Andor season 2 is arguably the most eagerly anticipated of all the upcoming Star Wars releases. The Disney+ show’s first outing may not have had the mass appeal – or Baby Yoda – of The Mandalorian, but this prequel to hit movie Rogue One showed how to deliver quality, adult-targeted drama in a galaxy far, far away.

In fact, with its morally flexible characters, grown-up themes and intelligent storytelling – and minimal references to the dauntingly vast canon of a galaxy far, far away – Andor was the Star Wars TV show that people who don’t really like Star Wars could enjoy. So, ahead of the critically acclaimed series’ return on 22 April, here are seven reasons you should watch Andor season 2. (All 12 first season episodes of the first are currently available on Disney+ if you want to catch up.)

1. You don’t have to do much prep before viewing

Once upon a time, all you had to do to stay up to date with events in a galaxy far, far away was watch a movie trilogy or two. Those days are long gone, however, as official Star Wars canon consists of 11 films, a similar number of TV shows, and more spin-off books and comics than any human (or even droid) could count. It can therefore be hard to keep up with what’s going on unless you’re an extremely hardcore fan.

The good thing about Star Wars: Andor is that the revision required in advance is minimal. In fact, all you need to know is that it’s a prequel to Rogue One, the 2016 movie (itself a prequel to the original trilogy) that revealed how the Rebel Alliance got its hands on the top-secret plans that helped Luke Skywalker blow up the Death Star. This show explains how the eponymous Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) came to play a part in that crucial Rogue One mission against the evil Galactic Empire – and that’s pretty much everything you need to know.

2. Its creator also wrote the Bourne movies and Michael Clayton

Andor creator/showrunner Tony Gilroy has serious Hollywood credentials. As well as scripting the first three Jason Bourne movies, he wrote and directed the Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton, before being recruited to rework the Rogue One script.

He’s widely credited with making that movie one of the best in Star Wars history – and one of the bleakest, seeing as all the lead characters (including Cassian himself) die before the closing credits. Gilroy’s influence is clear in Andor, a show has a similar shades-of-grey morality to the Matt Damon Bourne movies.

3. It’s not a massive time investment

With so much quality TV out there, nobody wants to devote loads of time to a TV show, only to see it cancelled before it reaches a satisfactory conclusion. Luckily, there’s no reason to worry about Andor going the way of Star Wars stablemate The Acolyte, which was prematurely axed after its one and only season.

Andor was always envisioned as a two-season affair, exploring Cassian Andor’s life in the five years leading up to Rogue One. Having explained how he came into the Rebel Alliance’s orbit in season 1, Andor’s second season will be split into four three-episode blocks, each one focusing on a pivotal few days in its protagonist’s journey. In other words, 24 episodes and it’s all done.

4. The lead character evolves

The Cassian Andor we met in Rogue One was a pivotal figure in Rebel Intelligence, and – as he proved by ruthlessly murdering an informant in his first scene – prepared to do terrible things in the name of the Rebellion.
But he was a very different man five years earlier. He was already ruthless – as proved when he killed a pair of security officers in the opening episode – but he was also a petty thief with little allegiance to anyone, or anything, aside from tracking down his long-lost sister

The events of season 1 shifted his path considerably, however, as he became one of the Empire’s most wanted, worked as a Rebel Alliance gun for hire on an audacious raid on an Imperial base, and led a prison break at the high-security Narkina 5 facility. It’s the sort of CV that tends to attract attention – in this case, of shadowy Rebel spy master Luthen Rael (played by Stellan Skarsgård) – and in Andor season 2 we’ll learn how Cassian became an operative ready to die for the cause.

5. It’s not made for kids

With its spaceships, droids and Stormtroopers, Andor is unmistakably set in the Star Wars universe. Even so, the franchise’s more fairytale elements are nowhere to be seen. This show exists in the dark corners of the galaxy, light years away from Jedi, lightsabers and the Force. Looking for Baby Yoda? The cutest thing you’re going to see in Andor is Cassian’s glitchy house droid B2EMO.

It’s also, at times, violent, and when characters die they tend to stay dead – no Obi-Wan Kenobi-style voices from beyond the grave here. And the Galactic Empire may just be as chilling as they’ve ever been. In Andor, they don’t even need Darth Vader to play enforcer, because they know their vast bureaucratic operations – backed by a powerful military – are enough to crush naysayers into submission. The show has its moments of action, of course, but it’s also talky and political, and all the better for it.

6. Everybody is conflicted

A long time ago, when Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first set out to rescue Princess Leia from the Death Star, it was instantly clear that Rebels = good and Empire = bad. In Andor, those distinctions aren’t quite so clear.
Cassian is motivated more by self-preservation than saving the galaxy, while senator and future Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly, playing the younger version of a character who debuted in Return of the Jedi) has to take money from questionable sources to fund the nascent Rebellion.

Even the Imperial officers – so often just stooges to the lead bad guys – are people doing a job, as prone to petty squabbles as the rest of us. Ambitious Imperial Security Bureau officer Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) is one of the show’s standout characters, whose obsession with apprehending Cassian could make – or just as easily break – her career. The return of Rogue One antagonist Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) should really shake things up in Andor season 2.

7. It’s had major awards recognition

While Andor’s first season didn’t walk away with many awards, it was at least part of the conversation – something that hasn’t always been the case for Star Wars movies and TV shows. Alongside a Bafta nomination for the ever-brilliant Fiona Shaw (who played Cassian’s adoptive mother, Maarva, in season 1) and a place on the Golden Globe shortlist for Luna, the show was deservedly in the running for Outstanding Drama Series at both the Emmys and the Writers Guild of America Awards.

Andor: season 2 debuts on Disney+ on Tuesday 22 April. All 12 season 1 episodes are available on Disney+ now.