John Cena will ensure America embraces Peacemaker, even if he has to kill every last one of us

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, January 13. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Peacemaker (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): When asked which DC Comics ne’er-do-well upon which he’d most like to build a The Suicide Squad spinoff, director James Gunn took one look at John Cena’s massive shoulders and still-surprising comic chops and said, “Bring… me… Peacemaker.” (Sorry, Weasel. Maybe next time.) And so this HBO Max superhero comedy series leaps into the brimming superhero pool, complete with former ‘rassler Cena once more donning a little fascist boy’s idea of a superhero costume (complete with shiny metal bedpan-looking helmet and actual bald eagle sidekick) to portray The Suicide Squad’s thuggishly patriotic vigilante.

Both Gunn and the series’ appropriately over the top trailer suggest that, after Peacemaker’s [redacted] during the 2021 film’s climax, this is a kinder, gentler, more soulful murderous gun nut, though. And, sure, it does appear that Cena’s peace-worshipping assassin still enjoys high explosives and leaping through walls in his tighty-whities, but the trailer also suggests that a grudging conscience and some de rigueur daddy issues are nibbling away at its hero’s gung-ho blood lust. Check out Jarrod Jones’ take on the first three episodes, all of which debut tonight.

Regular Coverage

And Just Like That… (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.)
Station Eleven (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): Season finale.

Wild card

Wolf Like Me (Peacock, 3:01 a.m.): Josh Gad and Isla Fisher star in the premiere of this horror comedy hybrid about a grieving single dad whose chemistry with a lovely and mysterious advice columnist runs into issues that Peacock’s review embargo prevents us from telling you about. (Hint: The series title may a hint.) In her pre-air review of this series from Little Monsters director Abe Forsythe, Leila Latif says, of the usually more go-for-broke comic leads, “Gad and Fisher are entirely convincing as broken people, willing to look past even the largest of red flags to carve out a little happiness together. Their portrayal of trauma feels lived-in and weary, the spark between them feeling authentically rare and thrilling to them both.” Plus, as noted, one or both of them has a horrible, horrible secret to complicate matters for our entertainment.