Although there’s always a possibility that certain characters, stories, and even shows will be brought back in Star Wars, these 5 shows seem to have truly concluded, and every Star Wars fan should watch them. Star Wars movies and TV shows have had a surprising shift over the last decade, with TV shows becoming a greater focus than movies.
This is a major change to how the franchise has long done things, and with Star Wars’ upcoming TV shows and new Star Wars movies, we may very well be headed back into an era where movies are the priority. This feels particularly true given Ahsoka season 2 is the only confirmed upcoming live-action show at present.
While that will almost certainly change with time, there are plenty of brilliant Star Wars shows for fans of the franchise, and even for those who are new to the franchise, to stream now. These 5 completed Star Wars shows are the very best overall, and everyone should give them a watch.
The Bad Batch
For some, Star Wars’ animated shows may seem unnecessary, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, Star Wars has shown much more investment in animated characters and stories, such as with Ahsoka Tano’s transition from exclusively animated stories to live-action shows like Ahsoka and potentially even upcoming movies (but that isn’t confirmed for now).
What’s more, some of Star Wars’ animated shows have the best storylines in the franchise overall. This is certainly true of the first installment on this list, Star Wars: The Bad Batch. As the title suggests, the show focuses on Clone Force 99, nicknamed the Bad Batch, who were introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
This show provided something that the prequel trilogy never did and The Clone Wars only did minimally, and that’s depict the clones as fully-formed living beings with lives, fears, hopes, and even families of their own. In this case, in fact, Clone Force 99 even essentially adopted a daughter, Omega, an unaltered female clone of Jango Fett.
This show is confirmed to be over, and the Bad Batch finale even included a time jump many years in the future, seemingly cementing that the show is not going to be revisited, nor perhaps are these stories (although, without spoiling anything, some believe one of the leading characters will return in upcoming projects).
The Bad Batch is also one of very few Star Wars stories—in the movies, shows, and even the books—that I would describe as having a truly happy ending. That doesn’t mean that the Bad Batch team doesn’t experience some major losses or face horrible situations; they certainly do.
However, the ending is a befitting one that is, for the most part, a happy one.
Star Wars Rebels
Star Wars Rebels is yet another animated Star Wars show that depicts a found family, and it likewise has become even more important in live-action projects. In terms of family, like the Bad Batch, the Ghost Crew in Rebels becomes a true family over the course of the show.
This comprises survivor of Order 66 Kanan Jarrus, ace pilot Hera Syndulla, and brand-new Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger, along with Mandalorian Sabine Wren, trouble-making droid Chopper, and Zeb Orrelios, who acts grumpy and distant but actually loves this team just as much as anybody.
Although Rebels seemed like a relatively self-contained show for a while, several main characters, including Hera, Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper, are key players in Ahsoka season 1, and they presumably will be in season 2 as well. Ezra Bridger live-action actor Eman Esfandi has even dropped hints that his role will be massive.
While there is therefore good reason to watch this show in preparation for Ahsoka season 2, the show is also wonderful to watch in its own right. In addition to the emotional impact of this family, the story of the show involves Rebel efforts during the Dark Times, similar to the focus of Andor.
Rebels also reveals a Jedi Master and Padawan dynamic in the direct wake of the Jedi Order’s fall and the rise of the Empire, which is something we hadn’t really depicted on screen. These are also truly some of the most beloved characters in Star Wars, for good reason, making this a must-watch.
The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian’s completion is the most uncertain of all the shows on this list, but there’s good reason to believe that The Mandalorian has come to an end following season 3. This isn’t bad news, though. On the contrary, The Mandalorian show is seemingly over based on the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu movie.
Star Wars hasn’t actually confirmed that The Mandalorian season 4 isn’t happening, so this is the only installment on the list that isn’t definitively completed. But, it would be more than a little odd for the show to pick back up again, especially because other upcoming Star Wars movies, like Dave Filoni’s Mandalorian movie, will seemingly continue the story.
With that in mind, The Mandalorian is absolutely one of Star Wars’ best TV shows, and everyone should watch it. Season 3 is admittedly considered much weaker than the first two seasons of the show, but overall, The Mandalorian is highly regarded for a reason.
Key among those reasons is the dynamic between Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and the adorable Grogu, who is often referred to as “Baby Yoda” among fans and in the media, although that was never his name nor mentioned at all in The Mandalorian. Regardless, these characters and their relationship have absolutely captured the hearts of audiences.
Even beyond that relationship, though, The Mandalorian really is something exciting in Star Wars, as it has very little to do with the Skywalker Saga (despite a few thrilling cameos) or with the Jedi and the Sith. Instead, the show focuses on bounty hunters, like Din Djarin himself, as well as the Imperial Remnant.
Particularly with The Mandalorian and Grogu releasing next May, there’s never been a better time to watch all three seasons of The Mandalorian.
The Clone Wars
The Clone Wars is not a perfect show, but it is nevertheless absolutely one of Star Wars’ best TV shows overall and arguably the single best animated show to date. This show actually had a bit of a rocky start, with the movie that kicked it off, also titled The Clone Wars, ranking lowest across all Star Wars movies.
Even so, The Clone Wars gave us so much that the prequel trilogy never did, as well as some of the very best Star Wars characters in the franchise, like Ahsoka Tano.
As the title of the show makes clear, The Clone Wars focuses on the Clone Wars era, placing it between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
This place in the Star Wars timeline meant The Clone Wars could dive much deeper into the stories of characters like Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi and offer a closer look at how Palpatine managed to acquire so much power in so short a time. The fact that the show had seven total seasons reflects the extent of that depth.
In fact, The Clone Wars was an essential addition to Anakin Skywalker’s Star Wars timeline, as it made the steps to his fall to the dark side all the clearer. One of the most significant contributions to that was actually Ahsoka herself, as her storyline with the Jedi Order tainted Anakin’s view of the Jedi considerably.
No, not every episode of The Clone Wars is a masterpiece (and I’d even say that all of season 1 is a little rough), but the impact this show has had on Star Wars is frankly immeasurable, and with Dave Filoni at the helm of so many upcoming Star Wars shows and movies, watching his brainchild will become increasingly important.
Even if you’re just wondering how it’s possible that Darth Maul is resurrected and getting a brand-new TV show, Maul: Shadow Lord, then The Clone Wars is absolutely worth watching from start to finish.
Andor
Finally, the single best completed Star Wars TV show, and the one that absolutely everybody should watch, is Andor. As the title suggests, Andor focuses on Cassian Andor, who was introduced in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Given his death in that movie, Andor is essentially a prequel story, but knowing Cassian’s end doesn’t lessen anything about Andor.
On the contrary, knowing how his story ends made everything in Andor feel so much more meaningful, and Star Wars did a brilliant job of still having plenty of mystery and intrigue along the way, not only for Cassian but for a host of other characters in Andor as well.
Perhaps most captivating about Andor is its focus, which is a boots-on-the-ground look at the Rebellion from the perspective not of the galaxy’s mightiest and most well-known heroes but of everyday people. In that sense, Andor is perhaps the closest look we’ve gotten at what the Empire really did to the galaxy and how oppressive it truly was.
For similar reasons, Andor also feels like the most relatable and ‘real-life’ Star Wars show we’ve had, and it offers some profound commentary on real-life regimes, the price of freedom, and what it takes to overthrow something as powerful as the Empire.
This story is also simply beautifully written, and the characters are some of the most compelling in the entire franchise. Because of that, and for so many other reasons, Andor is certainly high on the list of the completed Star Wars shows that everyone should watch.
