The Reason Cary Elwes' M.I.A. Character Wears Hawaiian Shirts Is More Complex Than You Think
Cary Elwes told Peacock Blog about the real‑world inspiration behind Kincaid, his casually dressed investigator on M.I.A.
It will be hard to miss Cary Elwes in the brand new Peacock crime drama series, M.I.A. He'll be the one rocking Hawaiian shirts and shorts on the show amid a sea of men sporting suits and jackets.
Elwes — who rose to fame after his early roles in films like The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights — stars in M.I.A. as private investigator Kincaid, who's been asked to look into a case after an entire family was murdered in the Florida Keys.
Etta Tiger Jones (Shannon Gisela) survived the attack, unbeknownst to almost everyone, and is seeking revenge in Miami after her family was slaughtered by the drug cartel they worked for.
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Kincaid stands out in contrast to scenes featuring suited cartel members and uniformed cops — and his casual wardrobe isn’t just about the Florida heat.
As Elwes told Peacock Blog in an interview before M.I.A.'s premiere — which is Thursday, May 7 on Peacock — there's a lot more to Kincaid's fashion sense.
To help make M.I.A. as realistic as possible, series creator Bill Dubuque (Ozark), who's also one of the show's executive producers, met with a retired FBI agent, whom he went with to police headquarters in Miami, where the lieutenant there made detectives in the organized crime task force tell him their stories.
The detectives also spent two days driving Dubuque around crime hotbeds in Miami, such as trailer
parks, strip joints, motels, and clubs, according to the show's production notes.
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Elwes got a chance to speak with private investigators as part of his research for Kincaid.
Cary Elwes' M.I.A. character inspired by real-life investigators he met with
"Thanks to production, I was able to interview a couple of private investigators in Miami before we started shooting and the first thing I noticed about both of them was that they both were very casual in their dress," Elwes told Peacock Blog. "I asked them about that, and, since they were both ex-police officers, which many private investigators are, or ex-military, they said that after wearing uniforms for such a long period of time, they really, really leaned into wearing more casual wear when they decided to retire and take on the role of a P.I."
With that in mind, Elwes said, he worked with M.I.A. showrunner and executive producer Karen Campbell to give Kincaid "more of a Key Largo vibe to him... with the Tommy Bahamas and the shorts and give him a different energy than the other characters in the show."
In addition to the several relaxed Hawaiian shirts Kincaid wears throughout the series, he also often has two pairs of eyeglasses on him.
"In terms of inspiration, the role that Cary plays was inspired by a retired FBI detective who wore two sets of glasses," Dubuque told Peacock Blog. "He walked me into Miami-Dade police headquarters where the lieutenant, at the time, made the different detectives in the organized crime force task force sit down with me one at a time."
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Dubuque's ride-along with investigators in Miami helped give him a sense of the city and how crime operates there.
"I was just so impressed that Miami wasn't this homogeneous city where everything's the same," Dubuque told Peacock Blog. "You think of the beach, think of the ocean, think of the towers, but there, there's so many different pockets that are so different from each other — and the food, the culture, and the music. I think it's just a wonderfully vibrant city."
Cary Elwes calls Shannon Gisela "a force to contend with"
Elwes offered high praise for Dubuque and Campbell's vision for M.I.A., as well as for the show's main star, Gisela, who plays Etta.
"Bill [Dubuque] and Karen Campbell — our showrunner — picked a team both in front and behind the camera, remarkable talent. Remarkable," Elwes said. "Shannon Gisela, who plays Etta, is a force to contend with... People are going to be blown away by her performance in this show. She just grabs you by the lapels and won't let go."
M.I.A. premieres Thursday, May 7, 2026 on Peacock, with all nine episodes dropping at once.
