5 Must-See Sci-Fi Series With Gripping Political Intrigue to Watch When Andor Ends

Andor is currently the pinnacle of the Star Wars franchise. Created by Tony Gilroy, the show proves that Star Wars is not just Jedi, Sith and Stormtroopers, but also a full-fledged espionage and political thriller.

Andor will end on May 13th, and if you are already looking for sci-fi series that can match it in terms of political intrigue, don't worry – we have selected projects especially for you.

1. Babylon 5, 1993-1998

Joseph Michael Straczynski has created many things, but his main brainchild will always be Babylon 5 – one of the pillars of the space opera genre along with Star Trek.

Babylon 5 is a true sci-fi epic. And it fits this definition even more than Star Wars. Its main characters are military men and politicians, not scientists and explorers, and this is evident not only in the plot, but also in the style of the series.

Alien races, religious cults, orders of chivalry, aliens masquerading as gods – all this is given much more attention than space anomalies or methods of traveling faster than the speed of light.

2. The Expanse, 2015-2022

Earth, Mars and the asteroid belt are on the brink of war. The destruction of the Canterbury ship by missiles from an unknown spacecraft shatters the shaky peace. Five survivors of the Canterbury, led by former military man James Holden, broadcast a message about the disaster, blaming Mars for what happened.

The Expanse, based on the books by James S. A. Corey, offers a noir detective story mixed with political intrigue and an interesting conflict between Earth and its colonies. If you miss Andor but have already seen Babylon 5, you should definitely check out The Expanse.

3. Legend of the Galactic Heroes, 1988-1997

For a century and a half, the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance have been at war. At the center of the events are two commanders of the warring powers.

Admiral of the Empire is Reinhard von Lohengramm, an ambitious young genius who became commander-in-chief of the fleet at the age of twenty; and Admiral of the Alliance is Yang Wen-li, who has spent his life striving to become a historian and dreams of only one thing – retirement.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a large-scale space opera epic, a kind of Star Wars from the anime world. The action takes place in the distant future, the plot is based on the war of galactic superpowers.

First of all, it is a deep story about the nature of power, about a great goal, good intentions and the price to be paid for it.

4. Foundation, 2021-...

First of all, Foundation is captivating for its political conflict. Isaac Asimov, on whose books the series is based, came up with his own version of the future of humanity: the Galactic Empire establishes power over the inhabited universe.

The monstrous state is at the height of its power, but a corruption of the system has already begun. Only the brilliant mathematician Hari Seldon, who created the innovative science of psychohistory, which allows one to calculate the evolution of human societies, notices it.

Asimov was not interested in individual characters, but in the psychology of the masses and the collapse of large systems. He was inspired to create Foundation by The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.

5. Battlestar Galactica, 2004-2009

Battlestar Galactica is an old but powerful military vessel. It leads a small fleet of the last humans from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, survivors of the attack by the Cylons, a race of intelligent machines.

They pursue the remnants of humanity whose last hope is the mythical planet Earth, the legendary and long lost Thirteenth colony.

Each season of Battlestar Galactica consists of 20 hour-long episodes, all devoted to various crises – military, political and, of course, existential. Every issue raised in the series is thoroughly explored from all angles, even if it seems unrelated to the main storyline.