Copyright Screen Rant
The Star Wars movies have introduced several iconic characters, but some of the franchise's best have first been introduced in TV shows. Although the upcoming Star Wars movies of the next few years will usher in the franchise's return to the big screen, there is no denying the focus that Lucasfilm has placed on TV since 2019. The Mandalorian, which will serve as the basis for 2026's The Mandalorian and Grogu story on the big screen, was a roaring success. This allowed Star Wars to venture into the realm of TV in a way the franchise had not before. From continuations of old shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and live-action stories for Obi-Wan Kenobi to Star Wars' best TV show, Andor, Disney+ allowed the galaxy far, far away to be just as big a presence on the small screen as it has been theatrically. This does not include the few Star Wars shows released before 2019, either. The timeline of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, set between Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, began fleshing out the franchise's canon on TV. All this is to say that Star Wars' TV efforts are vast and, in a franchise with so many great characters, many of them were introduced on the small screen. Omega Omega props up the list of the best Star Wars characters introduced in TV shows, and as one of the most recent, too. Omega debuted in 2021's Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a spin-off of The Clone Wars that shows the titular team of clones navigating the Empire's changes to the galaxy. Initially, I was concerned about Omega's presence in the show. Star Wars has never been a franchise that portrays child characters well, and every TV or movie trope in the book states that child characters among a cast of adults will be annoying. Omega proves all of these tropes wrong as the heart of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. She is immediately likable, thanks to Michelle Ang's iconic voice acting, and is treated as an actual character instead of an annoying child. Her growth over the course of The Bad Batch's three seasons proves this, with her ending being a poignant one that also ties to the wider universe. Omega is simply easy to love and, thus, anchors the emotional core of an entire show around her. This earns her a spot on this list, and she is not higher only due to the longer time those above her have been in Star Wars, and the development that comes with that. Cad Bane Cad Bane's canon backstory in Star Wars is brief, which, like Omega, sees him ranked low on this list. That said, the bounty hunter introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars embodies something that makes plenty of the franchise's best aspects: the rule of cool. Cad Bane is suave, competent, and effortless as a cowboy-like bounty hunter who is a thorn in the side of the Jedi throughout The Clone Wars. Corey Burton's voice work only adds to this, imbuing Bane with a confidence that shines through as he goes toe-to-toe with some of the most powerful Jedi in Star Wars. Bane is easily one of the strongest antagonists introduced in The Clone Wars, which led to further appearances in The Bad Batch and The Book of Boba Fett. The latter fumbled the character somewhat, and, again, his lack of an outright backstory beyond Tales of the Underworld means he cannot rank higher, but Bane remains a Star Wars TV fan favorite. Bo-Katan Kryze Bo-Katan Kryze was introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars as an antagonistic Mandalorian warrior to the Jedi. As such, her development in that show is minimal. Nonetheless, her team-up with Obi-Wan Kenobi in one of The Clone Wars' best arcs adds a level of sympathetic depth to her, which only continued in Star Wars: Rebels. Where Bo-Katan's character improved even further was her transition into live-action with The Mandalorian. Bo-Katan is simply badass in the show, with her character opening up the small bounty hunter-centric story to a wider tale about reclaiming an entire planet. Bo-Katan can be slightly one-note, though, and it would have been nice if The Mandalorian delved more into her history with her sister, who was lost in The Clone Wars. If this had been the case, Bo-Katan would have been ranked higher as one of the best Star Wars characters introduced on TV. Asajj Ventress Asajj Ventress is one of the oldest Star Wars TV characters, initially introduced as an assassin in the now non-canon Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon by Genndy Tartakovsky. Ventress then became canon with Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the 3D animated show that introduced Bane, Bo-Katan, and so on. Asajj was a great villain in The Clone Wars, allowing for some truly dark moments in what was supposed to be a kids' show, an excellently flirtatious rivalry with Obi-Wan Kenobi, and her share of emotional depth as a former Jedi Padawan-turned-Sith assassin by an abusive mentor. Her quest for revenge after she is betrayed by Count Dooku and the Empire is one of the show's best, as is her aftermath story, the novel Star Wars: Dark Disciple. Ventress' transition to a Force-sensitive bounty hunter in The Bad Batch is immensely compelling, and we cannot wait to see where her story goes from here. For this compelling story full of development, as well as some rep for the classic 2D Clone Wars animation, Ventress earns her spot as a great Star Wars TV character. The Stranger/Qimir The Acolyte was divisive, to