For those who still haven't experienced the first season of Tony Gilroy's Star Wars espionage thriller, Andor, the series is coming to Hulu for a limited time. Ahead of the second season's premiere next month, the 12-episode entry is available to stream on Hulu through April 22. The original 2022 series serves as a prequel to the film Rouge One: A Star Wars Story that follows a covert Resistance team's efforts to get the schematics of the Death Star to Rebel leaders.
The Star Wars franchise's recent venture into television has been met with mixed results. While many fans gravitated toward the space Western of The Mandalorian, the same can't be said for the other serialized adventures set in the galaxy far, far away. For every The Skeleton Crew, which explored a Goonies-esque adventure with a stunning performance from Jude Law, there is an Obi-Wan Kenobi or Book of Boba Fett that failed to sustain a narrative worthy of the iconic film characters.
Even a bold expedition like last year's The Acolyte, which sought to question the Jedi's heroism, faltered in execution despite delivering a new perspective of the lore. Mastering the balance of nostalgia and familiarity while steering toward new, modern narratives proved difficult even in this vast canon. However, despite the difficulties, most fans and critics alike would agree that Andor is the one project that managed to find the balance, becoming the crown jewel of the exclusive Disney Plus series.
The brilliant series stars Diego Luna as his film character, Cassian Andor. An orphan exiled from his native planet by Imperial-led genocide, Cassian later matures into a rightfully bitter and vengeful thief who steals weapons and other hardware to sabotage the Empire. One day, his petty skirmishes lead to a fatal mistake, placing him in the Empire's crosshairs. His new infamy also begs notice from Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard), a covert orchestrator of the Rebel alliance. Rael recruits Andor to join the higher ranks of the resistance, which involves a complex and discreet syndicate of saboteurs stretching from the Republic's senate to inside the Imperial ranks.
In addition to Luna and Skarsgard, the series boasts a stellar cast including Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Alan Tudyk, Forest Whitaker, Genevive O'Reilly, Varada Sethu, Adria Arjona, and Fiona Shaw. The second season, aptly known as Andor: A Star Wars Story, welcomes many of the same cast while adding Ben Mendelsohn who reprises his role as Orson Krennic. The new season will traverse four years within four, three-episode arcs, concluding where the 2016 movie begins. Season two arrives on Disney Plus on April 22.
Whether a decades-long fan or brand new to the universe, Andor is an excellent entry into the Star Wars canon and a superb achievement in TV storytelling. Stream the first season on Hulu right now.