Didn’t clone wars series do the same but still have some familiar characters?
I feel this show is the exact opposite of what every Star Wars animated show has been. The pacing and format is much slower and clearly made for adults. I'm not sure there's ever been a single mention of "Jedi" or "the force" in the entire show. No over reliance on major franchise characters or regurgitation of the same ideas and themes we've seen over and over and over. It's finally a show that makes the universe seem like an actual universe and not just a small group of the same 20 or 30 characters who show up with cameos over and over again. They're finally showing the Empire being evil and showing why a Rebellion would actually exist (and that the Rebellion themselves aren't wonderful do-gooders either). We're also finally getting realistic "grey" characters who aren't all bad or all good on both sides, but are also believable and have actual character arcs. When we see new ships, droids, or aliens, they seem believable inside of the universe and aren't completely ridiculous. Etc., etc., etc.