Expectations are high for Courtney A. Kemp and her latest series “Nemesis” for Netflix, and not just because it’s a new show.
Over a decade ago, Kemp and rapper-turned-media mogul Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson launched Starz’s urban crime “Power” franchise that’s still bearing fruit. Even as the spinoffs “Power Book II: Ghost” and “Power Book IV: Force” to the first series about James “Ghost” St. Patrick’s desire to transition from drug kingpin to upstanding businessman and leader have ended and “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” comes to a close, the upcoming prequel “Power: Origins,” tracing Tommy and Ghost’s early beginnings, is still highly anticipated. But right now, Kemp is all about “Nemesis,” the first project under her solo Netflix deal.
Wisely, Kemp and co-creator Tani Marole don’t try to recreate “Power,” but choose to match its energy instead. Though Ghost and Tommy were brothers from another mother, there’s nothing buddy about “Nemesis” and its two stars. Matthew Law (best known as Ava’s love interest O’Shon on ABC’s Emmy-winning comedy “Abbott Elementary”) is LAPD detective Isaiah Stiles, who is obsessed with exposing Coltrane Wilder played by Y’lan Noel (best known as Daniel from Issa Rae’s groundbreaking HBO series “Insecure” and the lead of the 2018 film “The First Purge”) as the professional high-level thief and killer he is and not the upstanding business man he pretends to be.
But Stiles is no saint either. Not with the street legend Amos (Moe Irvin), better known as Nightmare, as his father. As hard as Isaiah fights not to be like his dad, the way he stretches the law raises lots of questions. That murkiness also extends to his personal life, where Isaiah makes critical missteps.
Despite enjoying marital relations from time to time, he is separated from his wife Candace (Gabrielle Dennis, “Big Door Prize,” “A Black Lady Sketch Show”) mainly because he continually puts his job before her and their teen son Noah’s (Cedric Joe, “Space Jam: A New Legacy”) needs. As she pushes for more family time, Isaiah can’t stop himself from doubling down on exposing Coltrane and his faithful crew, even as his son may be turning to Nightmare for guidance. And it doesn’t help that Candace has an attractive ex in Malik (Jeff Pierre, “Walker,” “Shameless”) waiting in the wings, who just happens to be the district attorney.
On the flip side, Coltrane, the thief and killer, is highly devoted to wife Ebony (Cleopatra Coleman, “Clipped”). She is a thief as well but, after suffering a huge personal loss, wants to move past that life and concentrate on having a family with her husband. Their biggest barrier, however, is her sister Charlie (an excellent Sophina Brown, “Twenties,” “Numbers”) who just might be the true shot caller in the end.
Unlike Isaiah who finds himself at odds with the police chief Jimmy (Michael Potts, “The Wire”) who loves him like a son, his partner Yvette Cruz (Ariana Guerra, “CSI: Vegas”) and other team members, Coltrane has a loyal crew of friends and accomplices in Stro (Tre Hale, “All American”), Choi (Jonnie Park, “Power”) and Deon (Quincy Isaiah, Magic Johnson from “Winning Time”). There is some trouble in loyalty, however. Despite being Stro’s uncle, Deon is an immature live wire with so many vices. And that threatens everything.
The series kicks off with a bang as Mario Van Peeples, who is also one of the show’s executive producers, helmed the first two episodes — and even paid homage to his ‘90s urban film classic “New Jack City” — but “Nemesis” hits some speed bumps, mainly with pacing, important plot development and overly familiar storylines from other popular TV shows and films. Fortunately, it makes key recoveries that reward those who keep watching.
What it can’t fix, however, is who to root for. Blame Noel and his crew of actors — Tre Hale, Jonnie Park and Quincy Isaiah — for bringing added dimension to their characters and truly selling the brotherhood of it all. But liking the bad guys this much and secretly wanting them to win is definitely a problem when they’ve given Law’s Isaiah every moral right to pursue them.
While Michael Mann’s classic 1995 film “Heat” obviously inspires this cat-and-mouse chase, “Nemesis” strives to carve out its own lane. By digging deep at the intersection of the hood and bougie respectability in Los Angeles through a myriad of storylines — including but not limited to work-life balance, father-son dynamics, marital woes, parenting challenges, loyalty among thieves, blurred lines between right and wrong — not to mention sophisticated heists with Powerball-size payouts, “Nemesis” will automatically draw in a demo of “Power” and “Snowfall” fans still not used to seeing themselves reflected in this light enough.
For others, “Nemesis” might just be juggling way too many balls for them to make the investment. Still Netflix leaves enough room to bet on Season 2.
“Nemesis” is now streaming on Netflix.