A trend surrounding the release of Andor Season 2 has Star Wars fans concerned. Andor's two seasons stand as some of the best-received material in Star Wars history, telling a deep and rich story about the rise of the Rebellion between Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Episode IV - A New Hope. Unfortunately, even those rave reviews did not seem to be enough to combat one major issue the show faced.
Andor Season 2 was reportedly the least-viewed Star Wars show per episode in franchise history (6.6 million views per episode). Additionally, the most recent season of Star Wars programming was the most expensive show per minute watched by audiences in the Star Wars saga ($577,057 per minute).
Listed by YouTuber Jar Jar Jargon, Andor Season 2 had the third-least total minutes watched for any Star Wars show (3.303 billion), only more than The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew. These numbers also led Andor Season 2 to have the highest cost per minute watched of any Star Wars series ($0.088 per minute watched).
Although Andor's two seasons were not regarded as flawless, they both quickly earned rave reviews, with critics praising the series as one of the best programs in sci-fi history across generations of franchises.
Sadly, even these excellent reviews did not guarantee the show's success. As seen by the numbers listed above, Season 2 was one of the lowest-ranking shows in Star Wars history on Disney+ when looking at viewership and relative cost.
Both seasons of Andor tell the story of Diego Luna's Cassian Andor, a notable Rebel spy who stole the plans for the Death Star in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story before the events of Episode VI - A New Hope.
Alongside Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O'Reilly, Season 2 covered four years of Andor's life, concluding by leading directly into Rogue One as Andor helps the Rebellion understand the Death Star more fully. Andor is streaming in full on Disney+.
Why Andor Season 2 Viewership Could Spell Trouble for Star Wars' Future
While Star Wars has certainly found plenty of success on Disney+ through its work with the MandoVerse, no show gained the kind of universal praise and adulation that Andor did in its first two seasons.
Lucasfilm invested more money into this show than almost any other project not released in theaters. However, to put that much money and not have it rank as one of the higher-viewed Disney+ entries could mean a change of pace for the franchise.
In layman's terms, this may mean Star Wars will move away from expensive prestige programming like Andor, which earned some of the best ratings for any show in franchise history.
Even after four of Lucasfilm's last five Star Wars movies broke the $1 billion mark at the box office, the studio is itching to see the same level of success from a viewership standpoint in the streaming world.
Only a handful of projects have been confirmed for development on Star Wars' schedule. However, rumors point to the studio already having characters in mind to bring back at a later date.
Unfortunately, with these numbers coming to light, Lucasfilm may have to put programming like Andor on the back burner until the studio can work out the best practices for good reviews and profitability.
Whether those prospects change in the coming years is difficult to predict, but Disney and Lucasfilm are sure to do everything in their power to tell the best stories possible in theaters and at home.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
