‘M.I.A.’ Cast Talks Survival in Miami’s Criminal Underworld on New Peacock Series | EUR EXCLUSIVE
*Peacock’s new crime drama “M.I.A.” brings Shannon Gisela, Brittany Adebumola and Dylan Jackson together in a story shaped by crime, survival and unexpected personal connections set against the backdrop of Miami. Created by Bill Dubuque, with Karen Campbell serving as showrunner, the series uses the city’s glossy exterior as the setting for a darker and […] The post ‘M.I.A.’ Cast Talks Survival in Miami’s Criminal Underworld on New Peacock Series | EUR EXCLUSIVE appeared first on EURweb | Black News, Culture, Entertainment & More.
Black News 
*Peacock’s new crime drama “M.I.A.” brings Shannon Gisela, Brittany Adebumola and Dylan Jackson together in a story shaped by crime, survival and unexpected personal connections set against the backdrop of Miami.
Created by Bill Dubuque, with Karen Campbell serving as showrunner, the series uses the city’s glossy exterior as the setting for a darker and more emotionally driven story.
Gisela plays Etta, a character she describes as equal parts smart, fearless and restless. “She is badass,” Gisela said. “She enjoys a little bit of danger, and she loves her family.” But it’s Etta’s internal search for identity that gives the role its arc. “In the beginning, she’s someone who seeks out danger,” Gisela explained, “but by the end of the season, she has become it.”
Adebumola’s character, Lovely, is the one who quite literally pulls Etta from the water. “She rescues Etta from the deep blue ocean while she herself is making her way to the shores of Miami by raft from her native Haiti,” Adebumola said. From that moment, the two women’s lives become inseparable — with Lovely nursing Etta back to health from stab and gunshot wounds while simultaneously trying to build her own new life.
Rounding out the trio is Stanley, played by Dylan Jackson — a quiet, Haiti-born young man living in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood. Jackson describes him as “an analog file” who loves old music and the cats he cares for. Stanley isn’t looking for adventure, but when Etta and Lovely arrive in his world, something shifts. “When he feels needed for the first time,” Jackson said, “it’s like, oh, I have these skills that everyone else says were unuseful and they show him, no, they’re useful.”
The series is set against the backdrop of Miami’s criminal underworld, but Gisela says “M.I.A.” earns its setting rather than performing it. “This show does a really wonderful job of letting Miami speak for itself,” she said. “It doesn’t try too hard to be Miami.” Much of that authenticity, she notes, came from actually shooting on location — right down to the real sweat in the Florida heat.
What ultimately distinguishes “M.I.A.” from other Miami crime dramas, according to Gisela, is its beating emotional core. “Really what makes it special is the exploration of family and what it means,” she said — specifically the bond formed between Etta, Lovely and Stanley. “We see what it means to forge a new family that circumvents blood relation and is a matter of circumstance,” Gisela added, “and then from there, a choice.”
“M.I.A.” also stars Cary Elwes, Danay Garcia, Alberto Guerra, Maurice Compte, Gerardo Celasco and Marta Milans. All episodes of M.I.A. premiere on May 7, only on Peacock.
Watch our conversation with Shannon, Brittany and Dylan below.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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The post ‘M.I.A.’ Cast Talks Survival in Miami’s Criminal Underworld on New Peacock Series | EUR EXCLUSIVE appeared first on EURweb | Black News, Culture, Entertainment & More.
