Published Jun 3, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
Sean is a senior writer for ScreenRant and has been writing about new TV releases since December 2023. He has received multiple advance screenings of popular shows and ideated his own coverage read by hundreds of thousands of readers.
Sean is a self-published author of a Western novel. Sean has also written award-winning opinion pieces related to local politics while getting his Bachelor’s degree in journalism.
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One of Peacock’s best crime thrillers is so good that it’s basically guaranteed to be renewed for a second season despite debuting just last month. Some of the best shows on Peacock are crime thrillers. From Day of the Jackal to Dr. Death, Peacock is one of the premiere streaming services for fans of the genre. One of the streamer’s best offerings, however, just came out in May, and it’s so good that it should easily be renewed.
That crime thriller, M.I.A., has been described as a fusion of Dexter and Ozark, two wildly popular and critically acclaimed shows. M.I.A. follows Etta Tiger Jonze (Shannon Gisela), the daughter of two drug smugglers who are killed by the cartel they work for after refusing to engage in human trafficking. Etta then sets out on a revenge quest to kill the leaders of the Rojas cartel and all the men who were present at her family’s execution.
While that synopsis may seem like a spoiler, all of that happens in the very first episode of M.I.A. What follows next is a wild ride of Etta struggling to survive in the Florida Keys, the Everglades, and the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami all while she searches for her family’s killers. M.I.A. has good reviews, plenty of action, some whip-smart writing, some great performances from its cast, and beautiful visuals of Southern Florida. Best of all, it’s got a clear path forward for a second season.
The clearest reason M.I.A. will likely be renewed for a second season is because of how the first season ended. M.I.A. season 1 ends with a major cliffhanger that completely changes Etta’s revenge quest and even one of her budding relationships. Aside from the cliffhanger, the ending of M.I.A. season 1 had plenty of open-ended plots concerning the Rojas cartel, Kincaid (Cary Elwes), and more.
Clearly, the creators of M.I.A. were planning on making more seasons, and they left the first season extremely open-ended so that the series could continue. Creator Bill Dubuque and writer Karen Campbell said in an interview with Screen Rant that they have plans for five seasons of M.I.A. Dubuque and Campbell seem very confident that M.I.A. has a lot of stories left to tell, something many showrunners shy away from when renewals aren’t certain.
M.I.A. also still has to fulfill one of its central promises. The logline for the show says that Etta sets out on a quest to avenge her family, but it also notes that she will “become the most powerful crime queenpin in South Florida.” Without delving too far into spoilers, the first season exclusively focuses on Etta’s revenge quest. It doesn’t even dip its toes into Etta trying to seize power of any criminal dealings or the Rojas cartel.
Peacock’s executives likely wouldn’t have approved that description, which is listed on the show’s official IMDb page, if they didn’t intend to let M.I.A. actually show Etta becoming a queenpin of crime. While there hasn’t been an official confirmation from Peacock that M.I.A. will return for a second season, all the signs are pointing to that. Everyone with insider knowledge seems confident about it, and there’s a very clear way to continue this show.
Luckily for viewers, future seasons of M.I.A. should be even better than the show’s debut outing. As entertaining as it was, M.I.A. season 1 had its fair share of growing pains. The season suffered from having to do so much setup, from having to make the start of Etta’s revenge quest feel logical, and with its B-plot centering around the Rojas cartel. It’s still a very good show, but M.I.A. season 1 didn’t live up to its full potential.
Peacock’s M.I.A. is a crime thriller that mixes great elements from both Ozark and Dexter, and its nine episodes are perfect for binge watching.
M.I.A. season 2, however, is already poised to correct most of those missteps. The show’s worst subplot, the one focusing on the Rojas brothers and their fight with Boris Federov, has already ended and won’t drag season 2 down. M.I.A. has also already set Etta on her revenge quest, and it won’t be bogged down with setup or developing her skills as an assassin. Cary Elwes’ Kincaid, as well, is primed to be much better utilized in season 2, which should help quite a bit.
There are even real-world reasons why M.I.A. season 2 could be better than season 1. The creator of M.I.A., Bill Dubuque, was also a co-creator of Netflix’s Ozark. Ozark infamously had a slow start and growing pains in season 1, but subsequent seasons were so good that they cemented the show as one of the best crime thrillers ever made. Given how much M.I.A. has already drawn from Ozark, there’s also a good chance it could follow its example of getting better with later seasons.
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Alethea Jones, Benjamin Semanoff, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, John Dahl, Mairzee Almas
Bill Dubuque, Karen Campbell