Marta Milans says her M.I.A. character will “stop at nothing” in Peacock crime thriller.
Marta Milans is trading the warmth of the Shazam! family for the dangerous, neon-lit world of Peacock’s M.I.A., and she is having a blast doing it.
In the new Peacock crime thriller, Milans plays Caroline, a polished, powerful, and dangerous woman whose calm surface hides a relentless drive. The series follows Etta Tiger Jonze, played by Shannon Gisela, as she dreams of escaping the Florida Keys for Miami’s glittering world. However, when her family’s drug-running business collapses in tragedy, Etta enters Miami’s criminal underbelly and discovers what she is truly capable of becoming.
M.I.A. premiered May 7, 2026, on Peacock as a binge release. The series comes from creator, executive producer, and writer Bill Dubuque, best known for Ozark, with Karen Campbell serving as showrunner and executive producer. The cast includes Shannon Gisela, Cary Elwes, Danay Garcia, Brittany Adebumola, Dylan Jackson, Alberto Guerra, Maurice Compte, Gerardo Celasco, and Milans.
During a Nerdtropolis interview, Milans opened up about Caroline’s intimidating energy, the fashion that helped shape the character, the pull of Miami, and her experience in the Shazam! franchise and the kind of role she wants next.
Marta Milans Says Caroline Is “Ruthless” and “Unstoppable” in M.I.A.
Milans described Caroline as someone viewers should not underestimate.
“Caroline is a full-force, powerful woman and a strong energy to be reckoned with,” Milans said. “I think you don’t want to cross her. She is ruthless. She is unstoppable. She is so focused on the end goal that nothing will get in her way.”
That intensity made Caroline a thrilling role for Milans. As M.I.A. progresses, Caroline becomes more dangerous, more focused, and harder to predict.
“As the show progresses and the season progresses, as you’ve seen, she will really stop at nothing,” Milans said. “So it’s exciting to portray someone that is that consumed by their goal and their objective. And I can kind of relate to that without the criminal side to it in my life. But it was a thrill to play Caroline, for sure.”
Milans also remembered the line that helped her understand Caroline immediately. In one scene, Kincaid tells her, “You don’t hear no much, do you, Mrs. Carver?” Caroline’s answer tells the audience everything.
“No, I do,” Milans said as Caroline. “It just doesn’t stop me.”
It is the kind of line that captures the show’s sharp crime-thriller energy. Caroline hears the warning, understands the risk, and moves forward anyway.
Why Marta Milans Says Viewers Should Watch M.I.A. on Peacock
For Milans, M.I.A. has several major reasons to pull viewers in, especially fans of cartel dramas, crime thrillers, and shows built around secrets, betrayal, and power.
“Oh, I mean, the crime, the drama, the action, the explosion, the explosion of culture,” Milans said. “Miami is a character in the show like no other.”
That sense of place gives M.I.A. a bold identity. The show does not just use Miami as a backdrop. It turns the city into part of the story, with its heat, glamour, danger, and cultural energy pushing the characters deeper into conflict.
Milans also pointed to the show’s thriller elements, cartel world, and strong female characters as major hooks.
“The versatility, the thriller aspect to it, the drug cartels, the women trafficking, the women characters that are so strong and powerful,” Milans said. “That’s how Bill Dubuque writes them, our show creator who created Ozark, as you know.”
She praised the way Dubuque and the creative team shaped the women in the series.
“He has formed fully-fleshed women from Etta’s character to my character to Brittany’s character,” Milans said. “There are so many fully-formed women on the show that I think it’s a very powerful show to dive into for many reasons.”
Caroline’s Wardrobe Helps Tell Her Story Before She Speaks
One of the most striking parts of Caroline is her wardrobe. Milans said fashion played a major role in helping her understand Caroline’s power, status, and control.
“So much. So much,” Milans said. “We worked with an amazing costume designer. Her name is Olivia Miles. And we built her wardrobe so carefully, so attentively, so on point.”
Caroline’s clothes are not casual choices. They communicate who she is before she says a word.
“She wears a lot of aggressive lines,” Milans said. “Blazers and suits and very sharp-edged lines that are very intentional to portray her power.”
Milans also loved that Caroline does not rely on revealing outfits to command a room.
“She’s a strong Latina woman who doesn’t need to show her skin to get what she wants at all,” Milans said. “Always covered. She’s always perfectly dressed to match her insane mansion in San Marino Island with her yacht parked in the back.”
According to Milans, Caroline’s fashion choices include luxury pieces that show the character’s taste, control and position in Miami’s elite world.
