The Mandalorian came to the public eye on November 12th with the arrival of Disney+, the newest streaming service from Disney, and has been a huge hit amongst audiences. The Star Wars based show takes place after the fall of the Empire and before the rise of the First Order and follows a bounty hunter (The Mandalorian) through his adventures in the far reaches of the galaxy.

Through its first four episodes, the show has received critical acclaim for being well shot and delivering an interesting story arc. The Mandalorian is attracting new fans to the Star Wars franchise as well as garnering an outpour of excitement from long-time fans. The show received a score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.1/10 on IMDb and amassed roughly 40 million viewers in the first week of release.

There are certain aspects that have most likely increased the popularity and overall success of the newest Star Wars show. First, it provides an entirely different experience than that of the current movie trilogy, which has received mixed reviews up to this point. While there is high anticipation around the release of the third installment, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, later this month, fans of Star Wars may be looking elsewhere for their fill. Audiences may be more attracted to the different film style and plot that The Mandalorian offers if they were one of many fans who were disappointed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Another possible reason for the show’s success is due to its tandem launch with the streaming service Disney+. The excitement surrounding the launch of Disney’s streaming service in November was high to say the least. With the large guaranteed viewership, Disney was primed for a successful start, and therefore, so was The Mandalorian. It is one of the first Disney original shows that has been created for this streaming service, so it makes sense that with the launch of Disney+ going so well, the new Star Wars installment is successful too.

The biggest source for the success of the show, however, may lie in its social media presence. The show has spread like wildfire across apps like Twitter and Instagram. This is in large part due to one of the characters on the show, The Child, otherwise known by fans as Baby Yoda. Baby Yoda (a young version of the same species as Yoda) has captured the hearts of audiences and spurred millions of internet posts about the show. This has brought awareness to an all-time high, even turning people who don’t follow Star Wars content into fans of Baby Yoda.

The Mandalorian has become a massive success and contributed to the quality of Disney+, and has cemented itself as a “must watch” for owners of the streaming service. The first season will conclude after eight episodes and a second season has already been ordered, so fans will have plenty to look forward to from the show. The final four episodes of season one will air on Disney+ on December 6th, 13th, 18th, and 27th.