Courtney A. Kemp Wants To Build A TV Universe In L.A. With Netflix’s ‘Nemesis’

Matthew Law and Y’lan Noel talk about their Netflix series ‘Nemesis.’

Photo by Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Power creator Courtney A. Kemp and fiancé Tani Marole always knew they wanted to film their new Netflix heist series, Nemesis, in Los Angeles. “There was no other option,” Kemp said in a Zoom interview alongside Marole ahead of the show’s eight-episode May 14 premiere.

“The story was always set here, though there was some conversation at one point about shooting it in a different state,” Kemp admitted. “Tani and I were both like, ‘Absolutely not. It needs to be here.’ L.A. is a character in the show.”

Nemesis follows Detective Isaiah Stiles (Matthew Law), whose obsession with capturing heist mastermind Coltrane Wilder (Y’lan Noel) nearly destroys his life. Kemp and Marole created the two men as opponents on opposite sides of the law, though, as Marole noted, they have a lot more in common than either initially realizes.

“With families to feed, both men have reasons for their actions, and it makes the viewer think about the other side of bad deeds,” Marole explained.

Nemesis is reminiscent of heist classics like the 1995 hit Heat, which starred Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. This new modern-day, episodic take is a fun binge-watch with a lot of heart.

“For us, beyond wanting to tell the story of a cop and a robber, we also wanted to tell the tale of these family men, and the masculine burden each faces. We also wanted to tell the tale of the women in their lives, the children, their parents, and their siblings,” stated Marole.

“This is really a family story. It just so happens that we split the coin dead in the middle. So, the criminal side is one side of the coin, and the cop side is the other side of the coin,” he added. “But you’ll notice that there’s a lot of symmetry in their lives, and that was very intriguing for us. We wanted to show their commonality. As humans, we’re all more the same than we are different, and that was interesting to dial in on.”

In a separate interview, Law and Noel sat down to discuss the show’s humanity and the inequality that shapes the lives of the characters in the show.

“The story is rooted in the context of these families and these overbearing pressures,” said Law. “Each is trying to provide for their families. It’s hard, and I don’t think many people know what it’s like to starve, or what it means to be hungry in the streets and to break the law to feed your family. Or, what it means to have built this enterprise, and now something’s going to come and bring it crashing down, and the feeling of, ‘I’ve got to do whatever it takes by any means necessary.’ That’s in the philosophy of these characters. I think we all carry that code.”

Law describes his character as a man “born with a curse,” asking, “How do we break curses that are placed on our shoulders?”

Noel believes the two men are driven by the same relentless need to succeed. “It’s interesting because the thing that makes them so similar is just how much they want to win and how obsessed they are with refining their craft, and then it’s back to winning again. It’s very important for them, and now they have finally found another person on the other side that they can explore that with, and it’s like an interesting dance, you know?”

He compared their rivalry to sports, where a true nemesis pushes someone further than they would otherwise go. “It’s a game of mental warfare for them.”

Kemp, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer, said keeping production in Los Angeles was both personal and creative. “The men in this world need to come from a city where there are legacy black areas. And we really wanted to write and show those places,” she explained.

“We also want Los Angeles to thrive. And there’s such a high level of talent here. Taking production out of L.A. only makes things harder. We really hope that we get to do more seasons of Nemesis and we get to make more shows here.”

As more productions leave Hollywood for tax incentives elsewhere, Kemp and Marole’s commitment to filming in Los Angeles carries added significance, especially as communities continue rebuilding after the Alta Dena and Palisades fires. Keeping productions local supports crews, businesses, and families who rely on the industry.

Governor Gavin Newsom recently expanded California’s tax incentive program, increasing the state’s Film and Television Tax Credit to $750 million annually in an effort to bring jobs back to Los Angeles.

Netflix already films several multi-season series locally, including Nobody Wants This, The Lincoln Lawyer, and the upcoming fourth and final season of The Night Agent.

Kemp and Marole hope Nemesis joins that list. Beyond continuing the story after the heart-pounding finale, they see filmmaking as an investment in the city itself.

Overall, Kemp wants audiences to enjoy the ride. “Life is really heavy right now for a lot of reasons that we won’t go into, and it’s nice to have some entertainment. It’s nice to have something fun. We also want our core audience to see themselves represented on screen, looking great, looking fabulous. I really want them to feel understood, especially our core audience who feel misunderstood a lot of the time.”

If Nemesis returns, Kemp says it will remain rooted in L.A. “I would love to have a TV universe here in Los Angeles, just like how we kept people working in New York on Power.”