Enjoyed Andor? Stream These 10 Similarly Rebellious TV Shows

Andor has recently finished, and it’s a Star Wars spin-off that hits differently than Disney’s other TV trips to the galaxy of Jedi and Sith. It’s not just because it didn’t rely on lightsaber duels. The series was heavily revered for leaning hard into a rebellious uprising against the towering fascists of the Empire.

With the show’s conclusion, your thirst for inspiring TV might not be fully quenched. Lucky for you, there are plenty of rebellious streaming options outside the realm of Star Wars. If you’ve got that itch for freedom fighting, these are the shows you must seek out.

10

Exosquad

Exosquad takes place in a future of space wars and giant robot suits. The conflict concerns the bred clones, the Neosapiens, fighting back against the humans who enslaved them. Fighting back against this war is Able Squad, a task force comprised of humans and Neosapiens trying to end this galactic feud.

While the primary allure for a show like this was the mech suits that looked straight out of Aliens, the story is compelling about colonization, bigotry, and genocide. Inspired by the events of World War II and anime like Mobile Suit Gundam, Exosquad embraced a surprisingly mature space epic. The fact that it was made for kids makes it a rare gem of an action cartoon from the 1990s.

Peacock

Exosquad presents a rousing space opera with giant robots that hits surprisingly hard for an action cartoon aimed at kids in the 1990s.

9

Snowpiercer

Following the sleeper success of Bong Joon-ho’s theatrical adaptation, the dystopian Snowpiercer comic book would also get a TV series treatment. Set entirely on a train, the remnants of humanity struggle to survive in a darker class-based system. The political tension and violence towards the ruling class continue as much as the train chugs through a frozen Earth.

Unlike the movie and the comic book, the Snowpiercer show has some hope for life outside the last train on the planet. That said, the series still didn’t shy away from the grander themes of social injustice and class disparity amid limited resources. After all, if you’re going to keep this dark story going for more than one season, there’s gotta be some more than snow and despair, making the series more uniquely distinct.

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AMC+

Snowpiercer features a dystopian tale of class and climate aboard the last train on Earth.

8

Farscape

Developed by the Jim Henson Company, Farscape had the allure of amazing puppet effects, but also a stylish and sexy tale of outlaws. John Crichton is an astronaut flying through a wormhole in his shuttle to board a commandeered prison ship of escaped prisoners. His adventure of getting back home has him running across cyborg masochists, provocative creatures, and a pint-sized king who farts helium.

Aside from the mesmerizing creature designs, Farscape was a fun show for John, who wryly rebelled against evil alien forces, slinging pop-culture slang he knew only he’d appreciate. He’d be caught up in a war between the Peacekeepers and Scarrans in their quest for wormhole weaponry. With John fighting alongside wild alien fugitives, Farscape was such an inspiring dose of rebelliousness with weird puppets as a bonus.

Tubi

Farscape merges an exciting tale of intergalactic adventure with stellar creature effects from the Jim Henson Workshop.

7

Squid Game

If the previous examples sounded too fantastical, Squid Game may be the more grounded rebel series for you. In modern-day South Korea, unfortunate souls struggling with debt can win an absurd amount of money. The only catch is that seemingly simple childhood games become a life-or-death struggle with deadly consequences for losing.

While season one of Squid Game showcased the hideous nature of capitalism and class struggle, season two became more about fighting back against that system. But taking down such vicious and secretive games is a tougher and bloodier ordeal for the poor players, even when armed with plenty of guns to fire at their aggressors. It’s a brutal struggle that remains to be seen how it’ll all play out when Squid Game ends later this year.

Netflix

Squid Game presents a dark focus on capitalism with its deadly games of big cash prizes.

6

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

The Gundam saga has always been about rebelling amid space wars, but Zeta Gundam has the most fighting spirit. This sequel series to the original Gundam anime centers around the Earth government becoming corrupt and taking their conquering space colonies too far. Joining the resistance is Kamille, an emotionally furious teenager capable of piloting the legendary Gundam mobile suit. The first two episodes are so cool for how Kamille immediately beats up soldiers who insult him, escapes custody, steals a giant robot, shoots back at the police, and demands to join the rebels.

This anime doesn’t hold back its political fury, especially when Kamille and company strike back against the Titans’ openly fascist attitudes. The show also takes a sharp stab at the futility of war amid its stylish giant robot battles in space. While the first Mobile Suit Gundam changed the face of mecha anime by presenting a believable war with giant robot weapons, Zeta added more than enough polish to become one of the best entries in the franchise and must-watch among the anime to stream.

