Disney+'s 10/10 Cyberpunk Series Only Needed 24 Episodes To Become A Masterpiece

Published Sep 9, 2026, 1:57 PM EDT Lewis is a Lead Writer for Screen Rant and has written for the site since 2022. This has allowed Lewis to explore a vast array of films, TV shows, books, comic books, and games from across the mainstream world of pop culture, reflecting his lifelong love of all media and typifying his experience in the world of fiction storytelling. To top this off, Lewis graduated from Northumbria University with First Class Honours in Film & TV Studies, truly exemplifying his experience in the medium. Disney+ released a 24-episode cyberpunk series recently, and that was all that was needed to render it a true masterpiece. Disney+'s sci-fi shows have been a great success of late, be it Marvel Cinematic Universe journeys like Loki, which has recently seen a resurgence in streaming numbers, or even those partnered with Hulu and other streaming services, like Paradise​​​​​​. Undoubtedly, some of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time have been released more recently, as small-screen productions begin to rival their cinematic counterparts in terms of scale and budget. Although services like Apple TV and Netflix have produced good sci-fi shows more consistently, Disney+ has not been left behind. In fact, one of the best sci-fi TV shows of the last 15 years was made by the House of Mouse; this show consists of only 24 episodes, split between two seasons, and tells one of the best stories in the franchise to which it belongs. What's more, the show in question transcended that franchise, becoming revered as one of the best sci-fi, cyberpunk-skewed TV shows ever made and a true masterpiece. That show is, of course, Andor. Star Wars' TV shows may have fluctuated in quality since 2019, but Andor sits at the very top of the pile. Serving as a prequel to 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Andor tells the backstory of the titular character, Cassian Andor, as he navigates the galaxy under the Empire's increasingly fascist rule. Andor spans five years of Cassian's life, turning him from a regular, street-savvy nonconformist into a fully fledged spy for the Rebel Alliance. With Tony Gilroy as its showrunner, Andor became the best Star Wars TV show, and it is not even close to being beaten. Andor currently holds a critical rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and an impressive 89% audience score. On IMDb, Andor has an 8.6/10 rating, with eight of its 24 episodes holding individual rankings of 9/10 or higher. Andor​​​​​​'s reception is driven primarily by its differences from regular Star Wars projects. One of these many differences is the show's cyberpunk aesthetic, which allows the world of the show to feel much more lived-in than usual Star Wars stories. In only 24 episodes, Andor utilized this aesthetic and many other qualities to become a 10/10 masterpiece. Andor Found A Way To Break Free Of The Star Wars Formula Image via MovieStillsDB As alluded to, Andor used its differences from regular Star Wars tales to break free of the franchise's formula. Beginning with its cyberpunk vibe, Andor felt much more akin to the grimy, grungy world of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner than the sparkling, hi-tech galaxy of George Lucas' Star Wars prequels. From practical locations emulating cityscapes like Coruscant to neon-lit dive bars and brothels, Andor leaned much more into cyberpunk sci-fi than the typical space opera cues of the franchise it inhabits. This was all well and good concerning Andor's excellent visuals, but the cyberpunk vibe also lent itself to the show's other big differences from Star Wars of old; Andor is much more mature than any other story in the franchise. It focuses on the everyday struggles of regular people fighting against totalitarianism, allowing for much more nuanced explorations of character than Star Wars typically does. This mature style of writing is baked deep into all 24 episodes of Andor, which resulted in the show feeling incredibly fresh, unique, and downright excellent within the Star Wars franchise. Star Wars May Never Have Anything Like Andor Again MovieStillsDB What makes Andor all the more special as a one-in-a-million masterpiece within Star Wars is that the franchise will likely never see anything like it again. 2026 and 2027 are marking a new era for the franchise; the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in the former year and Star Wars: Starfighter in the latter are shifting Star Wars back to cinemas, moving away from the last eight years of Disney+ being the focus. On the TV side, only Ahsoka season 2 remains as a confirmed live-action release on Disney+. Moreover, Andor was incredibly expensive to produce, capping out at around $700 million for both seasons. Despite the critical acclaim and incredibly positive response of the audience who watched it, the show didn't garner enough viewership to warrant that kind of spend by Lucasfilm. All of this points to Andor being even more unique to Star Wars than it already is, solidifying it as a one-and-done masterpiece that we may never see the like of again in a galaxy far, far away. Release Date 2022 - 2025-00-00 Network Disney+ Showrunner Tony Gilroy Directors Susanna White Writers Dan Gilroy Franchise(s) Star Wars Creator(s) Tony Gilroy