In terms of modern franchises, Star Wars has one of the better track records at critical scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Though not entirely bulletproof, there are some clunkers to be found, like The Book of Boba Fett with a 66% approval rating, or even lower with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker at 51%. For the most part, though, Star Wars movies and shows hover in the 80% range on Rotten Tomatoes, which makes shows like the hit drama series Andor, with its near-perfect score, stand out. Universal acclaim isn’t guaranteed with Star Wars, but that series broke through to fans and non-fans alike.
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Season 1 of Andor clocks in at a 96% approval rating with over 600 reviews, while Season 2 sits a point above at 97% (with over 200 reviews). Now, though, a new Star Wars series has arrived that threatens to dethrone Andor as the highest-rated show from the modern era of Lucasfilm. The just-released Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord, a new series about the fan-favorite Sith who premiered in The Phantom Menace, has premiered to a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Maul — Shadow Lord Delivers Perfect RT Score for Star Wars
It’s worth noting that, as stated, Andor‘s two seasons and their near-perfect scores have hundreds of reviews to their name. The fact that Season 1 has over 600 reviews and still has fewer than 30 negative reviews is a shocking feat, something many shows would kill to have. That said, impressive as a 100% really is, Maul – Shadow Lord only has 17 reviews to its name. Granted, literally all of them are positive, but the series has fewer total reviews than Andor‘s first season has negative reviews.
Vital Thrills called the series “spectacular,” and said the 9 out of 10 series is like a Star Wars story from directors Michael Mann or Ridley Scott. Collider awarded the series an 8 out of 10 rating, writing that it’s “one of the strongest animated entries the franchise has delivered in years.” Polygon called Maul — Shadow Lord “Star Wars at its best” and said it’s a “stunning and compelling homage to the pulpy neo-noir genre.” One of the least glowing reviews comes from Variety, which still had positive feelings about the series, noting that the show does “capably move the Clone Wars story forward, but it’s not yet ready to serve as a Star Wars standard-bearer on its own.”
It’s also worth noting that there are other Star Wars shows that have a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as well. Like Maul — Shadow Lord, though, these are animated shows that only have so many reviews to their names. Among them are Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Season 7, Star Wars: Visions: Volume 2, and Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Season 1, which all have more than 20 reviews. Others with a 100% rating include Star Wars Rebels: Season 3, LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Season 3, all of which have just five or six reviews.
It’s worth noting that Disney and Lucasfilm were already betting big on Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord before the perfect Rotten Tomatoes score premiered, renewing the series for a Season 2 ahead of its premiere. Time will tell if Maul — Shadow Lord can really maintain a critical hold like Andor, or if it will be like the other animated Star Wars shows with perfect scores. For now, though, Maul is the best-rated thing to come out of Star Wars in years.
