{ "id": "epq9ebs0aw", "slug": "andor", "title": "Andor", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted", "label": "Adapted and franchise screen series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted.space_sf_franchise_tv", "label": "Space and science-fiction franchise television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted.space_sf_franchise_tv" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Adapted and franchise screen series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted", "label": "Adapted and franchise screen series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Andor is a Disney+ Star Wars political thriller created by Tony Gilroy, starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor; a two-season prequel to Rogue One (2022, 2025) that won five Emmys and a Peabody Award.", "snippet": "Andor is a Disney+ Star Wars political thriller created by Tony Gilroy, starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor; a two-season prequel to Rogue One (2022, 2025) that won five Emmys and a Peabody Award.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted.space_sf_franchise_tv", "markdown": "# Andor\n\n**Andor** is an American science fiction political thriller television series created by Tony Gilroy for Disney+, part of the *Star Wars* franchise. It stars [Diego Luna](https://www.edgepedia.org/diego-luna) as [Cassian Andor](https://www.edgepedia.org/cassian-andor), the rebel operative he played in the 2016 film *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*, and traces the five years before that film, showing how a disparate set of people became a rebellion against the Galactic Empire.[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/andor/) The first season premiered in September 2022; the second and final season, twelve episodes released beginning April 22, 2025, brought the story to the doorstep of *Rogue One*.[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/andor/) • [2](https://www.starwars.com/series/andor) The series won five [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards) from 22 nominations in 2025 and a Peabody Award, and it drew critical attention for treating revolution, fascism, and radicalization more directly than any prior live-action *Star Wars* screen work.[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/andor) • [4](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/andor-season-2-disney-plus/) • [5](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/how-andor-injects-contemporary-politics-into-star-wars-ip)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Premise | Prequel to *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*, covering the five years before that film and the birth of the rebellion against the Empire[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/andor/) |\n| Seasons | Season 1 premiered September 2022; Season 2, 12 episodes, premiered April 22, 2025 and concluded the series[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/andor/) • [2](https://www.starwars.com/series/andor) |\n| Creator | Tony Gilroy, showrunner and executive producer; co-writers include Dan Gilroy, Stephen Schiff, Beau Willimon, and Tom Bissell[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/andor/) • [6](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/05/07/how-andor-creator-tony-gilroy-added-a-french-planet-to-the-star-wars-galaxy_6741027_30.html) |\n| Principal cast | Diego Luna (Cassian Andor), Stellan Skarsgård (Luthen Rael), Genevieve O'Reilly (Mon Mothma), Forest Whitaker (Saw Gerrera), Adria Arjona (Bix Caleen), Denise Gough (Dedra Meero), Kyle Soller (Syril Karn), Alan Tudyk (K-2SO)[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/andor) • [8](https://apnews.com/article/9dd1e7e4189bb7f5d2091528818b2671) |\n| Awards | 5 Emmy Awards from 22 nominations in 2025, including Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Production Design; a Peabody Award for season 2[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/andor) • [4](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/andor-season-2-disney-plus/) |\n| Critical reception | Rotten Tomatoes 96% Tomatometer and 89% audience score; Metacritic metascores of 84 (season 1) and 92 (season 2)[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/andor) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/andor/) |\n| Budget | Episodes cost an estimated $20 million after tax incentives; the 2023 guild strikes added roughly $20 million in shutdown costs[10](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/RESUMEN-DE-MEDIOS-6-6-2025.pdf) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and structure\n\nThe series follows Cassian Andor's transformation, in the words of the Walt Disney Company's summary, \"from disinterested, cynical nobody into a key player in the Rebel Alliance.\"[4](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/andor-season-2-disney-plus/) Both seasons are built in three-episode blocks that Gilroy treats as films; he described the whole series as \"eight movies in five years.\"[8](https://apnews.com/article/9dd1e7e4189bb7f5d2091528818b2671) The first season covers Andor's induction into rebellion through heists, an Imperial prison, and the uprising on the planet Ferrix; the second season jumps forward in yearly increments toward the events of *Rogue One*.