Star Wars' critically acclaimed Disney+ series Andor is currently enjoying a resurgence due to its 8 Emmy nominations. The show is set before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and depicts Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in the early days of the formation of the Rebel Alliance, showing how this man who just wants to stay out of trouble ends up becoming one of the most loyal fighters for the cause and will eventually give his life to retrieve the Death Star plans.

Andor received rave reviews from critics and some fans, as many have hailed it for pushing the Star Wars franchise in a bold new direction and tackling complex themes of how an Empire keeps its power, the moral complexity of forming a rebellion and examining the people who make up these institutions. The series raised the bar for the franchise taking it to heights that it hadn't seen in years. Its impact among hardcore fans of the franchise has been invigorating, but it hasn't quite been hitting the same as other series.

The Emmy's are finally recognizing Andor for all of its greatness that it may not be getting from the public and bringing new interest that the series didn't see on its first run. With the possibility of picking up awards for directing, cinematography, and writing, among others, a lot of people who overlooked Andor are starting to see just how well-made it really was.

Updated July 22, 2023: In honor of Andor's Emmy nominations and Comic-Con weekend, this list has been updated with more information, including updates regarding the WGA and SAG strike.

A report from Parrot Analytics showed the daily audience demand for Andor, and it caused quite a large amount of discussion. The initial report indicated demand for Andor was low, but the report was corrected a day later, as audience interest was higher than what was originally reported. Demand for Andor is apparently 31.3 times higher than the average streaming show currently on the air, so Andor is doing perfectly fine, and as always, the Star Wars brand continues to be going strong. Yet one element both fans and critics of Andor latched onto was the fact that Andor was performing below the other two Star Wars series of 2022, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Plenty of reasons were credited for this. Some say that audiences don't have an interest in non-legacy characters or that the quality of the previous two Star Wars series may have scared audiences from checking out Andor. Just like with the original reporting about Andor's demand, there is more to the story than meets the eye, and a few key simple factors may indicate why it is less in demand than the two previous Star Wars series, but that might not be a bad thing.

Andor is Aimed at an Older Audience

Star Wars' Cassian Andor played by Diego Luna
Disney Platform Distribution

Since Andor premiered, many have praised the series for offering a more mature focus on the Star Wars galaxy. There are no lightsabers, the aliens are minimal to non-existent, and much of the series is focused on the inner working of Imperial politics as opposed to the classic action-adventure of the rest of the franchise. Even the one heist so far in the series is a lot grittier than a similar one in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Andor has very much pitched itself as a Star Wars series aimed at an older audience, which is both good in terms of the storytelling but also will limit its audience reach in some regards.

Related: Star Wars: What Ahsoka Can Learn From Andor

This is not to say Andor cannot be viewed by younger viewers, they may, in fact enjoy it. Yet Andor's marketing has positioned as the more grown-up Star Wars series, with less family viewing and more appointment viewing to other prestige television series. This is opposed to The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and The Mandalorian, which have positioned themselves for all ages and will have a wider audience reach than Andor. Comparing Andor's viewership to the more family-friendly Star Wars series is unfair because that isn't the base Andor is going for, and it is judging it on the wrong metrics.

It's a Slow Burn

Andor season 2 characters
Disney+

On top of a more mature tone and target audience, the series is also paced a lot slower than anything else in Star Wars. Most of the franchise is flashy and full out of this world futuristic technology. On the other hand, Andor is incredibly grounded and gritty. The series is split up into 4 different arcs over the 12 episodes and takes its time doing so. Showrunner Tony Gilroy puts in the work to make the viewer care about new characters and build tension which has an excellent payoff at the end of each arc. It makes the series all the more rewarding when you care about what's happening, and it isn't just action for the sake of it.

Entire episodes are void of action and focus on characters and setup. All of this culminates in a beautiful crescendo of action and excitement, but for some viewers, that may not be enough. People may want the standard run-of-the-mill Star Wars they've been getting for years, and that's alright. The beauty of the universe now is that there's something for everyone. The slow-burn nature of the series doesn't make it boring, though, as it's rooted in emotional action and driven by character motivations. That may not be for everyone, especially for younger children, who the franchise has mainly targeted. Losing that demographic can explain a lot of why the series isn't hitting the mark it deserves in popularity at least in terms of viewership.

Comparable to Different Star Wars Series

Star Wars The Bad Batch Cartoon
Disney+

While the immediate impulse is to draw a comparison between Andor and the other live-action Star Wars series, as mentioned earlier, the nature of the series means that it is operating on a different level. If anything, the more apt point of comparison would be toward animated projects like The Clone Wars final season, The Bad Batch, and Star Wars: Visions, as like Andor, they are aiming for a niche audience.