Crunchyroll

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam merges giant robot space battles with the vicious politics of war.

5

Fallout

Based on the hit video game series, Fallout explores the…well, fallout from an atomic apocalypse. Exploring this wasteland is the plucky Lucy, having spent her lifetime residing in an underground vault. In addition to defying her vault’s own rigid political structure to find her missing father, she’ll find allies with the cowboy ghoul Cooper and Brotherhood of Steel squire Norm.

While the Fallout TV series maintains the iconography of the games, it also embodies the same sense of freedom from containment and rejection of oppressive structures in a dystopian world. With its tongue-in-cheek dark humor amid the violent landscape, there’s a lot of weird charm to this cruel world of radiated zombies, cannibals, and preserved brains. It’s a show so vividly realized that it’ll make you want to jump right back into the Fallout games.

Amazon Prime Video

Fallout adapts the popular video game franchise into a thrilling post-apocalyptic adventure.

4

Aeon Flux

In a surreal future, the agile and seductive Aeon wages a war against the armies of the Breen. Her mixed feelings for Trevor Goodchild, dictator of the Breen, complicate her battle amid the dystopian citadel of Bregna. Trevor’s various sci-fi schemes, ranging from memory-erasing animals to security robots that cut off limbs, make the struggle all the tougher (and stranger).

While series creator Peter Chung dressed his rail-thin characters in skimpy outfits, he didn’t skimp on crafting a frightening totalitarian setting. Aeon rebels in a world of advanced surveillance tech and mind control that is enough to send shivers down your spine. It’s also a vicious world where a running gag in the early episodes was that Aeon would always die in the most unflattering ways.

Paramount Plus

Aeon Flux is a stylish and weird dose of surreal animation about rebelling in a totalitarian future.

3

The Man in the High Castle

Phillip K. Dick’s alternative history novel gets the epic TV treatment with a story that asks, “What if the Axis powers won World War II?” The alternative timeline finds the US diced up between the Nazis and the Japanese. Under this fascist rule, the young and chipper Juliana Crain happens upon some films that reveal a different world and a chance at attaining freedom from dictatorship.

The Man in the High Castle puts an incredible amount of detail into defining its dismal world following a fascist victory. The high level of realism not only brings Dick’s novel to life, but feels frighteningly relatable. There’s accuracy so painfully potent that it’s enough to make one long for the story’s fantastical element of parallel timelines. While harboring sci-fi elements, the show still has an inspiring tone of fighting for a better world that could exist.

Amazon Prime Video

The Man in the High Castle takes a dark and intriguing look at a world where the Axis powers win World War II.

2

The Handmaid’s Tale

Based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a dystopian America that has become a theocracy. With birth rates falling, fertile women are forced into the servitude role of Handmaids. June, however, is a handmaid who has had enough and charges forward to lead a war on a villainous patriarchy.

The show expands on the book by focusing on June’s struggles beyond escaping this dystopian nightmare. With Elisabeth Moss’s furious performance, she wages a battle to take down an unjust society, one rescue, bombing, and murder at a time. The show is an intense and raw dystopian drama, made all the more extreme with its current and final season.

Hulu

The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a dystopian America where women have lost all rights and must fight for them again.

1

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

No Star Trek show has ever been as rebellious in spirit as Deep Space Nine. A Starfleet Federation space station crew struggles to maintain order amid the fallout of planet Bajor and its war between the occupying Cardassians and the liberated Bajorans. Tensions continue to mount until the series highlight of the brutal and epic Dominion War with dire consequences.

Deep Space Nine vigorously questions authority, especially in handling the complicated factions of the Cardassians and Dominion. The ongoing story has great passion and consequences, with memorable characters like the conniving bartender Quark and the rebelling Bajoran military liaison Kira. If other Star Trek shows seemed a bit too silly with plots of furry Tribbles and a naked Q, Deep Space Nine is the Trek with teeth, boldly biting where no other Trek show has bitten before.

Paramount Plus

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine features all the grand ideas of Star Trek with an engaging and ongoing story of rebelling against authoritarians.

What made Andor such a refreshing Star Wars show was that it felt poignant. It remained faithful to the original Star Wars trilogy, which reflected a world grappling with imperialism. Great art can uniquely reflect our times, even through shows featuring giant robots and starships. Watching these shows may not change the world, but they might inspire you to take more steps towards a better world.