It’s been a movie franchise since 1977, but depending on how you look at it, Star Wars has only been a live-action TV franchise since 2019. Yes, there have been animated Star Wars TV shows since 1985, but the first time the famous live-action Star Wars aesthetic hit the small screen was in 2019 with The Mandalorian Season 1. And now, six years after the faraway galaxy made that bold move, one episode of a Star Wars TV show has finally won an Emmy not for special effects or design, but instead, for the thing that really matters: the writing.
At the 2025 Emmys, episode writer Dan Gilroy — brother of Star Wars: Andorshowrunner Tony Gilroy — collected an Emmy for “Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series.” Here’s why that’s such a big deal.
“Welcome to the Rebellion” wins an Emmy
Related: ‘Andor’ Episode 9 Ending Sets Up a Tragic ‘Star Wars’ Destiny
Andor won an Emmy for the script for “Welcome to the Rebellion,” the ninth episode of Andor Season 2, and one of the stand-outs of the season. Why was “Welcome to the Rebellion” so awesome? Well, it’s the episode in which Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) has to extract Rebellion leader Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) from her role in the Senate, into the actual Rebel Alliance.
It’s a dot-connecting moment for longtime Star Wars fans, and may represent the only time a bit of nerdy retcon has won such a high award. (Mon Mothma’s entrance into the Rebellion was covered in theanimated series Rebels in 2017, but Andor revised that story considerably.)
But the reason why “Welcome to the Rebellion” is so good has nothing to do with its connections to the larger Star Wars saga, or even, as you might have guessed, its larger political relevance. The truth is, the reason why this episode of Andor is so great is that it’s an incredible, pulse-pounding story, which creates a sense of tension and espionage action not previously seen in Star Wars ever. In short, it’s a great spy episode, and maybe the best spy story in all of TV science fiction.
To be clear, no Star Wars movie ever won an Oscar for writing. And to date, no Star Wars TV series has ever won an Emmy for writing. So, this is a historic moment, not just for Andor, but for the Star Wars saga.
How to watch Andor’s Emmy-award-winning episode
Andor’s “Welcome to the Rebellion” streams on Disney+. It’s the night episode of Season 2, and as such, it sets up the final three episodes, which serve as the extended finale of the series. This also means that “Welcome to the Rebellion” is, in a sense, the ultimate prequel for the original Star Wars film, first released in 1977.
