Andoro is the latest in a long line of Star Wars series on Disney+. The show is set before the events from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and shows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in the early days of the Rebel Alliance’s formation, showing how this man who just wants to stay out of trouble becomes one of the most loyal fighters for the cause, eventually giving his life to protect the Retrieve Death Star plans.
Andoro received rave reviews from critics and some fans, as many have praised it for pushing the Star Wars franchise in a bold new direction, tackling complex themes of how an empire maintains its power, the moral complexities of forming a rebellion, and examining the people who make up these institutions.
A recent report from Parrot Analysis showed the daily public demand for: Andor, and it caused quite a bit of discussion. The first report pointed to the demand for: Andoro was low, but the report was corrected a day later, as public interest was greater than originally reported. Demand Andoro is apparently 31.3 times higher than the average streaming show currently on the air, so Andoro works great and as always the Star Wars brand remains strong. But one element that fans and critics of Andor alike clung to was the fact that: Andoro performed among the other two Star Wars series of 2022, Boba Fett’s book and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Many reasons have been put forward for this. Some say that the public is not interested in non-legacy characters or that the quality of the previous two Star Wars series may have deterred audiences from checking out Andoro. As with the original coverage of Andor’s question, there’s more to it than meets the eye, and a few key simple factors can indicate why there’s less demand than the previous two Star Wars series, but that might not be a big deal.
Andor is aimed at an older audience
Ever since Andoro premiere, many have praised the series for offering a more mature focus on the Star Wars universe. There are no lightsabers, the aliens are minimal to nonexistent, and much of the series focuses on the inner workings 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 comparable one Solo: A Star Wars Story. Andoro has profiled himself as a Star Wars series aimed at an older audience, which is both good in terms of storytelling, but will also limit the audience’s reach in some ways.
This does not mean Andoro younger viewers can’t be watched, they can enjoy it. Yet Andoro‘s marketing has positioned as the more mature Star Wars series, with less family viewing and more viewing by appointment to other prestigious television series. This is in contrast to Boba Fett’s book, Obi-Wan Kenobiand the Mandalorian, who have positioned themselves for all ages, who will have a wider audience reach than Andoro. To compare Andor’s viewers to the more family-friendly Star Wars series is unfair because that is not the basis Andoro takes precedence, and it judges it by the wrong standards.
Similar to different Star Wars series
While the immediate impulse is to make a comparison between Andoro and the other live action Star Wars series, as mentioned before, the nature of the series means it works on a different level. The most appropriate point of comparison would be towards animated projects such as: The Clone Wars last season, The Bad Partyand Star Wars: Visions, like Andoro they target 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 tend to associate animation projects with children’s products unless specifically designed to be TV-MA-esque 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 Mandalorianthe ratings for The Bad Party are probably much lower and higher among a young crowd. In that regard, both Andoro and The Bad Party to be Star Wars projects that everyone can enjoy, but target a key demographic and likely have a loyal fan base for them.
Andor lacks name recognition
Both Boba Fett’s book and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series had one big advantage over andor, as both television series focused on two of the most popular and iconic Star Wars characters ever. Boba Fett has long been a fan favorite character, even before his live-action debut in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980. Featuring a fan favorite character and hot off The Mandalorian went running of course Boba Fett’s book to a must-see 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. When a whole generation of kids who grew up with the prequel trilogy had finally grown up and a new love for the prequels was born, so Obi-Wan Kenobi was something of every generation Star Wars fan knew it was a big deal. Andor is a name that most general public is not familiar with, but everyone probably knows the names Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Cassian Andor, on the other hand, is a relatively new character with only one on-screen appearance in 2016. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a blockbuster, but a common criticism of the film was that the main characters didn’t feel fully developed. Unlike Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe and BB-8 from last year Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which all erupted with critics and audiences, the crew of Rogue One didn’t really stay in the public consciousness and Lucasfilm did little with the characters outside of 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 surprising at first and should be a strong indication that despite being based on a new character who only appeared in one movie, it still performs well with audiences. . This is similar to how She-Hulk: Lawyer and Mrs. Marvel did not perform at the same level as pre-determined MCU hero series like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldierand Loki but still broke up with critics and expanded to a new untapped audience. Andoro does something similar, probably attracting viewers who may not like the other’s traditional format Star Wars stories or have Star Wars fatigue.
Do Andor’s ratings and viewers matter
Understanding streaming series ratings and viewers is a complicated matter. Since Disney+ and many other streamers don’t release actual numbers, much of this information comes from a third party such as Parrot Analytics. The ratings feature is used to determine which shows will be renewed and whether similar series will be made. Andoro is in no danger of being canceled as Lucasfilm has already confirmed season two and shooting has just started. Season two will be the last for the series, as each three-episode arc of that season moves forward a year, leading to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
What does it mean to others? Star Wars series? That remains to be seen. Audience response to the series has been strong, and while it’s not on par with Obi-Wan Kenobi or Boba Fett’s book at this point, the series is still doing very well. Once the first season is on Disney+, more viewers will be able to watch it, as the series lends itself better to a binge format than a weekly episode.
Lucasfilm is already experimenting with expanding the Star Wars franchise, with the acolyte will air sometime in late 2023 or early 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. Andoro could indicate that more mature star warsthemed series are coming, or it may be a one-off attempt. It is unclear, but what is known is that for the time being Andoro offers something unique and will likely increase in appreciation over time.