'M.I.A' creator shares exciting update for crime drama's future but one key detail is still missing
Peacock dropped its latest crime thriller, 'M.I.A.,' which has received praise for its visceral tone and gripping narrative. Set in Miami's criminal underworld, 'M.I.A.' follows Etta Tiger Jonze (Shannon Gisela), who hails from a family of smugglers working for the Rojas drug cartel. However, her family is killed after a dangerous operation goes sideways, forcing Etta to go on a revenge mission to kill members of the Rojas crime family. She creates a list of the 12 men and, using her photographic memory, sets off to kill them one by one. Etta fulfills her mission by the end of the nine-part series by killing all 12 people, effectively bringing an end to her revenge storyline. However, there is more.
Last week, the show's creators, Bill Dubuque and Karen Campbell, spoke to ScreenRant about the show's future. Asked whether they have plans to expand the story into more seasons, they confirmed the same, saying, "there's definitely enough story to sustain five kick-a-- seasons." Campbell recalled that she felt, "you could easily get five really robust, incredible seasons" out of 'M.I.A.,' after reading Dubuque's original pilot script. She went on to tease a continuation of Etta's revenge saga, saying, "We have some great ideas" for the future and that they had worked on them in the Season 1 finale, setting the stage for Etta to resume her revenge plan in Season 2, with a shocking plot twist. But whether the creators will get the chance to tell the complete story is another question, as Season 2 has not been greenlit, as of this writing.
In 'M.I.A.,' the orphaned Etta befriends Lovely (Brittany Adebumola) and Samuel (Gerardo Celasco), and begins dating a guy named Matt (Tyler Tomás Perez). Additionally, the crime thriller stars Marta Milans as Caroline, a real estate mogul and member of the Rojas cartel family. Etta adds Caroline to her revenge list, not for the role she played in her family's murder, but for an entirely separate reason. Caroline kills Lovely and Samuel's aunt, Judith Cherie (Loretta Devine), because she created problems for her luxury development project, called the Abaka project. An enraged Etta adds Caroline's name to her revenge list, seeking justice for her friends.
However, Etta faces a major conflict in the finale when she learns, in the final scene, that her boyfriend, Matt, is related to the Rojas family. More importantly, he is Caroline's son. She makes the discovery after Matt takes her to meet his mother, signaling that their relationship is getting serious. Etta ends Season 1 with the dilemma of whether to trust Matt as her ally or get rid of him before he poses a threat to her. Although Etta is aware of Caroline's crimes, Milan told TV Insider that her character stays oblivious to Etta's mission to kill her. "I don’t think [Caroline] found out who Etta is yet, which makes it very interesting," she said.
