The recent release of Star Wars: Andor Season One has seen positive reception from critics. However, the gritty, mature Star Wars story is failing to bring in viewership amid a huge period for entertainment.
As huge franchises like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones return, is Andor big enough to survive? Unfortunately, all signs are pointing to no.
Is anyone watching Star Wars: Andor?
Shared on social media by Parrot Analytics’ Brandon Katz, viewership is surprisingly low for the new Star Wars show. The data analyst explained that audience demand is “overwhelmingly lower” than other shows in the franchise.
In a graph of audience demand for Star Wars shows, Andor is lifeless. In comparison, The Mandolorian 1 and 2 have an audience demand 150x that of the new show. However, Mando is a cultural powerhouse.
Surprisingly, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi had similar levels of demand. Both Disney Plus shows peaked at around 40x the demand of the new series. They did not get anywhere close to the level of demand that The Mandalorian had.
“The most disappointing trend I've come across recently is how audience demand for Andor is overwhelmingly lower than The Mandalorian S1-2, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan despite the fact that it is easily the best Star Wars series BY FAR,” Katz tweeted.
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Too much competition?
Katz’ analysis of the new Star Wars series points out that this is an especially busy time for entertainment. With the return of huge franchises like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, there simply isn’t enough time for Star Wars.
Furthermore, this new show is launching with other competition from Disney. On the Disney Plus streaming service, She-Hulk is a ratings success, especially with episodes involving Daredevil. Perhaps the shows running at the same time is creating some issues.
Nevertheless, Andor is a hit with the critics, despite some negativity from the fanbase. It’s the mature, grounded Star Was story many have asked for over the past two decades, and it’ll hopefully be appreciated in the future.
If you’ve yet to give the show a watch, we highly recommend it!