[16](https://www.disneyplus.com/series/andor/3xsQKWG00GL5)\n\n**The Ghorman arc.** Season 2's centerpiece is the Ghorman Massacre, in which the Empire subjugates and militarizes a planet whose population it traps and kills. In a late episode, Senator Mon Mothma risks her career and her life to denounce the attack in an emergency speech to the Imperial Senate: \"What happened yesterday on Ghorman was unprovoked genocide. Yes, genocide.\" She is then smuggled out of the senate chamber to avoid abduction.[5](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/how-andor-injects-contemporary-politics-into-star-wars-ip) Gilroy reconstructed the history leading up to the massacre with production designer Luke Hull, his \"first writing partner,\" deciding that the planet needed an economy before writing it.[6](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/05/07/how-andor-creator-tony-gilroy-added-a-french-planet-to-the-star-wars-galaxy_6741027_30.html) In the series' underlying plot, Ghorman is, unknown to all but a few Imperial conspirators, the sole source of a mineral essential to the [Death Star](https://www.edgepedia.org/death-star)'s operation.[17](https://assets.debut.disney.com/documents/Andor_Rebelion_Digital_Zine.pdf)\n\nThe finale clears the board for *Rogue One*: Imperial Security Bureau Supervisor Dedra Meero closes in on [Luthen Rael](https://www.edgepedia.org/luthen-rael), the rebel spymaster who sacrificed \"calm, kindness, kinship, and his own peace\" to disrupt Imperial rule, and Cassian escapes a safehouse raid with Kleya Marki and Ruescott Melshi, helped by the droid K-2SO, on his way to becoming the leader audiences know from the film.[18](https://www.starwars.com/news/andor-season-2-finale-episodes-10-11-12) • [19](https://www.starwars.com/series/andor/season-2-episode-12-episode-guide)\n\n## Origin and development\n\nDisney approached [Tony Gilroy](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-gilroy), the screenwriter of *Michael Clayton* and four films of the [Jason Bourne](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-bourne) franchise, with the idea of a show about the five years before *Rogue One*, on which he had been brought in to help during production.[11](https://www.nme.com/features/tv-interviews/andor-diego-luna-tony-gilroy-star-wars-interview-3313449) He signed on to write his first television series, initially intending to shape the story, write some scripts, and direct episodes; 18 months into development, in April 2020, he became showrunner when the original boss, Stephen Schiff, left.[11](https://www.nme.com/features/tv-interviews/andor-diego-luna-tony-gilroy-star-wars-interview-3313449)\n\n**Planning the whole story.** Gilroy began by writing the first three episodes and then about eighty pages of a series bible with landmark scenes, because he knew where he wanted the story to end.[12](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/an-end-in-search-of-a-journey-showrunner-tony-gilroy-talks-andor/) His original plan was 60 episodes across five seasons, each season covering one year of Cassian Andor's life and leading directly into *Rogue One*.[13](https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-andor-creator-tony-gilroy-drew-on-years-of-fascist-rebellion-greatest-hits-to-create-star-wars-spin-off/5206238.article) During development of the first season he instead condensed four seasons' worth of character arcs and storytelling into a single second season of 12 episodes, a change Diego Luna later described as a \"great idea\" that let the cast and crew wrap up the narrative on their own terms.[14](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/disney-plus/we-told-the-story-we-wanted-to-tell-andor-lead-star-opens-up-on-disneys-decision-to-end-the-star-wars-show-after-two-seasons-on-disney)\n\nThe first season was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also forced production changes such as limited crowd sizes and travel restrictions once filming moved forward.[15](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-04-22/andor-season-2-tony-dan-john-gilroy) Season 2 production was paused amid the 2023 Hollywood strikes, which a source familiar with the production said added approximately $20 million in shutdown costs; episodes cost an estimated $20 million after tax incentives, comparable to reported budgets for *House of the Dragon* and *Severance*.[10](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/RESUMEN-DE-MEDIOS-6-6-2025.pdf) • [8](https://apnews.com/article/9dd1e7e4189bb7f5d2091528818b2671) Each season took close to a year to film and another year in post-production, so creative decisions had to be finalized early.[12](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/an-end-in-search-of-a-journey-showrunner-tony-gilroy-talks-andor/)\n\n## Political themes and sources\n\nGilroy, who has described himself as a student of history, drew on what he called \"fascist rebellion greatest hits\" rather than the *Star Wars* prequels for his playbook; he cited the French television series *A French Village*, about the Nazi occupation of France, and built parts of the cast around its stars Richard Sammel and Thierry Godard.