Summary

• Star Wars TV shows span multiple eras & hundreds of years, making tracking the timeline challenging.
• Disney+ changed Star Wars TV production, making most shows fit canon & connect with films.
• From animation to live-action, Star Wars shows like The Mandalorian & The Acolyte explore different periods.

Keeping track of Star Wars’ TV shows' timeline can be difficult, especially because the Star Wars shows span hundreds of years and involve multiple eras. While Star Wars’ television history traces back to 1985’s Star Wars: Droids, the Disney+ platform changed how Star Wars content is produced for the small screen. The majority of the Disney+ Star Wars shows are canon, meaning that they fit in the broader Star Wars timeline along with the current films and any upcoming Star Wars movies.

Star Wars’ TV shows were usually synonymous with animation due to series such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. This began to change with The Mandalorian, Star Wars’ first live-action series. The Mandalorian opened the door for other live-action Star Wars shows to be produced and even set up its own “pocket universe” within the Star Wars franchise. That said, animated shows are still a huge part of Star Wars' TV output. From The Acolyte to Star Wars Resistance, here is when each canon Star Wars TV show takes place in the Star Wars timeline.

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures

200 BBY

One of Lucasfilm's latest animated ventures in Star Wars TV is Young Jedi Adventures. Despite being a recent entry for Star Wars, the setting of the show dates it as the furthest back in the Star Wars timeline. Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures is set during the High Republic era, around 200 years before the timeline of The Phantom Menace. The series centers on a group of Jedi younglings in the midst of the High Republic learning to become Jedi Knights and ties into the novels of the High Republic.

Star Wars: The Acolyte

132 BBY

The Acolyte is a live-action Star Wars High Republic show that will take place around 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. This timeframe places The Acolyte in the High Republic's final years, making it the first Star Wars show in chronological order as of now. The Acolyte cast includes names such as Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jodie Turner-Smith.

Star Wars has been recently diving into the High Republic era, a period that ranges from 300 BBY to 82 BBY, in comics and novels. However, The Acolyte will be the first live-action Star Wars production to go that far back in the Star Wars timeline. Emmy-nominated Leslye Headland is the writer and executive producer, and the show is being described as a mystery thriller about the emergence of the dark side in the galaxy.

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi

? - 18 BBY

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi is an anthology series designed to explore different points in the lives of established Star Wars characters. Tales of the Jedi season 1 was focused on Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku, with three episodes dedicated to each. Essentially, each Tales of the Jedi episode covered a different point in the timelines of Ahsoka and Dooku. As a result, Tales of the Jedi season 1 spans multiple years. The furthest back it went in the Star Wars timeline was with season 1, episode 2, “Legacies," which followed a young Count Dooku in an undisclosed period.

However, it can be concluded that “Legacies” took place somewhere between 68 BBY and 58 BBY. The rest of the Tales of the Jedi episodes cover periods relatively close to the events of the Star Wars prequels, going from right before a few years before The Phantom Menace to around a year after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. More specifically, the final minutes of Tales of the Jedi season 1, episode 6, “Resolve” take place in 18 BBY, when Ahsoka was already somewhat of a rebel running from the Empire.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

22 BBY – 19 BBY*