Star Wars’ The Acolyte breaks streaming record – despite conservatives crying over its ‘wokeness’

The new Star Wars series The Acolyte has broken the Disney+ streaming record after its premiere.

The eight-part series premiered on the streaming platform on 4 June with two episodes and has already broken records, despite conservatives crying over its “wokeness”.

The “prequel to a prequel” series is set 100 years before the events of The Phantom Menace.

The show “sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes – all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic”.

TVLine reported that the first episode garnered 11.1 million views across the first five days of streaming, making it the biggest launch of the year on the streaming service. The series beat Disney+ competitors including Doctor Who, Marvel’s Echo and X-Men ‘97.

Star Wars: The Acolyte has faced predictable backlash from some fans of the juggernaut sci-fi saga because of its diverse cast. 

Gay, Black actress Stenberg, who came out as non-binary in 2016 and uses she/they pronouns, stars as twin sisters Osha and Mae, while Ladhood‘s Abigail Thorn has made history by becoming the franchise’s first trans actress.

Other The Acolyte’s stars also identify as LGBTQ+, such as gay Chicago Fire and Arrow actor Charlie Barnett, and lesbian Single Drunk Female actress, Rebecca Henderson.

Some right-wing fans dubbed the series “The Woke-alyte”, with Stenberg saying that the claims don’t bother them. 

In an interview with British GQ, Stenberg brushed off the “woke” claims, saying she laughs at those who are up in arms.

“There’s a vast array of Star Wars fans. There is a specific kind of Star Wars fan [who’s] very vocal on the internet,” they said. “They’ve called our show The Woke-alyte, which I’m like, ‘OK, what about it?'”

The Acolyte is available to stream now on Disney+, with new episodes released on Tuesdays.