Star Wars’ First Proper TV Show Aired 23 Years Before The Clone Wars

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Today, many people think of Star Wars as much a TV series as a movie franchise. Shows like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Andor have made it a regular offering on streaming services. Although movies are still important to Lucasfilm and Disney’s plans, viewers now connect Star Wars with high-quality television just as often as they do with big-screen blockbusters.

For many Star Wars fans, the show The Clone Wars, which premiered in 2008, is where the franchise really became known for its television series. Although there was an earlier Clone Wars released between 2003 and 2005, that version consisted of short episodes shown during commercial breaks. The 2008 series was a full half-hour animated show with continuing storylines, and it felt like the point when Star Wars successfully expanded into television for an entire generation.

Although many fans remember The Clone Wars as the first Star Wars TV series, it actually wasn’t! Twenty-three years earlier, two animated shows – Star Wars: Ewoks and Star Wars: Droids – first brought the galaxy far, far away to television. These 1985 series were created for a different time in TV history, but they’re still interesting parts of Star Wars lore. While quite different from today’s Disney+ shows, they were important in growing the franchise beyond the initial movies and helped turn Star Wars into a major multimedia experience.

Star Wars’ Ewoks & Droids TV Shows Explained

After the first three Star Wars movies became a hit, Lucasfilm wanted to find new ways to keep fans interested in the galaxy far, far away. Saturday morning cartoons were very popular at the time, so in 1985, Lucasfilm created two animated series: Star Wars: Droids and Star Wars: Ewoks.

Both Droids and Ewoks aired on ABC as part of a one-hour block called The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour. Droids showed the adventures of C-3PO and R2-D2 before the events of A New Hope, following their journeys as they changed owners and got into trouble. Ewoks, on the other hand, took place on the forest moon of Endor, before Return of the Jedi, and focused on the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick (played by Warwick Davis in the movies). It was more of a fantasy show, with stories about witches and magic.

While the animated series Droids and Ewoks aren’t officially considered part of the current Star Wars storyline, they were incredibly important in expanding the franchise. These shows were among the first efforts to build Star Wars into a larger brand beyond the original movies. Before streaming was common, Droids and Ewoks proved that fans wanted more Star Wars content and were eager to experience it at home.

Ewoks & Droids Fill Important Gaps In Star Wars Continuity

Even though Droids and Ewoks were fun, simple cartoons for kids, they actually added details to the larger Star Wars story. While these shows aren’t heavily emphasized in current Star Wars material, they showed us events and characters from a time period that hadn’t been explored before when they first came out in 1985.

As a huge Star Wars fan, I always found Droids really interesting because it was the first time we got to see what C-3PO and R2-D2 were up to before everything kicked off with A New Hope. It showed how they ended up working for Captain Antilles – you know, Leia’s owner before she got them! But beyond that, Droids actually planted some seeds for the prequel trilogy. I remember one episode had these crazy fast races, and while they weren’t exactly like the podraces in The Phantom Menace, it was clear where Lucas got the idea from. It felt like a really early version of that concept.

The series Ewoks adds interesting background to the forest moon of Endor. Taking place before Return of the Jedi, it shows the Empire first arriving on the moon, which explains why the Ewoks already know about Imperial forces when Luke, Han, and Leia appear. This also makes the Ewoks’ choice to help the Rebels more logical – they aren’t just helping strangers, but are acting on existing distrust of the Empire’s presence on their home.

While neither Ewoks nor Droids are considered among the most important Star Wars TV shows, they still hold a special place in the franchise’s history. These were the first dedicated Star Wars stories told on television, setting the stage for everything that came after. Even more importantly, they demonstrated that Star Wars could be successful on TV long before shows like The Clone Wars, The Mandalorian, and Andor made television a central part of the franchise.

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2026-06-16 15:42