[13](https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-andor-creator-tony-gilroy-drew-on-years-of-fascist-rebellion-greatest-hits-to-create-star-wars-spin-off/5206238.article) A *Film Quarterly* essay places the series in the lineage of contemporary revolutionary media, most notably as a modern-day descendant of Gillo Pontecorvo's *The Battle of Algiers* (1966).[20](https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2025.79.2.15) Critics also read the show against current events: *The New Yorker* noted that the Ghorman storyline, though not mapping precisely onto real events, calls to mind the war in Gaza and \"treads further in its denunciation of violent occupation than most news coverage dares to.\"[5](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/how-andor-injects-contemporary-politics-into-star-wars-ip) The *Washington Post* framed the series, alongside the 20th-anniversary rerelease of *Revenge of the Sith*, as a restatement of the franchise's political core: a story about resistance and the hope that fuels it.[21](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/04/21/star-wars-andor-revenge-of-the-sith-resistance/)\n\nGilroy said he and his collaborators felt little pressure from Disney and [Lucasfilm](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucasfilm): \"We took no creative notes on this show... I've never had this much freedom before, even in final-cut films that I worked on.\"[8](https://apnews.com/article/9dd1e7e4189bb7f5d2091528818b2671) He credited the commercial success of *The Mandalorian* with his ability to take creative risks on the series.[22](https://time.com/7276401/star-wars-franchise-andor-upcoming-movies/)\n\n## Production design and craft\n\nThe show's grounded look came from a deliberate method. Gilroy treated production designer Luke Hull as his \"first writing partner,\" working with him to reconstruct the history of Ghorman before writing it, down to deciding that the planet needed an economy.[6](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/05/07/how-andor-creator-tony-gilroy-added-a-french-planet-to-the-star-wars-galaxy_6741027_30.html) Hull's team built extensive physical sets for season 2, including [Yavin 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/yavin-4), a sprawling Ghorman set designed to serve as an arena to trap the local population during the massacre, the farming planet Mina-Rau, and the first live-action expression of [Mon Mothma](https://www.edgepedia.org/mon-mothma)'s homeworld Chandrila; the work won the 2025 Emmy for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program.[23](https://www.starwars.com/news/andor-season-2-world-building-production-design-feature) • [3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/andor) Gilroy's approach treated each three-episode block as a movie, aiming for the cinematic look intrinsic to *Star Wars*.[23](https://www.starwars.com/news/andor-season-2-world-building-production-design-feature) Christophe Nuyens served as a cinematographer on the second season, working to keep as much as possible in camera on sets that are, in his words, \"literally out of this world.\"[24](https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2025/05/20/cinematography-of-andor-interview-with-christophe-nuyens.html) The Gilroy brothers reunited on the series, with [Dan Gilroy](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-gilroy) writing episodes and John Gilroy serving as editor and co-producer, continuing a collaboration that began with the 2014 thriller *Nightcrawler*.[25](https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ANDOR-Production-Brief-V3-FINAL-8-04-22.pdf)\n\n## Reception and awards\n\nThe series holds a 96% Tomatometer average on Rotten Tomatoes, with season 1 at 96% and season 2 at 97%, and an 89% audience score; its critics consensus calls it \"an exceptionally mature and political entry into the Star Wars mythos.\"[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/andor) Metacritic scores the seasons 84 and 92 respectively, the latter rated \"universal acclaim\" based on 65 critic reviews.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/andor/) Reviewers repeatedly placed it alongside prestige drama; one critic wrote that \"the show deserves to be seen as great TV, in the same league as shows like The Wire and The Sopranos.\"[26](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/andor/s01)\n\nAt the 2025 Emmy Awards the series received 22 nominations and won five awards: Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Dan Gilroy, for \"Welcome to the Rebellion\"), Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series (Yan Miles, for \"Who Are You?\"), Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie, and Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance ([Alan Tudyk](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-tudyk) as K-2SO).[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/andor) It was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Directing.[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/andor) The series won a Peabody Award for its second season, and Diego Luna won the Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series after not receiving an Emmy nomination.