Andor’s premiere in 2022 quickly established the series as far more than a Star Wars show, cementing itself as a space opera for the ages. Starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, the series was quick to find critical acclaim, earning praise for its storytelling sensibilities and willingness to prod further into the mature realities of living under an authoritarian rule. While other Star Wars properties focused on galaxy-saving heroes or full-blown rebellion, Andor examined the more ordinary heroes that can become part of a resistance. It created a sophisticated science fiction story that quickly became a fan-favorite within the franchise.
While Andor raised the bar for what a TV show within a well-known franchise could be, the series is far from the first space opera to deserve high praise. For decades, sci-fi shows have come and gone on screen, using interstellar settings to explore intense themes of political unrest and war, telling stories from out-of-the-box perspectives that quickly became cultural phenomena. The best space operas are more than the sum of their parts, combining stunning visuals and intricate stories to create deep, meaningful worlds on screen. For those looking a great binge, these space operas are on par with Andor.
6
Foundation
Based on Isaac Asimov’s book series, Foundation premiered on Apple TV in 2021, bringing the story of mathematician Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) to life. Seldon’s school of science, psychohistory, predicts the collapse of humanity, so to preserve their knowledge and shorten the impending dark age, he establishes The Foundation, a group of exiled humans chosen to save the Galactic Empire. Setting in motion a story that spans centuries, planets, and generations, Foundation is an expansive series that has sprawled out over the course of three 10-episode seasons, with another coming in the future after Foundation season 3 hit in 2025.
Critics and audiences have grown to enjoy the series as its continued, finding Foundation to be better and better each season. As the story has progressed, Foundation has become a lot like Andor in the way it treats its story, with a deep respect and sense of care. Foundation treats its sci-fi story as a drama, rather than using it as spectacle. Both shows focus heavily on political systems, but Foundation explores all different themes of rebellion from a larger scale, which makes it one of the few space operas to feel wildly ambitious and complex as it moves forward.
5
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Another Star Wars franchise series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars filled the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, chronicling the galaxy-wide conflict between the Republic and the Separatists. Running from 2008 through 2020, the series ran across several networks and lasted through seven seasons. The animated series followed familiar figures like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano while introducing new characters, storylines, and original pieces of franchise lore. While it began as a family-friendly adventure series, The Clone Wars developed into one of the franchise’s most mature and emotionally complicated shows over its run.
Tackling mature themes like war, corruption, propaganda, and the human cost of conflict, The Clone Wars was praised for its layered storytelling throughout the series, and the emotional payoff of its final season in particular. Although Andor is a live-action addition to the Star Wars franchise, The Clone Wars uses its animated style to its benefit, going well beyond the typical lightsaber antics and typical space battles. The series digs into difficult moral choices and expands the Star Wars universe in a way that made the franchise more flexible and able to support more than traditional adventure narratives on screen.
- Release Date
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2008 – 2020-00-00
- Network
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Cartoon Network, Netflix, Disney+
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Tom Kane
Narrator / Yoda / Medical Droid / Yularen / Kraken (voice)
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4
Battlestar Galactica
The reimagined Battlestar Galactica, which premiered in 2004 and ran through 2009, remains one of TV’s most acclaimed science-fiction dramas even long after it came to a close. Following the near-extinction of humanity after a devastating attack by the Cylons, the series focuses on the survivors’ desperate search for safety within a ragtag fleet. Starring Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, the series was able to combine military drama, philosophy, and character-driven storytelling within the scope of a political revolution that was rare for TV at the time. With critics highly praising the series, Battlestar Galactica was an extraordinary undertaking.
While Andor is a much more modern series, it shares some major positives with Battlestar Galactica, including the fact that both are committed to a sense of realism in an unrealistic world. Both shows examine authoritarianism, resistance, and leadership without pulling their punches or relying on simplistic hero and villain tropes. Both shows are able to ask difficult questions about what people are willing to sacrifice in times of crisis, finding success because of their characters and conflicts are just as compelling as their sci-fi elements. Battlestar Galactica paved the way for great shows like Andor to come to life.
- Release Date
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2004 – 2009-00-00
- Showrunner
-
Ronald D. Moore
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Edward James Olmos
William Adama
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Mary McDonnell
Laura Roslin
3
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is a massive, sweeping series that ran from 1987 through 1994, revitalizing the Star Trek franchise for a whole new generation. Transporting audiences a century beyond the era of Captain Kirk, TNG introduced Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard, a new captain with a new crew aboard the USS Enterprise-D. The series spanned seven seasons, exploring the ethics and diplomacy of humanity’s future among the stars. While it took some time to find its footing, Star Trek: The Next Generation eventually found itself a massive success that helped to define what a modern space opera could be.
While it’s very different from Andor at first glance, Star Trek: The Next Generation has some tremendous similarities to the successful series. As Andor explores the rebellion and oppression of a people, Star Trek: The Next Generation frequently looks at diplomacy, morality, and the issues that come with power. With neither show relying on heavy action, they both use the sci-fi tropes at their disposal to keep viewers invested as they move forward, posing questions about society, leadership, and human behavior. Star Trek: The Next Generation walked so that a series like Andor could feasibly forge ahead with its audience.
- Release Date
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1987 – 1994-00-00
- Network
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Syndication
- Showrunner
-
Gene Roddenberry
2
Babylon 5
First airing in 1994, Babylon 5 takes place aboard a massive space station that serves as a diplomatic hub for multiple intergalactic civilizations. The series, which ran for five seasons, followed military officers, politicians, ambassadors, and civilians as they navigate growing political tensions that eventually threaten the galaxy. Babylon 5 was a series that was highly committed to long-form storytelling, which set it apart in the sci-fi genre, where stories tend to be somewhat more episodic than serialized. Babylon 5 chose to go a different route, bringing its stories across multiple seasons and allowing its characters to take the wheel.
While Babylon 5 is a highly different series than Andor, the shows share some of the large-scale political themes throughout their runs. With their stories best viewed through the experiences of their individual characters over the course of time, both shows focus on the gradual rise of resistance, which takes time to build up through their narratives. Babylon 5, even decades after its initial debut and with other TV examples abound, remains one of the clearest examples of how intelligent political drama can thrive in a space opera setting, which doesn’t necessarily feel like the right place for those stories.
- Release Date
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1994 – 1998-00-00
- Network
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Syndication, TNT
- Showrunner
-
J. Michael Straczynski
-
Bruce Boxleitner
John Sheridan
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1
The Expanse
Based on the novels by James S. A. Corey, The Expanse ran from 2015 through 2022, and depicts a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System. Over the course of six seasons, The Expanse told the story of what happened after tensions rose between Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt after a missing-person investigation gradually uncovers a conspiracy capable of reshaping civilization as a whole. With a large ensemble cast that’s led by Dominique Tipper, Steven Strait, and Shohreh Aghashloo, The Expanse earned widespread praise for its realistic approach to surreal storytelling, and its richly developed and three-dimensional characters.
While The Expanse is definitely a series all its own, it is likely the closest on this list to Andor, almost feeling like a spiritual predecessor to the series. With both focusing on deep political conflict that pulls the threads of inequality, systemic issues, and a large historical movement unfolding, The Expanse and Andor both build tension through their characters and the decisions they make about their circumstances. With political maneuvering and believable consequences throughout both shows, The Expanse is a strong recommendation of what a modern space opera looks like, especially in the way that it navigates its drama.
- Release Date
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2015 – 2022-00-00
- Network
-
SyFy, Prime Video
- Showrunner
-
Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
-
-
Dominique Tipper
Naomi Nagata
