M.I.A. is a Miami-set revenge thriller that feels like a meandering, sporadically entertaining series. It's a blend of prestige antihero drama and pulp, but it fails to deliver the pleasures of either genre. The show's title is a clever play on words, but it doesn't quite work, as the story doesn't live up to the hype. The series follows Etta Tiger Jonze, a young woman with an eidetic memory who dreams of life at the University of Miami. However, her life takes a dark turn when her family is murdered by a drug cartel, leaving her with a 12-person revenge list. The show's premise is intriguing, but it falls flat due to its lack of urgency and compelling characters. The main character, Etta, is portrayed as a lackadaisical revenge seeker, which is a far cry from the intense and driven characters we've come to expect in this genre. The supporting characters, such as the cartel brothers Mateo and Samuel, are uninteresting and lack depth. The show's attempt to blend yacht rock with crime-adjacent younger people of color feels forced and over-explained. The series also suffers from a lack of narrative momentum, with too many meandering plotlines and unconvincing subplots. The guest stars, while familiar, don't add much to the overall story. The show's attempt to explore the Holocaust through the lens of Etta's family's death feels forced and doesn't add much to the narrative. The closing episodes raise the stakes, but the finale leaves a lot to be desired. Overall, M.I.A. is a disappointment, with a promising start and end, but a dull and meandering middle. It's a series that fails to live up to its potential, leaving viewers with a sense of unease and a desire for more.
