STAR WARS: ANDOR.

• Author: Suderman, Peter
• Position: TV

Star Wars has always been an epic myth about a rebellion ("the Rebel Alliance") against a tyrannical government ("the Empire"). The initial installment of the series came out in 1977, in the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War, and the series nodded to a scrappyunderdogs-vs.-powerful-institutions political sensibility. But by and large, the actual politics were left unexplored.

A prequel trilogy that began in 1999 fleshed out some more of the backstory, including senate machinations and arcane disputes over trade policy, and the 2016 prequel Rogue One advanced some of the Vietnam vibes and hinted at factionalism among the rebels. Even still, these were political stories in name only; the particular substance of the disputes was beside the point.

Star Wars: Andor, a streaming series...