Apart from learning a new word, zugzwang (yet another apt German word, this time meaning “compulsion to move”) and revisiting an old favourite, Nina Simone’s silky ‘Sinnerman’, Power’s Courtney A. Kemp’s latest effort, Nemesis, does not make for particularly engaging viewing.
There is a certain burnished Netflix-isation that has sanded away every bump and bulge to present a strangely anaemic show despite all the guns, knives, double and triple crosses. Everything seems to project seriousness and grit, with the actors all squinting dangerously while biting off ridiculous dialogue, including “I am Prometheus, I bring the fire.”
Nemesis (English, Season 1)
Creators: Courtney A. Kemp, Tani Marole
Starring: Matthew Law, Y’lan Noel, Gabrielle Dennis, Cleopatra Coleman, Sophina Brown, Ariana Guerra, Cedric Joe, Tre Hale, Michael Potts, Jonnie Park, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jeff Pierre
Runtime: 8 episodes (56 – 63 minutes)
Storyline: An obsessed policeman and a master criminal are involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse
Nemesis is a lovely-looking show, where everyone is immaculately coifed and dressed while moving slinkily through deliciously lit-up homes in terribly impractical but eye-wateringly glamorous heels and nails — Miranda will surely approve.
The story offers nothing new. Do not make the cardinal mistake of expecting Heat vibes from this cops-and-robbers tale set in the City of Angels. Detective Isaiah Stiles (Matthew Law), a Lieutenant in the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, is obsessed with bringing Coltrane Wilder (Y’lan Noel) down.
Coltrane seems to be the very pillar of respectability, a successful businessman who has moved away from his criminal past to make good. Isaiah naturally knows different. After his partner died in his arms during an armed robbery two years ago, Isaiah is hell-bent on bringing Coltrane to justice.
His marriage has suffered due to his obsession, and his wife, Candice (Gabrielle Dennis), wonders what happened to the man she married while moving closer to her college friend Malik (Jeff Pierre), who now works in the DA’s office. The couple is on a trial separation.
Isaiah’s unconventional approach to all things Coltrane has alienated everyone around him, including his son, Noah (Cedric Joe), his partner, Yvette (Ariana Guerra), and his boss, Captain James Sealey (Michael Potts). Isaiah has a difficult relationship with his father, Amos (Moe Irvin), a feared gangster from the old days.
Coltrane, on the other hand, is happily married to Ebony (Cleopatra Coleman), is in business with Ebony’s sister, Charlie (Sophina Brown) and has a tight friend circle comprising Stro (Tre Hale), Choi (Jonnie Park) and Deon (Quincy Isaiah). It also helps that they are part of Coltrane’s crew, responsible for all the high-stakes robberies around Los Angeles.
After an audacious robbery on Halloween, Isaiah is convinced he can nail Coltrane, though his boss and other superiors are having none of it. Through eight episodes of flying bullets, dirty cops, cartel capos with accents dodgier than their crimes, adultery, pregnancies and a fair bit of hectic acting, we are no nearer a resolution.
Netflix had apparently told Kemp to wrap the show in such a way that season 2 would not be necessary, while Kemp went ahead and did the exact opposite (more Power to her) and left giant, cliffhangers with trailing plot strings.
Nemesis’ hurry-up and wait approach is annoying, but you can always pass the time looking at elegantly cut trousers or that perfectly manicured talon typing out a mysterious text while Isaiah goes ballistic one more time.
Nemesis is currently streaming on Netflix
Published – May 19, 2026 01:38 pm IST
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