Ahsoka’s viewership alone doesn’t make it a better series than Diego Luna’s Andor

Ahsoka and Hayden Christensen

Ahsoka was a successful Star Wars show that received high viewership and critical acclaim. While the series enjoys a vast family fanbase, there are hardcore fans who believe that it couldn’t live up to the gritty storytelling of Andor. Ahsoka was written and produced as a sequel to the animated series, Star Wars Rebels, which appealed to the family audiences. However, the Diego Luna-led series appealed to a more mature audience.


Rosario Dawson in a still from Ahsoka | Disney+Rosario Dawson in a still from Ahsoka | Disney+
Andor also received critical acclaim and several accolades, but it couldn’t find the viewership success of Ahsoka. However, fans expect these stats to improve once the second season of the series drops on Disney+.

Fans Believe Ahsoka Is Still Inferior To The Complex, Mature Story Of Andor

Diego Luna in a still from Andor | Disney+Diego Luna in a still from Andor | Disney+


Ahsoka was successful in bringing the nostalgia factor, reintroducing characters from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. One of the most talked about moments in the series came when Hayden Christensen‘s Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader appears as a Force Ghost to finish the training of Ahsoka Tano. However, some fans still believe that this one scene wouldn’t make Ahsoka a masterpiece show.

They believe that Andor is a more memorable show from the Star Wars Universe than the Dave Filoni series. The famous scooper, @MyTimeToShineH, shared that they couldn’t remember anything from the show that came out only nine months ago. However, the scooper added that they could never forget the Star Wars spy series.

In another tweet, the scooper shared that the difference between Andor and Ahsoka was visible in the writing team of both projects. The Rosario Dawson series was written by the creator Filoni. He was the supervising director of The Clone Wars. Andor, on the other hand, had a team of four writers, including creator Tony Gilroy, his brother and screenwriter Dan Gilroy, Stephen Schiff, and Beau Willimon.

 

 

One fan on X shared that it was because pain (Andor) had more lasting memory than pleasure (Ahsoka). Another fan mentioned that Andor was a street-level show which made it a very solid Star Wars project. Fans also shared the positives of Diego Luna‘s series and the problems with the Rebels sequel. Some of the fan reactions read:

 

 

 

 

 

However, the comparison of stats of both the Disney+ series would indicate that Ahsoka has an upper hand over Andor. According to Whip Media’s list of top streaming originals of 2023, Ahsoka was placed in the 9th position, while Andor didn’t even find a place in the Top 30 most streamed shows in 2023 (via The Wrap). The list was topped by another Star Wars show, The Mandalorian.

 

Andor Creator Tony Gilroy Was Disappointed About The Series’ Viewership

Diego Luna and Stellan Skarsgård in a still from Andor | Disney+Diego Luna and Stellan Skarsgård in a still from Andor | Disney+
Tony Gilroy shared in an interview with Variety that he was surprised by the reception of his series. He believed that the series would attract an instantaneous audience but would struggle to impress the critics. However, the opposite happened as the series received critical praise but found itself chasing the audience. Gilroy shared with Variety:

I think I was surprised. I thought the show would go the other way, that we would have this gigantic, instantaneous audience that would just be everywhere, but that it would take forever for non-“Star Wars” people or critics or my cohort of friends to get involved in the show.

The opposite happened. We ended up with all this critical praise, all this deep appreciation and understanding from really surprising number of sources, and we’re chasing the audience.

According to ScreeRant, 591k US households watched Andor S1E12 during the L+5D window. At the same time, Ahsoka finale was viewed by 863k US households during the same window. The viewership of the Ahsoka finale outpaced Andor by 46%.

Ahsoka was a better investment for Disney since it cost only $100 million to make the entire series (via Dexerto). Meanwhile, Andor was the costliest Star Wars series with a budget touching the $250 million mark (via ScreenRant).

Both shows are now available for streaming on Disney+.