say the very least. However, one of the very few parts that all agree worked was Qimir/The Stranger. Manny Jacinto's Sith villain is one of Star Wars' most compelling in years, with a mysterious Jedi-centric backstory and ties to a major antagonist that audiences have wanted to see explored for decades: Darth Plagueis the Wise. The Stranger had all of this intrigue circling around him, a complex view of Star Wars' politics, a refreshing standpoint on the Jedi and the Sith, and was a complete badass to boot. His action scenes were simply stunning, from The Stranger being the best lightsaber fighter in decades to his armor that could short out lightsabers. Yes, The Acolyte was a missed opportunity overall. If there were one element audiences all latched onto and wanted to see continue, though, it was The Stranger. For his ability to stand out as the most intriguing Star Wars character in years, he ranks as one of the best introduced in the TV medium. If The Acolyte had not been canceled, he may well have ranked higher. Saw Gerrera Saw Gerrera, as he was when introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, was a fairly simple character; a man fighting against the Separatists alongside the Jedi who lost his sister, only appearing in a side role in a few episodes. However, the depth added to him in Star Wars Rebels, Andor, Rogue One, and several Star Wars books makes him a truly great character. Saw Gerrera's penchant for violence makes him a different kind of Rebel, alone placing him on this list as an intriguing wild card. When combined with the horrors he has seen that turned him into a highly paranoid, crazy madman bent on destroying the Empire, Saw becomes one of the best TV characters in Star Wars. The only thing stopping Saw Gerrera from ranking higher as such is his lack of agency. Saw has always been used as a supporting character, never receiving his own story outright. Compared to characters with their own shows or seasons' worth of focused development, Saw just cracks the top 15. Agent Kallus Star Wars Rebels is perhaps the best Star Wars animated show, primarily due to its excellent characters. Kallus embodied this by showing a character transition that the franchise never had before: an Imperial defecting to the Rebels. While Star Wars has focused on redemption since the original trilogy, a regular Imperial agent becoming disillusioned with the regime was new. Kallus was evil, at first; a man who captured Wookiees, tried to kill Jedi, including children, and even played a part in the genocide of an entire race known as the Lasat. Kallus' revelations later in the series, including his obliviousness that the Empire would commit genocide and remorse and grief over the result, made him a much more complex character. Seeing how he slowly becomes disenfranchised with the Empire was excellent, as was his eventual reveal as a Rebellion spy and discovery that the Lasat people lived on. Overall, Kallus provided a new facet of redemption to a long-running franchise about, well, redemption. If he had more screentime beyond Rebels, he could have ranked higher. Garazeb Orelios Better known as Zeb, Garazeb Orelios is Kallus' opposite number. Zeb thought he was the last remaining Lasat, putting him at odds with Kallus. Their bond and development, though, after Kallus shows true remorse and regret for what the Empire did, make Zeb immensely lovable, driven by his capacity to forgive. Beyond that, Zeb is hilarious as one of Star Wars Rebels' main comedic relief characters. This does not stop him from being competent in a fight, either. Star Wars Rebels includes some of the best TV characters in the franchise. For the way Zeb stands out among many, he earns a spot on this list. With Zeb also set to appear in live-action in The Mandalorian and Grogu, he could eventually move higher as one of the best Star Wars characters introduced on TV. Sabine Wren Another Star Wars Rebels character, Sabine Wren ranks higher than Zeb and Kallus as she has already transitioned into live-action. Ahsoka saw this happen, with Natasha Liu Bordizzo taking an already great character and updating her for a new medium. Sabine began as a damaged Mandalorian working for the Rebels. Eventually, she became someone who embraced her bigger role in restoring Mandalorian greatness by fighting the Empire and shouldering the weight of her people's history. Her later development into a Jedi only adds to all of this, making Sabine a true great, with more story to tell in the upcoming Ahsoka season 2. Dedra Meero What comes next for Star Wars after Andor, the show's unequivocal best TV show, remains to be seen. Star Wars may never top it, with Andor's main strength being its immense character work. Dedra Meero typifies this, almost acting as a successor to Kallus in the sense that she is an Imperial who is shown as that, but also as a human being. In a rare first for Star Wars, the audience actually began to root for Dedra Meero, an Imperial who tortured, killed, and schemed her way to the top. By placing her as an underdog against other Imperials, audiences could not help but want to see Dedra succeed. It was only when she was placed against Andor's heroes that Dedra was seen as a villain, truly proving just how complex and perfect the show's writing was. Denise Gough was remarkable as Dedra, from her more evil moments to displays of humanity, including a notable panic attack in Andor season 2, episode 8. If Andor had more than two seasons, Dedra may have ranked higher.