“She doesn’t need miniskirts or cleavages,” Milans said. “She doesn’t need any of that. She’ll get her way wearing Alexander McQueen suits, Tom Ford shoes.”
When asked if there was one outfit she wanted to keep, Milans admitted there were several.
“I tried to walk out with many things,” Milans said.
One standout was a Gucci blush-pink blazer.
“I wore this Gucci ridiculous pink blush blazer that makes you look innocent but also powerful,” Milans said. “That was great.”
She also remembered an Alexander McQueen suit from Episode 8.
“An Alexander McQueen suit that I commit a really bad crime wearing it at night on Episode 8,” Milans said. “That was really sexy.”
The shoes also made an impression, even if they were not always practical.
“All the shoes were killer, like Jimmy Choo and Tom Ford sandals and things that probably in real life are not really that wearable or comfortable, but it doesn’t matter,” Milans said. “It’s all about the look.”
Marta Milans Says Caroline Is Very Different From Her Own Style
Although Caroline dresses with sharp luxury, Milans said her real-life style is much more relaxed.
“I wish I could dress so fashionable every day,” Milans said. “I live in a little beach community here in Malibu. I’m almost barefoot all the time. I have a little baby.”
She joked that Caroline’s wardrobe would require Caroline’s life.
“If I had Caroline’s social calendar, for sure,” Milans said. “But I don’t.”
That contrast made the role even more fun. Caroline’s clothes, world, and energy gave Milans the chance to step into a character who lives through precision, polish, and intimidation.
M.I.A. Gave Marta Milans the Chance to Play the Opposite of Mama Rosa
For many superhero fans, Milans is still beloved as Rosa Vasquez, the foster mother in Shazam! and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. M.I.A. gave her the chance to do something completely different.
“I was very intrigued by playing someone so strong and so driven and assertive,” Milans said. “I had played so many wholesome characters doing the Shazam franchise and Mama Rosa, and playing this foster mom to all these kids, and very warm and approachable.”
Caroline is the opposite of that.
“Literally, this is the polar opposite,” Milans said.
That sharp contrast was one of the biggest reasons she wanted the part. Milans was also drawn to the creative team, including Dubuque and Campbell.
“Working with someone like Bill Dubuque, who’s created such fan base with Ozark, and Karen Campbell, our showrunner, who was very adamant about creating a lot of backstory with characters, it was such a fresh take on someone so dark and strong that I was very attracted to the role from the get-go,” Milans said.
The Miami setting also helped sell her on the project.
“I read the character description, and I saw that I was filming in Miami,” Milans said. “My best friend lives there, one of my best friends, and I kind of looked at all the things about Caroline, and I thought, ‘Oh man, I think I’m going to try to get this.’ And I did, so I’m really, really, really grateful.”
Marta Milans Built a Full Backstory for Caroline
Milans worked closely with Campbell to build Caroline’s backstory and understand the woman beneath the polished surface.
“I did a lot of backstory in general with our showrunner,” Milans said.
That backstory helped explain Caroline’s need for polish, status, and distance from the more expected image of a cartel-connected woman.
“She was married to a kind of blue-blooded American white guy from the upper East Coast of the United States,” Milans said. “She obviously, we find out that she has a son at the end of the season, who’s very white. She went to a great university. She speaks all these languages, traveled the world. She dresses well.”
Milans described Caroline as the more legitimate face of a darker family operation.
“She’s kind of very much the legitimate side to her cartel brothers that run the cartel,” Milans said. “So she’s a total departure from that.”
That made Caroline’s social ambition and image a key part of the role.
“It was a lot of building that wannabe blue blood, the higher echelons of American society that have been established, old money, all those things that she is not, but she wants to be part of,” Milans said. “So that’s why she’s so polished. That’s why she’s so elegant.”
Milans also said Caroline intentionally moves away from narrow stereotypes.
“That’s why she’s a departure from the concept of what people see as, like, a sexy Latina,” Milans said. “She does not want to be part of that.”
Why Audiences Love Crime Thrillers Like M.I.A.
M.I.A. taps into family secrets, loyalty, betrayal, power, and survival. Milans believes those themes keep audiences hooked because they combine heightened entertainment with emotions people understand.
“It’s great entertainment,” Milans said. “I don’t think cartels ever grow old. People love cartel stuff. I don’t know why. Drugs and shootouts and bad guys and thugs and violence and explosions.”
However, the show also works because its biggest questions are human.