Animation is not a genre, it is a medium to tell a variety of stories and can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages. However, western audiences typically associate animated projects with kid's products unless specifically designed to be TV-MA like Ricky and Morty or Harley Quinn. While animated series like Star Wars: The Bad Batch might have a similar TV age rating to something like The Mandalorian, the viewership numbers for The Bad Batch are likely much lower and higher among young audiences. In that respect, both Andor and The Bad Batch are Star Wars projects that can be enjoyed by everyone but target a key demographic and likely have a loyal fanbase for it.

Andor Lacks Name Recognition

star-wars-cassian-andor
Walt Disney Studios

Both The Book of Boba Fett and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series had one major advantage over Andor, as they were both television series focused on two of the most popular and iconic Star Wars characters ever. Boba Fett had long been a fan-favorite character even before his live-action debut in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980. Having a fan-favorite character and coming hot off The Mandalorian was, of course, going to turn The Book of Boba Fett into a must-watch event.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is not only one of the most famous names in Star Wars but also saw Ewan McGregor reprise his role as the iconic Jedi Knight 17 years after the release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. As an entire generation of children who grew up with the prequel trilogy had finally come of age, and with it, a new love for the prequels emerged, so Obi-Wan Kenobi was something every generation of Star Wars fan knew was a big deal. Andor is a name that most general audiences don't know, but everyone likely knows the names Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Related: Andor: The 10 Best Characters in the Star Wars Disney+ Series, Ranked

In contrast, Cassian Andor is a relatively new character with only one on-screen appearance back in 2016. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a box office hit, yet one common criticism of the movie was its lead characters not feeling fully developed. Unlike Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe, and BB-8 from the previous year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which all broke out with critics and audiences, the crew of Rogue One did not really stay in the public consciousness, and Lucasfilm did little with the characters outside the film even though there were opportunities to plant them in stories set before Rogue One.

That made the decision to make a Cassian Andor series a surprising one at first and should be a strong indicator that despite being based on a new character who only appeared in one movie is still performing well with audiences. This is similar to how She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Ms. Marvel did not perform on the same level as pre-established MCU heroes series like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki but still broke out with critics and expanded toward new untapped audiences. Andor is doing something similar, likely drawing in viewers who might not like the traditional format of the other Star Wars stories or have Star Wars fatigue.

Star Wars Viewership Dropping as a Whole

Promotional art for the third season of the Star Wars Disney+ series, The Mandalorian
Lucasfilm/Disney+

While at first, it seems like Andor may have been an outlier, viewership on Star Wars shows may be going down in general. The most recent example of this is season 3 of The Mandalorian. The show began as Disney+'s flagship series launching with the platform and over 16 million households watching, but the recent season wasn't making as much noise as the first two. According to Samba TV, the season 2 finale had a grand total of 2.05 million viewers watching, while the season 3 premiere only brought in 1.5 million. Viewership was dropping for the biggest series on the platform, and that's going to have an effect on the rest of Star Wars television.

This pattern represents a shift in Star Wars programming. With critics divided on shows like The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, audiences may be starting to lose interest in the universe as a whole. Despite Andor's critical acclaim, if viewers aren't motivated to keep up with the universe, especially with such a minor character in the grand scheme of things, then viewership is going to fall as a whole. This amount of television is unprecedented for the franchise, and it may be backfiring a bit.

Do Andor's Ratings and Viewership Matter

Diego Luna in Andor
Disney+

Understanding the ratings and viewership of streaming series is a complicated matter. Since Disney+ and many other streamers do not release actual numbers, much of this information comes from a third party like Parrot Analytics. This is one of the major sticking points for both the WGA and SAG Strikes happening at the moment, as creators are not properly being compensated in residuals because the streamers refuse to reveal actual numbers for their streaming projects.

The function of ratings is used to determine what shows will get renewed and if similar series will be made. Andor is in no danger of cancelation as Lucasfilm has already confirmed season two, although the recent strike might delay its release date. Season two will be the final one for the series, as each three-episode arc of that season will jump forward one year, leading right up to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

What does it mean for other Star Wars series? Well, Andor racking up multiple Emmy nominations certainly has earned it a cherished place at both Disney and Lucasfilm. It might inspire them to take more creative risks with the property. Lucasfilm is already experimenting with expanding the Star Wars franchise, with The Acolyte set to air sometime in 2024 and will be the first Star Wars series set outside the events of the Skywalker Saga, during the final days of the High Republic before the events of The Phantom Menace. Andor might indicate that more mature Star Wars-themed series is coming, or it might just be a one-time attempt. It's unclear, but what is known is that, for the time being, Andor is offering something unique and will likely grow in appreciation over time.