Andor

Andor represents a detailed view on how the Galactic Empire's government operates and the everyday consequences of its actions upon its citizens. Beginning five years before the events of Rogue One and A New Hope, the series employs an ensemble cast of characters to demonstrate how a Rebel Alliance forms in opposition to the Galactic Empire. Central to the cast is the eponymous Cassian Andor, a thief who becomes a revolutionary and eventually joins the Rebellion. == Cast and characters ==

Starring • Diego Luna as Cassian Andor: A thief and scavenger whose home planet, Kenari, was rendered uninhabitable by the Galactic Empire. The series begins with Andor as a "revolution-averse" cynic and explores how he becomes "the most passionate person who's going to give themselves to save the galaxy" in Rogue One. Gilroy has described him as a natural leader who manipulates people, adding that he is "really a perfect kind of spy, warrior, killer." • Alan Tudyk as the voice and motion-capture of K-2SO (season 2): A former Imperial enforcer droid who is reprogrammed to serve the Rebellion. Tudyk reprises his role from Rogue One. • Gershwyn Eustache Jnr as Taramyn Barcona (season 1): A Rebel on Aldhani who is a former Stormtrooper. • Stanley Townsend as Commandant Jayhold Beehaz (season 1): Gorn's Imperial superior on Aldhani. • Ben Miles as Tay Kolma: A banker and Mothma's childhood friend from whom she seeks help. • Andy Serkis as Kino Loy (season 1): A prisoner and floor manager at the Imperial factory facility on the moon Narkina 5. Serkis previously portrayed Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy. • Duncan Pow as Ruescott Melshi: A labor worker and inmate at the Imperial factory facility on Narkina 5 who later joins the Rebel Alliance alongside Andor. Pow reprises his role from Rogue One. • Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera: A veteran of the Clone Wars and the leader of a militant insurgent group, the Partisans. Marc Rissmann appears as Plutti, a member of Saw Gerrera's Partisans and Imperial spy. Josie Walker appears as a Force healer on Yavin IV. Sam Witwer provides the uncredited voice of the shoretrooper who arrests Andor on Niamos. The Keredian brothers Dewi and Freedi Pamular are performed by Matt Lyons and Liam Cook, and voiced by Mike Quinn and Damian Farrell respectively. The narration for the "Welcome to Ghorman" video was provided by Wally Wingert. The alien Strang who attended Davo Sculdun's party is performed by Aidan Cook and voiced by Claire Roi Harvey. Senator Den Gane and Senator Nico are both performed by Caitlin Nicholas and voiced by Colin Purves. == Episodes ==

Season 1 (2022) Season 2 (2025) == Production ==

Development joined the series after working on the Star Wars film Rogue One, and took over development after sharing his vision with the studio. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in November 2017 that Disney and Lucasfilm were developing live-action Star Wars television series for the new streaming service Disney+. Gilroy expressed that after gaining confidence in Dulau's acting abilities from director feedback during the production of the first season, he did not want to leave the relationship between Kleya and Luthen ambiguous or explained by other creators, leading to the creation of the flashback scenes in "Make It Stop", depicting their relationship, which was inspired by the road movie Paper Moon (1973). Design Luke Hull served as production designer on the series, In July 2023, filming was cut short for the duration of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, with plans to resume production after both strikes concluded. Filming resumed in early January 2024 and wrapped on February 9, 2024. == Music ==

Gilroy contacted Nicholas Britell about composing for the series in 2020, before filming began so he could compose source music that would be played on set. Gilroy and Britell, who are neighbors in Manhattan, first met for the project in August 2020. Kennedy and Gilroy wanted the series to have a unique sound, and Britell said it would be "orchestral-plus" with a "wide range of sounds" including some that he had created. He added that the large scope of the series meant that "every episode has new demands, new music, and new ideas. It's important that as the story evolves, the music should evolve too." Britell was publicly revealed to be the series' composer in February 2022, and was still working on it that May when he said they had been "working nonstop for months, actually years, at this point". Recording was underway by then at AIR Lyndhurst studios in London, with a full orchestra. Britell was unable to travel to London due to the pandemic, but had a team in place there that also worked with him on other television series. For season two, Britell did not return to score due to scheduling conflicts. He was replaced by Brandon Roberts. Britell did however write a limited amount of music for season two and is credited as the main composer of episodes four and five. == Marketing ==

A sizzle reel featuring behind-the-scenes footage of pre-production and filming was released during Disney's Investors Day presentation in December 2020, when the series' title and cast were officially announced by Kennedy. == Release ==

Streaming Andor premiered on Disney+ on September 21, 2022, with the first three episodes being released. The rest of the 12-episode first season was released weekly, Home media The first season of Andor was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on April 30, 2024, with SteelBook packaging, concept art cards, and bonus features, including featurettes. == Reception ==