[4](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/andor-season-2-disney-plus/) • [27](https://www.cinemablend.com/star-wars/diego-luna-won-big-award-andor-after-not-getting-emmy-nomination)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Andor A Star Wars Story, Lucasfilm.com](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/andor/)\n2. [Andor: A Star Wars Story, StarWars.com](https://www.starwars.com/series/andor)\n3. [Andor: Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/andor)\n4. [Tony Gilroy, Diego Luna, and Others Break Down Season 2 of 'Andor', The Walt Disney Company](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/andor-season-2-disney-plus/)\n5. [How \"Andor\" Injects Contemporary Politics Into \"Star Wars\" I.P., The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/how-andor-injects-contemporary-politics-into-star-wars-ip)\n6. [How 'Andor' creator Tony Gilroy added a French planet to the 'Star Wars' galaxy, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/05/07/how-andor-creator-tony-gilroy-added-a-french-planet-to-the-star-wars-galaxy_6741027_30.html)\n7. [Andor, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/andor)\n8. ['Andor' returns to Disney+ and takes 'Star Wars' to new and rebellious places, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/9dd1e7e4189bb7f5d2091528818b2671)\n9. [Andor Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/andor/)\n10. [Variety report on Andor budget, via Movistar Plus media summary](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/RESUMEN-DE-MEDIOS-6-6-2025.pdf)\n11. ['Andor': how Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna turned Star Wars serious, NME](https://www.nme.com/features/tv-interviews/andor-diego-luna-tony-gilroy-star-wars-interview-3313449)\n12. [\"An End In Search Of A Journey\": Showrunner Tony Gilroy Talks 'Andor', Creative Screenwriting](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/an-end-in-search-of-a-journey-showrunner-tony-gilroy-talks-andor/)\n13. [How 'Andor' creator Tony Gilroy drew on years of \"fascist rebellion greatest hits\", Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-andor-creator-tony-gilroy-drew-on-years-of-fascist-rebellion-greatest-hits-to-create-star-wars-spin-off/5206238.article)\n14. ['We told the story we wanted to tell': Andor lead star on ending the show after two seasons, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/disney-plus/we-told-the-story-we-wanted-to-tell-andor-lead-star-opens-up-on-disneys-decision-to-end-the-star-wars-show-after-two-seasons-on-disney)\n15. ['Andor': How Tony Gilroy relied on his brothers to complete Season 2, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-04-22/andor-season-2-tony-dan-john-gilroy)\n16. [Andor episode list, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/series/andor/3xsQKWG00GL5)\n17. [Andor Season 2 pitch document, Disney](https://assets.debut.disney.com/documents/Andor_Rebelion_Digital_Zine.pdf)\n18. [Andor Explained: Season 2 Finale, Episodes 10-12, StarWars.com](https://www.starwars.com/news/andor-season-2-finale-episodes-10-11-12)\n19. [\"Jedha, Kyber, Erso\" Episode Guide, StarWars.com](https://www.starwars.com/series/andor/season-2-episode-12-episode-guide)\n20. [\"I Have Friends Everywhere\", Film Quarterly](https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2025.79.2.15)\n21. [With 'Andor' and 'Revenge of the Sith' rerelease, Star Wars is political again, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/04/21/star-wars-andor-revenge-of-the-sith-resistance/)\n22. [Why There Hasn't Been a Star Wars Movie in 6 Years, Time](https://time.com/7276401/star-wars-franchise-andor-upcoming-movies/)\n23. [Ghorman & Chandrila: Creating the Worlds of Andor Season 2, StarWars.com](https://www.starwars.com/news/andor-season-2-world-building-production-design-feature)\n24. [Cinematography of \"Andor\" – interview with Christophe Nuyens, Pushing Pixels](https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2025/05/20/cinematography-of-andor-interview-with-christophe-nuyens.html)\n25. [Andor Production Brief, StarWarsNewsNet](https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ANDOR-Production-Brief-V3-FINAL-8-04-22.pdf)\n26. [Andor: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/andor/s01)\n27. [Diego Luna Just Won A Big Award For Andor, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/star-wars/diego-luna-won-big-award-andor-after-not-getting-emmy-nomination)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Space and science-fiction franchise television*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/andor", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/andor.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Andor\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/andor. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Andor](https://www.edgepedia.org/andor)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/andor](https://www.edgepedia.org/andor). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Andor\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/andor. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Andor is a Disney+ Star Wars political thriller created by Tony Gilroy, starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor; a two-season prequel to Rogue One that won five Emmys and a Peabody Award." }