Skeleton Crew was brilliant but it’s probably getting canceled and it’s your fault

Skeleton Crew has ended, and once again, I find myself irritated by the Star Wars fandom. 

Why? Well, we’ve been treated to arguably the best Star Wars show since Andor, and none of you have watched it. 

Or, to be fair, it’s highly likely – considering it reportedly experienced the lowest viewership of any Star Wars TV series – that you didn’t watch it (if you did, have a gold star), which means one thing. The bean counters over at the House of Mouse, who spent an estimated $136 million on this new show, probably aren’t too happy.

Usually, that means one thing in the television world, and it rhymes with castration (my editor isn’t sure cancellation and castration rhyme but what does he know?), which is exactly what Disney’s accountants would do if anyone suggested greenlighting a second season. 

Another Star Wars show down?

Lucasfilm/Disney

Yes, I’m afraid that, like The Acolyte before it, Skeleton Crew is unlikely to get a second outing, condemned forever to forgotten annals of pop-culture history, and that seems unfair. 

Skeleton Crew was a brilliant show that introduced some intriguing new concepts – who thought that the origin or republic credits would be so interesting?  – and put some meat on the bones of underbaked ideas like the Mandalorian’s space pirates.

More than that, it was a show with a lot of heart, both in front and behind the camera. You could feel the passion for the project in every episode, and it felt less like corporately mandated content designed to sell action figures and more like a genuine love letter to the Star Wars movies of old. 

Honestly, everything about it, from the writing and production design to the cast and score (plus all the fun nods and winks to the broader galaxy), gave this show the sort of energy fans have been demanding from Disney’s Star Wars for years.

Only yourself to blame

Disney+

Yet, despite the reviews being great, no one gave it a chance. Now, you can blame Disney for not marketing it right or Disney+ for oversaturating the market with Star Wars-flavored slop, but ultimately, the buck stops with the audience.

You voted with your feet (metaphorically speaking), and when you didn’t watch it, you robbed yourself of the type of Star Wars show you’d wanted for years. 

So the next time Disney announces a new show about the further adventures of Glup Sh*tto or another of Jeff Filoni’s pet characters, you don’t get to complain about Disney being creatively bankrupt. They tried something new – actually, they tried twice; none of you watched The Acolyte either – and you rejected it.

I wish I could conjure up some optimism about the future of Star Wars, but it’s tough right now. Once Andor Season 2 is done, the only show we’ve got to look forward to is Ahsoka Season 2, and if that’s anything like its first season, it’s likely to be another season of bland inoffensive fan service.

That’s sad, because Star Wars has always been about taking creative risks. If George Lucas had put fan service ahead of all else, Darth Vader wouldn’t have been Luke’s father, Yoda would have been some generic warrior guy, and Han Solo wouldn’t have been a scoundrel. It would have been flavorless sci-fi mush. 

No, the magic of Star Wars has always come from its willingness to surprise us and push boundaries, and if we keep rejecting creativity in favor of comfort, we’ll end up with a galaxy far, far away that’s sadly a shadow of its former self. 

If you’re more optimistic about the future of Star Wars than I am check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies including The Mandalorian and Grogu. We’ve also got a list of the best Star Wars characters of all time for you to peruse.