A city or a state can be a character in a film or television/ streaming show. They are so indicative of the show or movie that they play a huge part in the story. Films like “Fargo”, or “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” or even “Manchester By The Sea “ all have pivotal roles in the movies. A new series that I’ve had a chance to see a handful of episodes of is “M.I.A”. It takes place mostly in Miami, Florida, sometimes in the Keys as well. This isn’t the first show to focus on this gorgeous South Florida city, but it’s one of the most interesting in recent memory. I’ve enjoyed “Miami Vice”, “CSI Miami”, and “Bloodline”, to name a few series that have featured “The Magic City” in them. Now another good one is “M.I.A”.

Etta Tiger Jonze (Shannon Gisela) is a young lady who is the daughter of David Denman and Danay Garcia’s characters. They own a charter business in the Florida Keys. This isn’t their only business, though. They run drugs for a cartel. This has helped give them and their family a better life. When the matriarch of the drug cartel passes away from a mysterious skin cancer, his more violent and volatile sons take over the business. They decide to expand the business into human trafficking but the deal goes bad, and the family gets executed while their daughter watches by hiding in the water by a boat.

This girl has to fight for her life as she barely escaped from the man responsible for killing her family. As she’s floating in the water, she’s fished out of the ocean by a raft and a woman known as Lovely (Brittany Adebumola). She’s trying to find sanctuary in a new home herself. She brings the young woman to another woman who is a doctor. She’s a plastic surgeon who ends up helping the other two women. Lovely introduces  Etta to her cousin, who is a bit of an eccentric. He owns a red Chevy truck, has a box of kittens, and likes to listen to soft 80s music. Together, this trio tries to make some semblance of Etta’s situation.

The show has a pretty good supporting cast besides the ones I’ve mentioned. First and foremost are the drug cartel members. Mateo Rojas (Maurice Compte), Samuel Rojas (Gerardo Celasco), and their enforcer Elias Perez (Albert Guerra) are a vicious lot. They kill indiscriminately, and they will run every aspect of crime in Miami if it’s the last thing they do. Along with these criminals, there is a private investigator, Kincaid (Cary Elwes), who was once a police detective. He is hired by another member of the Rojas family to find out what transpired involving the Jonze family. The supporting cast in this series is very extensive, but I’d be here all day writing about all of them.

A revenge series is quite uncommon these days. They are surprisingly very rare, in fact. With “Revenge” and “Glory” as the two main ones I can think of at this time. A revenge plot is more common in films than television/ streaming shows. “M.I.A” is one of the few I’ve seen. Karen Campbell, the executive producer and showrunner, created a show with a lot of elements that I’ve loved in films like “Kill Bill” “Revenge,” and “The Revenant”. The characters are very good, especially the main character. She has a lot of depth and layers to her. Her memory, for instance, is one of the most interesting parts of her character. 

Shannon Gisela is an actress I wasn’t that familiar with before seeing her in the lead role of this revenge thriller series. She does a great job of starting out as a young curious teenager, and as the show progresses, she becomes harder and more seasoned as a character. Her chemistry with the Adebumola and Jackson characters is a fun part of the show. I loved her transformation, though. The revenge aspect of her character is like an alias in a way. She changes from an innocent girl to one with a loss in her heart. It’s not easy to see your parents brutally murdered in front of you. I think anybody would want some kind of revenge in this case. Gisela does a terrific job of changing, and that’s a crux of her character. That transition is a key to the show working as well as it does. I love an actress who shows multiple sides to her character. I’m interested in seeing the rest of the series to see where she goes from here.

“M.I.A” is a good show so far. I’ve only got to see four episodes of the series so far. What I’ve seen thus far has given me some hope that this show is going in the right direction. There was enough plot to show me the main story, who the villains are, and how the protagonist will get revenge on those she blames for her parents’ deaths. Gisela is a good young actress who shows different sides of her character, which is a good thing. The cast of supporting characters is pretty good, with Elwes channeling many characters from the past. The cinematography and score are both very good and help to give this show a unique look and feel to it. I’ve only seen four episodes thus far, so their is more to see to fully grasp the show. I think it’s going in a good direction so far, though.

4/9 Episodes Reviewed M.I.A will stream on Peacock May 7th

3 1/2 stars