Every Star Wars TV Show, Ranked From Worst to Best (After Maul – Shadow Lord)

Star Wars‘ newest TV show, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, just concluded with a two-episode finale on May 4, and although Maul season 2 is already confirmed, meaning that more is to come (which could alter the show’s ranking, for better or worse), this show has already impacted Star Wars’ best TV shows overall. In fact, Maul – Shadow Lord impressively became a standout among all Star Wars movies and TV shows.

This truly is quite the feat not only because Star Wars’ animated TV shows unfortunately tend to get considerably less attention than the franchise’s live-action shows, much less its movies, but also because the show was revisiting previous characters and storylines. Yet, Maul – Shadow Lord made quite the splash—enough so that Lucasfilm has already queued up another season. Based on that current status, here are all Star Wars TV shows ranked from worst to best, Maul – Shadow Lord included.

17) The Book of Boba Fett

Arguably the single biggest disappointment in Star Wars TV show history, The Book of Boba Fett absolutely should have been a brilliant Star Wars TV show. For one, Boba Fett was an already beloved character who has been iconic in the franchise since the original trilogy. Temuera Morrison, who played Boba Fett in the show, is also an excellent actor.

Sadly, even these factors weren’t enough to make The Book of Boba Fett work. Ultimately, the biggest thing working against the show was its pacing. The story just wasn’t interesting enough to hold audiences’ attention, which is again shocking considering that Boba Fett is a legendary bounty hunter and therefore should have offered plenty of action in his show.

16) Star Wars Resistance

Star Wars Resistance is another animated Star Wars show, although it falls very short of Maul – Shadow Lord. In part, Resistance was hurt by the reception of the sequel trilogy. Even now, more than a decade after Star Wars: The Force Awakens first hit the big screen, the sequels are largely considered Star Wars’ worst movies.

It would therefore make sense for the show set within that timeframe and based on those characters to be very poorly received. In fact, among the biggest issues with Resistance is simply that very few people watched it.

15) The Acolyte

The Acolyte proved to be one of Star Wars’ most controversial projects of all time, rivaling even Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which is really saying something. The show was the victim of a targeted attack and review bombing, it’s worth mentioning, but there were also legitimate issues with the show.

Despite some great performances, including Manny Jacinto’s as Qimir/the Stranger, the narrative felt too reliant on a second season that never came. Darth Plagueis’ cameo, for example, was absolutely thrilling, but audiences never actually got to see where that cameo went, which made it little more than a throwaway.

14) Young Jedi Adventures

Although Young Jedi Adventures is geared toward a much younger audience than most Star Wars shows and movies (even if it is “for kids,” as George Lucas always said), which means that it can’t really compete with the franchise’s best TV shows, it’s actually a solid show.

For one, the story is set during the High Republic Era, which audiences haven’t really seen much of on screen. In fact, The Acolyte is the only other show that really explores this era, and, as mentioned, that show didn’t land very well. While Young Jedi Adventures might not be a franchise-shattering addition, it is a charming show that’s perfect for its audience.

13) Star Wars: Visions

If animated Star Wars shows are less viewed than live-action shows, then non-canon animated shows are that much less so. However, Star Wars: Visions is a much better Star Wars show than it often gets credit for. With its unique (in the Star Wars franchise) animation style and innovative ideas, Visions is a standout.

In fact, because the show isn’t canon, it isn’t held to the same level of restrictive rules that a canon Star Wars show would be, and that’s led to a host of cool ideas, from a deeper look into the Sith to some truly innovative lightsaber designs, like the lightsaber parasol.

12) Tales of the Underworld

There have been three Tales of Star Wars shows: Tales of the Underworld, Tales of the Empire, and Tales of the Jedi. All three have been fairly good, although Tales of the Underworld, while still a good show, is the weakest of the three. Like all Tales of shows, Tales of the Underworld centers on two characters in particular. In this case, that’s former Sith assassin Asajj Ventress and cold-hearted bounty hunter Cad Bane.

Theoretically, those characters should have meant a compelling show, but Tales of the Underworld fell short to a degree. Ventress’ story was interesting, particularly because it delved into Ventress’ previously mysterious resurrection. However, it consistently felt like the show could have done more with these characters, and Cad Bane’s story in particular wasn’t as interesting as it should have been.

11) Tales of the Empire

The next best Tales of show is Tales of the Empire, which centers on fallen Jedi Barriss Offee and Nightsister of Dathomir Morgan Elsbeth. With this focus on darker characters, Tales of the Empire was much more interesting, and these two in particular were wise choices.

Prior to Tales of the Empire, the last time audiences had seen Barriss Offee on screen was in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, when she confessed to planting the bomb in the Jedi Temple, killing several people, and then framing Ahsoka Tano for murder. Many were curious what had happened to her, and Tales of the Empire not only revealed that but also explored the complex nature of her character. Likewise, Tales of the Empire depicted the slaughter of the Nightsisters of Dathomir at the hands of General Grievous, which was a fascinating addition.

10) Skeleton Crew

Compared to other recent live-action Star Wars show releases, such as The Acolyte or Andor, Skeleton Crew received fairly little fanfare. Despite that quieter release and reception, though, Skeleton Crew is a good Star Wars show. Set during the New Republic Era, Skeleton Crew managed to introduce new characters and planets while still feeling adjacent to the Star Wars audiences know and love.