“I think we can all relate to how far you’re willing to go to protect your family and to protect your interests,” Milans said. “Obviously, this is heightened reality. That’s why we consider it entertainment. Because it’s a departure from our day-to-day lives. But we can relate to a lot of things in it.”
That balance gives M.I.A. its appeal. It offers the danger and spectacle of a crime thriller while still staying rooted in family, ambition, and identity.
What Shazam! Taught Marta Milans About Big Franchise Storytelling
Milans also reflected on her time in the Shazam! franchise and what she learned from stepping onto massive superhero sets.
She said that no matter how large a production becomes, the actor’s job remains the same.
“At the end of the day, you go into these huge, massive sets with cranes and huge balloons that are illuminating entire neighborhoods of a city and cranes and trailers and CGI and all these massive, massive movies,” Milans said. “And what I would say, at the end of the day, the lesson that you take with yourself is you still have to show up and do the work and be that character and be present in the moment and be the best professional you can.”
Those sets can feel overwhelming, but Milans said the key is staying grounded.
“Sometimes it can be overwhelming because it’s such a big set that you want to deliver,” Milans said. “And it can be imposing and like, ‘Oh my God, this is too much for me.’ But then it’s not.”
Playing Mama Rosa also felt natural because the Shazam! films centered on family.
“I was so lucky to be part of a movie that is so related to family and my kids and Shazam,” Milans said. “I got to be able to play this wholesome character that I can relate to a lot. I love children. I’ve always been around kids, and I think I was well-cast in that sense.”
Now that Milans is a mother, the role carries even more meaning.
“I am finally a mom now, and I have a baby who’s 18 months,” Milans said. “So that was very easy for me to play.”
Milans loves that audiences can see different sides of her across different projects.
“It’s wonderful to do work that people relate to,” Milans said. “They can see me as a mom in Shazam!, and they can also see me as a badass bad girl in M.I.A. And I’ll take it, as long as I can keep my fans happy, I’ll keep doing what I do.”
Marta Milans Says Some Roles Are Closer to Her Real Life
When asked whether Mama Rosa might be the closest role to her real self, Milans said Shazam! is one example, but not the only one.
“I would say from Shazam!, but also Kika in White Lines,” Milans said.
Milans worked with Álex Pina, the creator of Money Heist, on The Pier before he wrote another role for her in White Lines.
“When I got the character breakdown from the creator, I looked at him, and I said, ‘Did you just Google my biography and just write me?’” Milans said.
She said White Lines includes a lot of her personality, even with the heightened drama.
“If you watch White Lines, minus a few things, obviously, because again, it’s heightened reality, there’s a lot of Marta in Kika as well, but also in Mama Rosa,” Milans said. “So I’ve gotten lucky enough to play my wheelhouse closely, but also full departures from it, and still have fun with it. So I’m lucky.”
Marta Milans Wants to Play a Spy Next
After working across television, film, drama, comedy and franchise storytelling, Milans knows what kind of role she wants next.
“I’d love to play a spy next time,” Milans said. “As you know, I speak seven languages, almost six and a half. So I would like someone to use those languages for me.”
That answer led to a natural suggestion: Prime Video’s Citadel universe, an expansive spy franchise built around international stories, covert missions and global stakes.
“I’ll tell my team about it,” Milans said.
For Milans, the interest in spy storytelling makes sense. She has already moved between major franchise films, crime thrillers and character-driven dramas, while also expanding behind the camera.
“I’ve started to direct and produce my own stuff,” Milans said. “I directed this film to raise awareness on the dangers of gaslighting as a form of mental abuse. It’s called The Seventh Turn. I produced it, starred in it, directed it.”
That experience opened a new creative lane for her.
“I’ve dived into storytelling from behind the camera as well,” Milans said. “And that’s something that is really attractive to me.”
Still, Milans said the goal remains the same: find stories that move people.
“Ultimately, bring projects to the screen that are compelling, that inspire people, that can help people, that can entertain people, things that are positive,” Milans said. “That’s what I want to do for sure.”
Marta Milans Is Ready for More M.I.A.
Near the end of the conversation, Milans had one more message for viewers and for anyone hoping Peacock’s M.I.A. continues.
“We need a Season 2,” Milans said.
For fans who first discovered her through Shazam!, M.I.A. offers a very different version of Milans. Caroline is not warm, soft, or safe. She is controlled, ambitious, elegant, and dangerous. That makes the Peacock series a strong showcase for Milans and one of her sharpest turns yet.
M.I.A. is now streaming on Peacock.
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