Netflix has a new obsession, and its name is Nemesis.
The series, a high-stakes, action-packed crime drama, follows two men: one, a mastermind heist thief; the other, an obsessive LAPD officer. On opposite sides of the law, they engage in a battle of wits and blur moral lines, leaving one of them on top and the other’s world crumbling (we won’t tell you which here).
Nemesis, which premiered all eight episodes on Netflix last week, has dominated the streaming platform, becoming its number one show in the U.S. and globally. And that’s got a lot to do with the “power” of its creator, Courtney A. Kemp.
Kemp’s no stranger to deep dives into a criminal world rich in backstory. She created Power for Starz in 2014, developing it into the biggest franchise the outlet has ever had, eventually spawning three spinoffs plus a prequel series, Power: Origins, currently in production. With Nemesis, she hasn’t just launched a new crime drama; she’s putting the blueprint that built the Power empire into full effect.
Unpacking the phenomenon
Kemp is back in her bag, and Netflix viewers are eating it up.
If your timeline hasn’t turned into the Nemesis discourse, ramp up your algorithm. Not only is the internet all over the series, but they’re making the comparisons – with a little Heat thrown on the fire as well. And we won’t even get into Power lord 50 Cent’s now deleted reaction to the series when it was first announced in 2025 (but he seemed miffed).
Both Nemesis and the Power Universe explore crime-driven narratives and complicated protagonists. There’s a strong emphasis on power dynamics, loyalty, and, as Kemp herself described herself, an overall theme of “right and wrong.” It’s these three key ingredients that keep fans glued to their seats when it comes to a Kemp production.
She’s also tapped into the “you loved this actor in Power, so you’ll love them here” theory. Several former Power actors, including Domenick Lombardozzi, Jonnie “Dumbfoundead” Park and Mark Feuerstein, appear in Nemesis.
Pick a side
Online, the internet is already splitting into Team Coltrane and Team Isaiah: There’s Y’lan Noel as Coltrane, delivering “Smooth Criminal” vibes, and Matthew Law as Isaiah, winning the sympathy vote as a man pushed to the brink to avenge justice.
The actors actually have more in common than meets the eye. As both their characters’ storylines deal with fatherhood, when asked who the father figures were in their lives, they dropped similar answers.
“I lost my father young, but I had a soccer coach one time who told me, ‘Big players play big,” Law shared with EBONY.
Noel concurred. For him, it was his track coach. “Coach Cobb was a school of champions… he took many people to the Olympics,” Noel revealed. “He said, ‘Just do your, do your best work, big man.’” Noel also lauded legendary acting teacher and producer Freddie Hendricks, known as the “grandfather of Black acting method. “He taught me the power and the value of applause.”
Having two Black men lead the series is also a draw for fans seeking complex archetypes portrayed not only in the seedy underbelly of crime but also on both sides of the law (however hazy that may be). Both men are vulnerable, ambitious, emotionally wounded, and deeply tied to family. That’s also a main theme in the Power universe.
Cleopatra Coleman, who plays Ebony Wilder, the wife of the brilliant criminal mastermind, relayed to EBONY, “I think people are drawn to Nemesis because it understands that power is emotional. Beneath all the danger, ambition and spectacle, the show is really about loyalty, love, grief and survival.”
As for fans rooting for this pairing, Coleman stated, “It’s been really interesting to watch the response because people seem genuinely moved by how devoted Ebony and Coltrane are to each other. In a world where relationships are often portrayed as disposable or transactional, there’s something almost mythic about two people choosing each other over and over again, even when everything around them is collapsing.”
Kemp’s World Building Expands
Kemp signed an overall deal with Netflix in 2021, with Nemesis being the first major creative output from that deal. It’s only a matter of time before the streamer announces a season two to continue the show’s winning streak.
Gushed Coleman about a future for Coltrane and Ebony, “I’d love to explore what happens when two people who are this devoted are forced to confront the consequences of the choices they’ve made together. There’s still so much underneath the surface with Ebony, and I think audiences are only beginning to understand her.”
But Kemp’s hand may be full; she just signed another overall development deal, this one with Apple TV. Her track record speaks for itself. She builds worlds that audiences want to revisit again and again.
So the world of Nemesis, which started with a bang and has viewers hooked, may just be its beginning. In the not-so-distant future, we may see the backstory of Coltrane’s entry into crime or the story behind Isaiah’s befallen partner. Kemp rarely builds a small world: Nemesis already feels engineered for expansion.
And if we’ve learned anything from Power, the sins of a parent are always ripe for a character deep dive.