Until recently, Disney’s content sharing between Hulu and Disney+ went in one direction only as the latter shored up its lineup with the former’s library titles.
Now, there’s been a shift and Hulu is suddenly hosting Marvel, Star Wars and Disney shows and movies that it simply couldn’t get before. One of the series on loan is Andor, the recently concluded prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. And it’s Watch With Us‘ pick for the one Hulu show you should stream in June.
The entire two-season run is on Hulu until the end of June, but the surprising thing is that Andor hasn’t moved the charts on the streamer yet. It’s not in Hulu’s top 15 shows and movies, or even on the list that only covers TV series. That’s a far cry from the way Andor topped the Nielsen streaming ratings during the week of its series finale.
Has everyone who wants to see Andor already watched it on Disney+? We can only speculate why it’s not getting a better response on Hulu, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is an amazing show that redefined what a Star Wars story could be.
It’s ‘Star Wars’ For Adults
Some Star Wars fans have clamored for the franchise to embrace more mature themes, but Andor is the first live-action series in the franchise to truly do so. It’s still a sci-fi story at heart, but the portrayal of the Empire’s oppression has some unnerving parallels with the real world. Sexual assault, torture, media manipulation, unjust imprisonment of political enemies and even genocide are all tools of the Empire on this show. And it doesn’t need Darth Vader to get the point across.
The protagonists on Andor are also considerably less squeaky clean than the famous characters from the films. Diego Luna‘s Cassian Andor isn’t quite as ruthless as he is in Rogue One, but he’s not exactly a hero either. Stellan Skarsgård‘s Luthen Rael is even more morally ambiguous, as he openly admits that he uses the Empire’s brutal tactics against it. Even during the final episodes, Luthen does things that Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia would never dream of, all in the name of the rebellion.
‘Andor’ Is an Actor’s Showcase
Luna is very good in the title role, but he’s blown off the screen by Skarsgård’s performance across two seasons. Skarsgård is the beneficiary of some of the show’s best scenes, but he isn’t the only actor who gets to flex his muscles on this series. Andy Serkis is absolutely riveting during his appearances as Kino Loy, a man Cassian meets while in an Imperial prison.
After playing Mon Mothma in much smaller appearances in film and television, Genevieve O’Reilly gave the senator a compelling sense of desperation and determination as she attempts to fight the Empire from within. Adria Arjona also has a strong turn as Bix Caleen, Cassian’s friend and lover. Finally, Elizabeth Dulau had a truly surprising spotlight episode in season 2 as Kleya Marki, Luthen’s most-trusted ally and the closest thing she had to an adoptive father.
‘Andor’ Recaptures the Scale and Aesthetic of ‘Star Wars’
Andor reportedly cost $650 million to make over the course of two 12-episode seasons, which makes it one of the most expensive shows ever made. All of that shows up on screen with impressive large-scale sets that look real because they are real. The production team poured everything into expanding the Star Wars universe with practical sets and special effects, and they did a magnificent job.
Some fans have criticized Andor‘s pace, and it is very slow at times compared to other Star Wars series. That’s a fair complaint. However, Andor also proved that Star Wars doesn’t always need massive action sequences to entertain fans. Even at its most impressive moments, Andor doesn’t lose sight of the people behind the rebellion. It captures the rise of the rebels like few other Star Wars projects ever could.
Andor is streaming on Hulu.
