The Star Wars franchise is set to expand again with the new live-action TV series The Acolyte. The new show is set to take place 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, making it one of many series to take advantage of the vast galaxy and timeline the franchise has to work with. For those interested in further exploring Star Wars’ TV show collection, this guide will demonstrate how and where to watch every live-action and animated series in order.
While most are familiar with the Disney+ Star Wars shows, the franchise moved to the small screen long before Disney’s acquisition. By 1985, sister animated series Ewoks and Star Wars: Droids arrived on ABC and followed the adventures of the Ewoks, R2-D2, and C-3PO. However, it would be over two decades until the next TV show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, arrived.
Fortunately, by 2003, George Lucas had established Lucasfilm Animation, which rang in a new era of Star Wars TV shows. Star Wars: The Clone Wars follows Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano between the events of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. It went on to earn high critical acclaim for its groundbreaking visuals, voice performances, and story. Star Wars: The Clone Wars later received an equally well-received spinoff series, Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
Another prominent animated series is Star Wars Rebels, which follows Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Sabine Wren, and the rest of the Ghost Crew as they retaliate against the Galactic Empire’s oppressive rule following Order 66.
In 2019, the first live-action Star Wars series arrived with The Mandalorian. Set after the Galactic Empire's fall, The Mandalorian won fans over with its tale of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), a bounty hunter entrusted with protecting a Force-sensitive youngling, Grogu, from the remnants of the Empire. The series also brought back Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) from the Star Wars movies and transitioned Ahsoka to live-action, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Out of The Mandalorian’s success came the spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka.
The franchise has explored additional periods through its shows, too, such as the Rebellion with Star Wars: Andor or post-Order 66 in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
How to watch all the Star Wars TV shows in order
Unlike Marvel or DC, Star Wars TV shows aren’t divided into different universes. Almost all the shows are largely considered canon except the early Ewoks and Droids series and the anthology series Star Wars: Visions. Meanwhile, every series fits somewhere within the overall Star Wars timeline, making it possible to watch them in chronological order. Star Wars: Visions is the only show that doesn’t fit in the chronological order since it spans multiple timelines.
Otherwise, here are all the Star Wars TV shows chronologically:
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The Acolyte
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Star Wars: The Clone Wars
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Star Wars: Droids
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Star Wars: The Bad Batch
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Obi-Wan Kenobi
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Star Wars Rebels
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Star Wars: Andor
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Ewoks
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The Mandalorian
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The Book of Boba Fett
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Ahsoka
The problem with chronological order is that many series take place over multiple years, are difficult to place because they are anthologies, or, in the case of The Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka season 1, sometimes run concurrently with one another. Hence, another approach is to watch by the release date order below:
