Marvel Studios has done a great job of making its Disney+ TV shows feel like essential viewing, and as popular as The Suicide Squad was, a marketing campaign for Peacemaker that mostly relied on goofy humour didn't have quite the same effect. A series about such a despicable character was also always going to be a hard sell, but those stellar opening episodes created a lot of buzz among fans.
From there, word continued to spread as it became clear that writer and director James Gunn was balancing that style of humour from The Suicide Squad with a hard-hitting character study. Throw in a terrific supporting cast and lots of great action, and it's no wonder Peacemaker was a hit.
The show's success is reflected in the viewership numbers shared by star John Cena. As well as landing the biggest single-day performance for any HBO Max Original series, it also received 44% more viewers than the premiere - a good indication of how interest in Peacemaker increased on a week by week basis.
In other news, Gunn has taken to Twitter to reveal that he's now engaged to The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker star Jennifer Holland. They met in 2015 and not on the set of either DC Comics adaptation as some have, for whatever reason, suggested on social media. Our congratulations go out to them!