It was another day on social media when I saw a user write a super simple thing about Star Wars that made me feel a lot of things. It was in response to the lack of promotion of the latest Star Wars books. Bluesky user Ian Wilmoth stated, "Man, I miss The High Republic Show and The Star Wars Show."
And you know what, Ian? Me too. I even added Rebels Recon to the mix because that show was truly something special. My buddies from Broaxium threw in the lack of series like The Star Wars After Show, just chill and relaxing discussions about Star Wars for fans to cuddle up with. These were fun, like hanging out with fans online to break down stuff we loved about Star Wars. And all of this got me thinking: What happened to Star Wars YouTube shows?
Honestly, I don't think there is one main answer. This is all just speculation on my part, but I think it was a bunch of different things.
Number one is grubby capitalism. Disney probably doesn't make much money on these series and just axed a lot of them. Just a cold business choice by the above suits that run things and often get it wrong.
I'm sure the COVID-19 pandemic didn't help anyone, either. That's probably why we'll never get another season of Jedi Temple Challenge despite what a freaking delight that series was. At least Kelleran Beq is firmly in canon now, which is a win.
A lot of these shows were for promotion, and frankly, the social media landscape has changed. With oligarchs and fascists owning half of the social platforms now, it's a lot harder for Star Wars to have lighthearted little online shows anymore. The Star Wars Show and Rebels Recon host Andi Gutierrez faced so much ridiculous hate from so-called fans that was manufactured by grifters who profited from hate clicks. Andi couldn't do anything on social media without some weirdo coming into her replies and being jerks. Honestly, it worked. These sorts of things push people out of fandom spaces. I don't blame Andi for leaving Twitter.
I'm sure the cost didn't help either. These were essentially shows that fans could watch for free unless your ad blocker isn't working. For example, Rebels Recon was quite the production that clearly had a ton of time put into it. The actors and creators were brought in to talk about the episodes. Someone had to man Chopper and his antics. While these weren't Andor level of production, these YouTube shows probably weren't cheap to make.
But man, these shows were great. Watching Krystina Arielle get hyped about the latest High Republic reveals or listening to Anthony Carboni chat with guests was a treat. I missed having a Rebels Recon like series breaking down each episode of Star Wars Resistance and The Bad Batch. So many fandom jokes like #HotKallus came from these series. More than anything, I miss Jedi Temple Challenge every day.
Fans want shows like this back, Star Wars. They were a good time. Disney is the third richest company in the world. It's not going to hurt them if they invest in some fun content like these series.