In fact, although the Jedi and Sith are not the focus of the show—Skeleton Crew is much more interested in pirates, which was an exciting deviation—it felt like an interesting new perspective on the Force and the Jedi, particularly because of major character Jod Na Nawood.

9) Tales of the Jedi

The final Tales of show (at least so far), Tales of the Jedi, is easily the best of the three. This show, like its two counterparts, focuses primarily on just two characters. In Tales of the Jedi, that’s Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku. The latter is particularly interesting, considering he ultimately becomes a Sith, but the show does a great job of highlighting his fall in a new way.

Likewise, while Ahsoka has now had considerable screen time, Tales of the Jedi managed to feel like an important addition to her larger Star Wars story, especially because it showed where she had come from and revealed that Anakin had (inadvertently) perfectly trained her to survive Order 66.

8) Ahsoka

Ahsoka is one of the relatively recent Star Wars projects that has drawn quite a bit of controversy, from some fans not liking how the animated characters from Star Wars Rebels were brought to life in live-action for the show to some feeling as though the titular lead didn’t actually get enough screen time.

However, there are many aspects of Ahsoka that make it among the top 10 best Star Wars shows thus far. High on that list is the fact that Ahsoka finally provided legitimate closure between Ahsoka and her beloved former master, Anakin Skywalker, and brought Hayden Christensen back to do it. With Ahsoka season 2 coming out as early as this year, it’s possible that this show will only improve, too.

7) Obi-Wan Kenobi

Like Ahsoka, Obi-Wan Kenobi drew significant criticism, at times for the very same reasons. For instance, many fans were unhappy that Obi-Wan wasn’t more of the focus in the show, as Obi-Wan Kenobi introduced characters like Reva Sevander and also (secretly) focused heavily on young Princess Leia.

Yet, Obi-Wan Kenobi also provided fans with some truly incredible moments, including an epic showdown between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan, which felt like some of the best Star Wars since the prequel trilogy. Getting to see 10-year-old Luke and Leia for the first time was also delightful, no matter what some backlash said.

6) The Bad Batch

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is absolutely one of Star Wars’ most underrated TV shows, perhaps in part because of how neglected many animated shows are. This show is effectively a spinoff of The Clone Wars, as it focuses on the Bad Batch members who were introduced in that show.

What sets The Bad Batch apart, however, is the extent to which it humanizes the clones, which is something Star Wars has needed since Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. This show also provides a closer look at the Dark Times from a new angle, which was illuminating and interesting.

5) Maul – Shadow Lord

As mentioned, Maul – Shadow Lord has managed to become one of the most celebrated Star Wars TV shows in recent memory, which is truly saying something. Not only does the show know exactly what to do with Maul as a character, but it also offers audiences a host of exciting moments, from brilliant lightsaber battles to a cameo of Darth Vader himself.

What’s more, the show isn’t over yet. Before the entirety of Maul – Shadow Lord season 1 had even been released, Disney confirmed that a second season is coming. This means that the show may get even better from here.

4) Star Wars Rebels

Like so many of its animated counterparts, Star Wars Rebels was a Star Wars show that got plenty of heat when it was released, and it continues to be heavily criticized by some today. However, the show did several things that make it among the top 5 best Star Wars shows. For one, this show offered Clone Wars fans an epic battle between Ahsoka and Vader.

Additionally, though, Rebels introduced multiple very interesting characters, including the members of the Ghost Crew. In fact, characters like Ezra Bridger now seem quite important to the future of Star Wars, which may make Rebels even better with time. Whether that happens or not, though, Rebels was an exciting look at the Dark Times and a solid addition to Star Wars TV shows.

3) The Mandalorian

It should come as no surprise that The Mandalorian makes the top 3 Star Wars TV shows of all time. After all, it is this show that has been adapted into a movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is Star Wars’ first in nearly seven years. It remains to be seen whether that movie will be well received, but the show more than proved itself.

Even with season 3 being a clear dip in quality, The Mandalorian is absolutely one of the best shows Star Wars has put out, especially because it really was different from so much that had come before. Now, this has developed into a fan-favorite part of the larger franchise.

2) The Clone Wars

The single best animated show in Star Wars is The Clone Wars, which did a staggering amount of work to make the prequel trilogy so much better. From contextualizing Anakin’s fall to the dark side so much more to offering audiences an actual look at the Clone Wars era (which is only minimally shown in the prequels), The Clone Wars covered considerable and important ground.

While this wasn’t the project in which Ahsoka Tano was introduced—that was the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie—this was also massively important for transforming Ahsoka into the beloved character that she is today.

1) Andor

Finally, the overall best Star Wars TV show to date is Andor. This gritty, boots-on-the-ground look at the Empire and the early days of the Rebellion is something truly innovative in the franchise, and it offers a level of storytelling and character development that isn’t exactly typical in the larger franchise.

Also to the show’s benefit is the fact that it has two very neat and compact seasons, which made it feel like nothing was unnecessary or a waste. Truly, Andor put itself in a league of its own, and it remains the show to beat in Star Wars.

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