There wasn’t much question that “Andor,” one of the buzziest shows of the past year, was going to land a coveted Emmy slot in the Outstanding Drama Series category for its acclaimed second season. Beginning right at the end of April with a three-episode premiere, show creator Tony Gilroy has seemingly revived public interest in “Star Wars,” at least on the small screen, following the sequel trilogy’s limp to the finish with 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” Any doubt that the Star Wars brand would hurt “Andor” in the drama series was quickly proven wrong.
But despite receiving 14 nominations, including for directing, writing, and multiple below-the-line crafts, six more than Season 1, only Forest Whitaker for guest actor and Alan Tudyk for character voiceover performance were chosen to represent the widely beloved ensemble. Despite receiving some of the highest praise of their careers, Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, and Denise Gough couldn’t crack their competitive categories, proving there’s still a significant hurdle in this franchise being taken seriously for acting prospects.
Up until this point, “The Mandalorian” has given Star Wars its most Emmy glory, with 48 total nominations and 15 wins across three seasons. Even then, the show eventually lost momentum, with Season 3 earning nine nominations compared to Season 2’s 24. It never won for acting (aside from stunt performances), despite Timothy Olyphant, Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, and Taika Waititi nabbing nominations over the years. Two other recent Star Wars shows, “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” fared worse, earning four and five nominations apiece with no love shown for the actors. Between those two shows, only “The Book of Boba Fett” won a single award for visual effects.
The “Andor” cast evidently fell victim to the Television Academy being shortsighted and struggling to look beyond the same three or four shows in all the major categories. In the drama series category, which goes up to eight nominees, the clear priorities were “The Last of Us,” “Severance,” and “The White Lotus,” leading the actors to dominate across lead, supporting, and guest categories. For example, six of the seven supporting actor slots went to “Severance” and “The White Lotus” alone.
Nevertheless, the creatives behind the scenes have much to be proud of going into the Emmys ceremony. Since the show has quite a definitive conclusion, “Andor” ended for good with Season 2, leaving no room for it to grow momentum with future nominations and wins. For now, the show’s most likely win prospects lie in below-the-line crafts. As precedent, “The Mandalorian” previously won for stunts, visual effects, cinematography, sound mixing and editing, production design, prosthetic makeup, and music. Although “Andor” Season 1 walked away with zero wins, that same fate doesn’t seem likely to befall the heavily acclaimed Season 2. It has stood tall as one of the best shows of 2025 and deserves to walk away with multiple wins for at least reminding audiences that “Star Wars” can be not only cool again, but also relevant and important to the dark times we’re living in, not just as a piece of entertainment.
Between Shawn Levy’s “Starfighter” and “The Mandalorian & Grogu” movie, the immediate future of “Star Wars” seems more geared toward the big screen. But when Disney and Lucasfilm inevitably try to find the next “Andor” level success for the Emmys, it will have to take the time to develop organically. What made “Andor” so successful, in large part, is the time and space provided to Gilroy and his creative team to flesh out the storylines and characters properly. Gilroy even had five complete seasons planned out, which is a luxury many big-budget shows don’t often have in the fast-paced world of television. If Disney and Lucasfilm learn the proper lessons from this show’s success, perhaps there will be more Emmys in this legendary franchise’s future, and maybe one day, if “Andor” Season 2 doesn’t do the trick, even an acting prize.
Have you watched “Andor” yet? If so, what do you think of it? Do you believe the Television Academy will recognize it with any wins this year? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account, and be sure to check out our latest Emmy predictions here. Please also be sure to subscribe to the Next Best Series Podcast, where we interview Emmy contenders throughout the awards season and discuss the race.
