Ozark was one of Netflix’s biggest successes, a gripping crime drama about a family (led by Jason Bateman and Laura Linney) working for drug dealers as they try to survive in a new criminal world. It was a hit with critics and audiences, including winning Julia Garner three Emmy Awards.
Now, the creator of that show, Bill Dubuque, has brought us M.I.A. on Peacock. All nine episodes dropped on May 8, and they were a terrific binge. It’s moody, thrilling, action-packed, emotional, and boasts a true star-making performance to keep fans of revenge thrillers more than fulfilled!
The series opens with Etta Tiger Jonze (Shannon Grisela), a young woman who works as a Florida tour guide. She soon pushes to become part of her family’s fishing business over the objections of her mother, Leah (Danay Garcia). It turns out the business is actually collecting drug shipment drop-offs for the Rojas Cartel.
Things are going well with Etta easily handling the drug smuggling, until the Rojas patriarch, Isaac (Edward James Olmos), dies. That leaves control of the family to his sons, Mateo (Maurice Compte) and Samuel (Gerardo Celasco), with their enforcer Elias (Alberto Guerra), while their half-sister Caroline (Marta Milians) is buying up properties for a hotel to use for the cartel’s money laundering.
Mateo doesn’t play by his father’s more honorable rules and pushes Etta’s father to move from drug smuggling to human trafficking. Etta helps the women escape, and the cartel’s response is to wipe out her entire family before her eyes. Barely escaping, Etta goes to the sheriff only to be stabbed as he’s on the take from the cartel. In a scene that sets the show’s tone, he ends up being eaten by a gator.
Etta is found by Lovely (Brittany Adebumola) and Stanley (Dylan Jackson), who help her recover with a black-market surgeon. Etta has to find ways to pay off that debt while ducking both the cartel and a former cop turned P.I. Kincaid (Cary Elwes), who’s tracking what happened. That includes meeting her aunt Carmen, her mother’s twin sister (also played by Garcia). It’s not long before Etta makes the vow to kill the men responsible for her family’s murder, no matter what it takes.
Why MIA is a fun show
Peacock was smart in releasing all nine episodes at once, as this show is a great binge thriller. You don’t have to wait to see where a cliffhanger ends and the momentum is strong. It’s a bit of a tonal whiplash going from a seemingly light-hearted YA series to a brutal crime drama, yet it works.
Make no mistake, this is a violent show. That’s proven with an early scene where Mateo is so upset over his father’s death that he throws the man’s nurse into his coffin and dumps both into the ocean. There’s a lot of blood and death around, including a shocking scene involving a character you’d never dream would commit a horrific act. That includes more than a few heartbreaks along with bloody hearts.
At the same time, it’s a thrill to see the stories unfold. Etta’s quest for vengeance is matched by the cartel’s rivalry with another mob, the tensions between the brothers, and more. That’s without a subplot of a community in danger and even some spycraft. There are so many threads, but it all comes together into a wicked package that will always entertain to the end.
The cast is amazing
The series has a lot going for it with the tone. It seems light-hearted at first until it whips into a darker drama, yet there are still a few light-hearted moments. The true reason to watch is Gisela, who turns in a star-making performance. Etta is obviously wracked with pain and guilt over losing her family, which drives her on a path of vengeance. At the same time, she has a good connection with Matt (Tyler Tomas Perez), and the friendship between her, Lovely, and Stanley is wonderful. The three actors all bounce off each other well as Lovely and Stanley face their own challenges.
Grisela gets better as the season goes on, showing Etta’s intelligence and ability to size up a situation quickly. That comes in handy as she begins training under an unlikely teacher (Tovah Feldshuh). Smartly, the show doesn’t turn Etta into an expert fighter off the bat as she makes mistakes with her attempted kills, even as she refuses to let go of this vendetta. The lighter moments with Matt balance it out with needed levity and the hopes that Etta can find a new path for herself.
The show gets mileage out of Etta's quest for revenge, with Lovely worried she's only encouraging it yet wanting to help her friend. Stanley has some light-hearted moments until one dark turn shifts the character majorly. However, the three actors are up for the turns to aid the storyline.
Elwes has a perfect world-weariness as Kincaid, a sardonic attitude with a sharp mind as he unravels the various mysteries, and you never know whose side he’s truly on. Garcia is good in her dual roles, with the sixth episode providing a flashback to the relationship between the sisters and how Etta’s dad started on his criminal path. Compte is scary as the hot-tempered Mateo, ready to go off at any moment, while Celaso’s Samuel isn’t much better. Guerra is a standout as Elias, who has to balance things out and has hints of guilt over his murderous ways but is unable to break free.
There are also good, smaller turns from Feldshuh, who gets better material in the second half of the season, as well as appearances from Loretta Devine and Sonia Braga as the Rojas matriarch, who’s even more ruthless than her sons. Milians caps it off as a woman seemingly more moral than her brothers before crossing a deadly line.
At just nine episodes, the show strikes a good balance of a quick binge that’s still inventive in the storyline turns. The show can be dark while possessing some heart in the relationships and thrills watching the drug cartel’s moves, with Elwes in fine form and Grisela captivating throughout. The final scene is a truly shocking twist to set up a second season, and hopefully, we get it, so don’t miss out on this Peacock thriller!
M.I.A. is now streaming on Peacock.
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