Peacock’s M.I.A. reimagines the revenge thriller through the lens of a rapidly evolving Miami, blending emotional character drama with the tensions surrounding power, redevelopment, and survival. Created by Bill Dubuque and Karen Campbell, the series uses the city as a backdrop, and as a living force that shapes every decision and consequence throughout the story.

We spoke with Dubuque and Campbell about subverting genre expectations, grounding M.I.A. in the realities of Miami, and crafting a binge-driven narrative that still maintains its emotional core.

I have to say, phenomenal, phenomenal season that I just witnessed, especially seeing it in my own backyard since I’m from Miami. It’s great seeing my city represented the way it was on screen.

Bill Dubuque: Nice. 

Karen Campbell: Oh, thank you, Alex. That’s great to hear. 

Bill Dubuque: Is that where you are now, Alex?

Yeah, I’m here in Coral Gables right now.

Karen Campbell: Nice, it looks like it’s a nice day.

Yeah, it was actually a little stormy earlier. Originally I wanted to do this by the docks to keep this themed, but I decided to stick with the office for today. So when you look at the journey as a whole, where did you most see the story resist the expected version of the revenge story?

Bill Dubuque: To use her intelligence rather than muscle or military training or expertise with weapons. To take someone who had certain gifts, but they weren’t martial gifts, and set her on a journey of revenge… But starting her [journey] from the lowest possible point, [that was] different than most revenge stories. We take an ordinary — relatively ordinary — person and take her on an extraordinary trip.

I really appreciated that and seeing that reflection too. How do you maintain the narrative momentum in the binge format without flattening the emotional impact of the story?

Bill Dubuque: That was Karen. I’ll let Karen speak to that, but it was a tremendous job that she and the writers did.

Karen Campbell: Alex, it’s really about making sure that the story is still strongly character-driven storytelling, but also knowing that we need to keep audiences engaged. We need to tell a tale that’s entertaining, that moves the audience, and leaves them wanting more.

And what drew you to have the story based here in Miami? Was it based on research?

Bill Dubuque: Well, I did quite a bit of research in Miami. I’ve been to Miami many, many times. I just think Miami is one of, if not the most interesting, city in the United States. It’s so full of different types of people. The weather is great until it’s not. It’s a combination of the ocean, the inland, different parts of the big city — everything that’s going on in and around Miami. It’s got so much history. Then you’ve got the tourists, the old hotels. It’s just fascinating. It’s both a destination and a place where people have been for generations. It’s so very interesting to me, and I thought if we could put something there and really use Miami — and show Miami to people who think they know a little bit about Miami, then subvert those expectations — it would really drive audiences to want to know what’s going to happen next. Or as Karen says, use the location as its own character.

That was reflective of what I saw with the show because usually anything with Miami, especially on a crime thriller show, is always about the drug cartel or human trafficking. But what was unique here was the development side, which is a huge problem within our city, and the displacement of certain communities. I was wondering why you leaned into that angle, because it was something refreshing.

Karen Campbell: Well, it’s grounded in what’s going on in Miami, and it allows us to really explore different parts of the city. We get to see luxe San Marino Island, where a character like Caroline lives, and then juxtapose that against the super lush Little Haiti world where Etta, Lovely and Stanley are carving their journey. It’s about making sure it’s entertaining while also grounding it in what’s actively going on at this time.

Perfect. And were there any ideas that you deliberately pulled back on because you felt they were too familiar to the genre?

Bill Dubuque: Yeah, I don’t know… I wrote the pilot episode. Karen and I spent time in Los Angeles thinking about the scaffolding for the season, but I don’t know if it was so much about pulling back on ideas as it was carrying forward with the ideas we already had in our heads. Certain things you want to stay away from, I guess, but I think we’d do that on any show. It’s really about: here’s the idea that we had, here’s how we’re going to move this thing forward. And from a story beat standpoint, Alex, you have to make a decision. If everybody else does this, what’s the twist on that that’s unique? What’s the fresh take that people don’t expect? I think you can use that to help propel your show along, keep the pace up, and keep people interested. Does that answer your question?

This interview has been edited for clarity.

M.I.A. is now streaming on Peacock.