5 non-Star Wars TV series like The Mandalorian
By Joel Leonard
4. Kung Fu
Length: Three seasons
Despite being a sci-fi show, The Mandalorian is heavily inspired by both the Western genre and samurai films. Perhaps the best example of this is in the thirteenth episode where Ahsoka takes part in what is essentially a samurai showdown with a lightsaber, while the Mandalorian has an old west duel right outside the door. One of the first shows to really combine these two aesthetics was Kung Fu from the 1970s. The show starred the late David Carradine as a Shaolin monk who would travel through the old west, using his martial arts skills to help those who could not help themselves. It’s a dated series to be sure, but it gives you a feel of what a show like The Mandalorian may have been like back before the original Star Wars movie was ever released. If you don’t want to watch something quite so old, you can just wait until the remake version of the series is released later this year.
From Apple:
"David Carradine stars as a Buddhist monk and hunted man who wanders the American West in the 1870s fighting intolerance and injustice with his mastery of an ancient form of high combat known as Kung Fu."
3. Dark Matter
Length: Three seasons
If what you’re looking for after The Mandalorian is another high-concept space adventure with characters who often clash with authority (and you’ve already seen Firefly and Cowboy Bebop), you should try Dark Matter. The series opens with the crew of the starship Raza waking up with no memory of who they are or why they’re together on the ship. As the series unfolds, and we learn about the character’s pasts one by one, we watch them deal with the consequences of actions that they have no memory of. Mysterious backstories and characters that don’t know if they can trust each other set up a mystery in space with plenty of moments in each episode to satisfy your desire for hard-hitting sci-fi action.
From Netflix:
"The story of the crew of the derelict spaceship the Raza, awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board. Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, betrayal and hidden secrets"