Star Wars: Is the big screen really best or has episodic TV passed it by?

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STAR WARS REBELS – “Legacy of Mandalore” – Hoping to enlist her family to help the rebels, Sabine returns to her home world with Kanan and Ezra, but soon finds herself embroiled in her family’s power struggle for Mandalore. This episode of “Star Wars Rebels” airs Saturday, February 18 (8:30-9:00 P.M. EST) on Disney XD. (Lucasfilm)SABINE /

Star Wars TV shows

Seasonal Star Wars television shows are nothing new with The Clone Wars (2008) and Rebels (2014) each being successful in expanding the galaxy and bringing in a new wave of young fans. There is also Resistance (2018), which was not as successful with fans. What is new is the live-action presentation of The Mandalorian.

Fans of beloved series are currently awaiting season three. Though it is not clear when it will premiere on Disney Plus.

The Mandalorian making it to a third season is not really surprising given the fan reception, along with the fact that the two animated shows also went for four and seven seasons respectively.

What is surprising is how dedicated Disney has become to the format of multi-season TV shows. Currently in its first season is The Bad Batch. Also set to debut within the next few years will be Andor, The Acolyte, Visions, The Book of Boba Fett and Rangers of the New Republic.

What makes the format so desirable to a business? Subscription dollars.

What makes the format so desirable to fans? The ability to world build in a way that singular films, and even trilogies, can not. Seasons one and two of The Mandalorian showed fans a galaxy reeling following the fall of the Empire. Multiple worlds, species, characters and themes are present as we follow Din Djarin and his foundling, Grogu, on an endless adventure.

The same advantages that exist in The Mandalorian are also present in the previous animated shows as well.

Though, the disadvantage of this format is quite obvious. There can sometimes be a sense of stagnation as some episodes may feel like “filler” to a general audience. Too much of that, and a show can begin to lose its casual viewers and, in the worst case, its devoted fans.

Thankfully, we have yet to see The Mandalorian enter a stage of what feels like pure filler, but the question of whether or not Disney will be able to replicate the success of its first live-action Star Wars show with so many in the works is at the top of my mind.

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