Viewership Season 1 Whip Media's TV Time, which tracks viewership data for the more than 25 million worldwide users, reported that Andor was the second most-anticipated new television series for September 2022. It was subsequently watched for 418 million minutes from October 17–23, according to Nielsen. Streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol, which monitors daily updated VOD charts and streaming ratings across the globe, reported that Andor was the ninth most-streamed series on Disney+ in 2022. According to the file-sharing news website TorrentFreak, Andor was the tenth most-watched pirated television series of 2022. Andor generated over $300 million in global streaming subscriber revenue for Disney+ from its debut in September 2022 through the end of 2024. It surpassed the performance of other Star Wars live-action series like The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. Andor experienced lower viewership compared to other Star Wars series. Time attributed this to factors such as "franchise fatigue," insufficient fan service, competition from other fantasy and sci-fi shows, and the "lackluster Obi-Wan Kenobi" miniseries. MovieWeb noted that despite some initial reports suggesting lower demand, Andor still managed to perform well, with audience demand significantly higher than average streaming shows. Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, reported that Andors audience demand was 34.1 times higher than that of the average TV show, with The Mandalorian close behind at 34 times the average demand, from October 15–21, 2022. Parrot Analytics later announced that Andor was the most in-demand United States breakout television series, referring to shows that have premiered in the past 100 days, from November 12–18, 2022. It had 37.7 times the average demand of all other series in the United States. Season 2 Parrot analytics revealed that Andor led Canadian demand among digital original series for the week of April 20–27, following the April 22 premiere of its second season on Disney+. The show achieved a demand average of 46.1 times the market average, placing it at No. 1 on the Top 10 Digital Originals chart in Canada. It also ranked No. 3 overall across all TV shows in the country (including linear, pay TV, SVOD, and AVOD), with a demand average of 46, behind The Last of Us and Saturday Night Live. Whip Media announced that Andor was the top streaming original series in the U.S. for the week ending April 27, as well as for the week ending May 18. Reelgood stated it was the second most-streamed series in the U.S. for the week ending April 30. JustWatch reported that Andor was among the five most-streamed shows in the U.S. from April 28 to May 4, before moving to the top three between May 5–11. The series reached first place during the week of May 12–18. Analytics company Samba TV, which gathers viewership data from certain smart TVs and content providers, revealed that Andor attracted 1.2 million U.S. households who watched the first episode within the first six days. This figure matches the viewership for the premiere episode of Andor Season 1 over the same time span in September 2022. Nielsen Media Research estimated that the series was watched for 721 million minutes in the U.S. from April 21–27. Approximately 65% of Andor's viewing total during the measured period was attributed to the first three new episodes, suggesting that some viewers were also revisiting Season 1. The series was also the most male-skewing title of the week, with 67% of its audience identifying as male. During the week of April 28 to May 4, Andor recorded 821 million minutes of watch time, ranking as the sixth most-streamed program- The following week, from May 5–11, the series garnered 830 million minutes of watch time, becoming the fifth most-streamed program. From May 12–18, Andor accumulated 931 million minutes of watch time, making it the most-streamed program during that week. By the end of 2025, Nielsen estimated the show accumulated 7.4 billion minutes, the most of any live-action series on Disney+ that year. Additional, Nielsen claimed Andor was the most streamed Star Wars title across Millennials and Gen X (ages 30-61) in the first fiscal quarter of 2026. Nielsen Media Research reported that from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, Andor was streamed for a total of 88 million hours. Critical response Season 1 The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 96% with an average rating of 8.45/10 based on 606 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A gritty adventure told from the ground perspective of the Empire's reign, Andor is an exceptionally mature and political entry into the Star Wars mythos – and one of the best yet." Simon Cardy of IGN praised the characters and character development, calling it "one of the very best things ever to come out of the Star Wars universe" in a 9 out of 10 review. The characterizations were criticized by Mike Hale of The New York Times, who considered them thin and unfulfilling. Season 2 Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 97% with an average rating of 8.9/10 based on 212 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Investing startling conviction and gravity into the Star Wars sandbox, Andor superb second season lights a fire of rebellion that heats up the screen." Metacritic assigned a score of 92 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing for Collider, Maggie Lovett wrote that "the only flaw in the entire series is the fact that it's over now. Luckily, it is an end worthy of one of the most impactful characters Star Wars has ever created, with this grand finale a triumph for both Gilroy and Luna." Writing for Vulture, Nicholas Quah wrote that "[Andors] second season doesn't just cement the show's standing as the best Star Wars project ever made. Andor reorients that fantasy in the service of something greater than itself. Andor is a miracle, and we'd be so lucky if we see something like it ever again." In a review for Empire, Sophie Butcher wrote the second season was "beautifully made, cleverly structured and genuinely moving," and "solidifies Tony Gilroy's spin-off as one of the greats. This is Star Wars — and small-screen storytelling in general — at its best." Writing for the World Socialist Website, Jane Wise praised the series for its portrayal of the "ravages of imperialist violence and encroachment." She also wrote that "the scenes and characters in Andor are not allegorical, they speak to contemporary conditions and processes." It was named as the best show of 2025 by Empire, IGN, Screen Rant, The AV Club, The Ringer, Variety, Rogerebert.com and Vulture — and among the best shows by the AFI, Hollywood Reporter, Slate, and USA Today. Accolades Andor was critically acclaimed and consistently ranked first in the top ten on numerous publications' "Best of 2022" lists for television series, including those of IGN, Polygon, USA Today, Vulture, and Empire. and one of the best Star Wars productions ever. The first season was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. The second season was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. == Notes ==