Netflix OriginalFirst LookNemesisCourtney A. Kemp steps into Netflix. Y'lan Noel and Matthew Law step into the ring. An unstoppable force. An immovable object. Only one outcome.
Netflix OriginalFirst Look
Nemesis
Courtney A. Kemp steps into Netflix. Y'lan Noel and Matthew Law step into the ring. An unstoppable force. An immovable object. Only one outcome.
Courtney A. Kemp built an empire on Starz. For six seasons and multiple spin-offs, the Power universe she created dominated culture, dominated conversation, and proved that Black storytelling at the center of prestige crime drama was not a niche — it was a phenomenon. Now Kemp is bringing that same energy to Netflix, and her first series for the streamer has a name that says everything about the collision course at its heart: Nemesis. Premiering May 14, 2026, this is already one of the most anticipated new series of the year.
Netflix dropped first-look images and confirmed the premiere date on March 18, giving audiences their first glimpse of the show's two leads: Y'lan Noel (Insecure) as Coltrane Wilder, a masterful, expert criminal, and Matthew Law (Abbott Elementary) as Isaiah Stiles, a brilliant and utterly relentless police detective. Two men on opposite sides of the law. A collision that is not just about a heist — it's about what it means to be consumed by the thing you're most devoted to.
What the Show Is About
Nemesis starts from a deceptively familiar premise — unstoppable criminal versus immovable detective — and then works deliberately to subvert every expectation that premise creates. This is not a cat-and-mouse procedural. It is a psychological crime drama that uses the intensity of that central conflict as a way into something much deeper: what drives us, what sustains us, and what ultimately destroys us. The heist is a vehicle. The destination is a reckoning.
Tani and I are excited to bring a hard-hitting psychological crime drama to Netflix, specific in location but broad in universal themes of right and wrong, love and loss, and loyalty vs. self-preservation."
— Courtney A. Kemp, Creator & Showrunner
Set in Los Angeles, the series weaves family dynamics, life-or-death stakes, and explosive action through its eight episodes, all of which will drop simultaneously on May 14 — a full binge-drop format that signals Netflix's confidence in the show's hold. The series carries a TV-MA rating and each episode runs approximately one hour, giving the story room to breathe and build with the kind of layered complexity Kemp has always brought to her best work.
The Criminal
Y'lan Noel
as Coltrane Wilder
An expert criminal and heist mastermind operating at the highest level — brilliant, calculated, and driven by forces that go far deeper than greed. vs
The Detective
Matthew Law
as Isaiah Stiles
A brilliant police detective who will not stop — whose dogged pursuit of Wilder is as much about his own obsession as it is about justice.
Known For: Abbott Elementary
Courtney A. Kemp Comes Home to Netflix
Kemp signed a major overall deal with Netflix back in 2021, and Nemesis is the first series out of that partnership — a five-year runway that speaks to how much the streamer believed in what she would eventually bring them. After six seasons of Power, three spin-offs, and a fourth currently in development (Power: Origins), Kemp arrives at Netflix not as a newcomer proving herself, but as a creator with a fully established track record of building worlds that hold audiences across years.
Co-created with Tani Marole, who also serves as executive producer, Nemesis marks the beginning of what Netflix VP of Studio Scripted Series Nne Ebong has described as an exciting new creative partnership. "Courtney's shows have proven to dominate culture and conversation, and it's exciting to have this be the first project from our creative partnership," Ebong said.
Mario Van Peebles Directs the Opening Salvo
One of the most significant creative decisions attached to Nemesis is the choice to have Mario Van Peebles direct the first two episodes and serve as executive producer on those installments. Van Peebles — director of Baadasssss!, Outlaw Posse, and producer of Wu-Tang: An American Saga — brings a lineage rooted in independent Black cinema and a directorial sensibility that understands exactly how to establish the visual and tonal world a show like this needs. The first two episodes of any series set everything: the rhythm, the stakes, the aesthetic. Putting Van Peebles there is a statement of intention.
The Ensemble Cast
Y'lan Noel
Coltrane Wilder
Insecure
Matthew Law
Isaiah Stiles
Abbott Elementary
Cleopatra Coleman
Ebony Wilder
The Last Man on Earth
Gabrielle Dennis
Candace Stiles
The Bobby Brown Story
Domenick Lombardozzi
Series Regular
The Wire / Boardwalk Empire
Tre Hale
Series Regular
Platonic
Why This One Matters
The legacy of Power is not just about ratings or streaming numbers — it's about what it meant for Black audiences to see a world that complex, that morally layered, and that visually assured built around Black characters. Kemp did not tell small stories. She told stories about power, consequence, ambition, and the weight of the choices we make when we believe we can control outcomes we can't. Nemesis appears to be operating on the same register.
The ensemble Kemp has assembled here — from Noel and Law at the center, to veterans like Domenick Lombardozzi and Michael Potts flanking them, to Gabrielle Dennis bringing depth to the family dynamics — is the kind of cast that signals a showrunner who knows exactly what she is building. This is not a safe bet. This is a creative statement. And with Mario Van Peebles setting the visual tone for how the first two hours land, Nemesis has the architecture to become Netflix's next signature crime event.
Show Details
Title
Nemesis
Network
Netflix (Global)
Premiere Date
May 14, 2026 — All 8 Episodes Drop at Once
Created By
Courtney A. Kemp & Tani Marole
Showrunner
Courtney A. Kemp
Director (Eps 1–2)
Mario Van Peebles (also EP)
Setting
Los Angeles, California
Episodes
8 episodes, ~1 hour each
Rating
TV-MA
Filmed
Los Angeles, March – July 2025
Nemesis drops on Netflix on May 14, 2026. Courtney A. Kemp built a universe on Starz. Now she is building a new one on Netflix — and if the first look is any indication, the Tam Fam and the Power faithful are about to have a brand new obsession. Mark the date. Clear the calendar. This one is going to own the weekend.
