Disney+ Makes 'Andor' Season 1 Episodes Available for Free

American fantasy series have long leaned into U.K. actors and those from around the Commonwealth to portray various forms of non-Earth-based characters, from Xena: Warrior Princess to the original Star Wars trilogy. The most recent spate stems from Game of Thrones, which seemed to populate the entirety of Westeros from the BBC's A-list. The recent Star Wars revival occurred just as Game of Thrones took off in 2012, so it wasn't surprising that the new films were mostly cast with British actors, even if the material was no better (or worse) than the original trilogy. Nor was it a surprise that the Lucasfilm franchise extended to Disney's streaming service with spinoff TV series.

But then there was Andor, the first Star Wars series that actually had something to say about our modern political landscape and the banality of evil being the uncaring acts of middle management.

The series is a prequel to a prequel, the events that lead directly to the 2016 film Rogue One, which ended literally with the opening minutes of 1977's A New Hope. Created by Tony Gilroy (who wrote Rogue One) and Diego Luna (who starred as Cassian Andor in the 2016 film), the series is about Luna's thief-turned-rebel spy, occurring over the five-year period before Rogue One, tracing how those trapped in an authoritarian system become radicalized and how rebellions are formed.