopular reaction could stem from a few things. Firstly, Andor is, for all intents and purposes, a spin-off of a spin-off. The show centers around one of the many characters introduced in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which many thought unnecessary upon its initial announcement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the many uninterested in a Cassian Andor prequel even gave the series a chance, leading to its less-than-stellar audience numbers.
Secondly, Andor is a much slower-paced Star Wars show than The Mandalorian universe and Obi-Wan Kenobi, for example. Andor spends much more time delving deeper into its central characters and themes, often having entire episodes revolving around the many characters weaving through the political landscape of the universe at that time. Because of this, Star Wars fans looking for the more conventional, high-octane action adventures of the franchise may find the show lacking. This also links to the lack of Easter eggs and tie-ins to wider Star Wars projects in Andor. Finally, the last element that contributes to Andor being less popular than other Star Wars shows also highlights a worrying problem with the franchise as a whole and its relationship with the fans: it is entirely different from anything before it, and therefore straying away from the established successful formula.
Does Andor Confirm A Star Wars Problem?
The problem that this highlights is that Star Wars fans have been clamoring for different stories to be told within the universe. After the poor reaction to the ending of the Skywalker Saga, many wished for Star Wars to move away from the Jedi vs. Sith, and more specifically the Skywalkers as a whole. While The Mandalorian largely did this for season 1, the show still featured many Force-related elements such as Grogu, Ahsoka, and so on. That is also not to mention the insane online hype generated by Luke Skywalker’s surprise cameos in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
The issue, then, lies here. If Star Wars fans so evidently long for something different, why do cameos from arguably the face of the franchise and the Skywalkers cause much more online discourse than a refreshing, original story like Andor? The answer is a problem, in that Star Wars fans seem to want something different, yet when a project like Andor or Star Wars: The Last Jedi fit that description, they are met with much more negative responses. Whether it be Andor’s lack of viewership or The Last Jedi’s overwhelmingly divisive reaction, it is clear the Star Wars franchise has a problem with what type of content it should be putting out. While many Star Wars fans that have watched Andor agree on its quality, the underwhelming amount of wider audiences watching is certainly cause for concern for Lucasfilm going forward, and may lead to a reversion back to more transparently “Star Wars”, yet less compelling stories as a result.
New episodes of Andor release every Wednesday on Disney+.
