Slavery. (Left to Right) Ylan Noel as Coltrane Wilder, Matthew Law as Isaiah Stiles in episode 105 of Nemesis. Ten million. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026
Just a few weeks after we got the great news that Netflix has officially renewed the hit cat-and-mouse thriller Nemesis for a second season, it looks like the gritty L.A. drama is experiencing a major makeover behind the scenes.
According to a recent report by Leslie Goldberg The AnklerSeries co-creator and showrunner Courtney A. Kemp will step down from her daily show-running duties for the show’s second year. Netflix declined to comment to the outlet on this story.
Courtney A. Why is Kemp stepping down?
The exit depends on the overall deals of the industry. As The Anchor reports, the eight-figure exclusive deal Kemp signed with Netflix is set to expire in 2021. Ahead of Nemesis launching on the platform, the Power franchise mastermind jumped to sign an exciting new exclusive TV deal and first-look film agreement with Apple. Of course, this also came before Netflix opted to renew the series, which came out in late June.
Due to the terms of his new Apple TV+ contract, Kemp is strictly prohibited from serving as showrunner on Nemesis going forward. However, she’s not leaving the series behind entirely — Kemp will still retain her credits as an executive producer and creator.
So, who’s taking charge? Netflix is currently expected to name a new showrunner to helm the ship. Luckily, the series will retain a significant portion of its original creative DNA: co-creator (and Kemp’s fiancée) Tani Marole, who wrote two of the first eight episodes, will remain involved as a writer for the second season.
What does this mean for Nemesis season 2?
Kemp’s departure as showrunner is undoubtedly a big change for the series. She was highly vocal about her long-term vision for the thriller, previously revealing that she actively fought Netflix’s request to tie up the first season with a neat bow, maintaining that she had a “blueprint for Season 2” ready.
Despite the change in leadership, Nemesis remains one of Netflix’s biggest breakout hits of the year. Starring Matthew Law and Ylan Noel, the series launched on May 14, 2026 and spent its first five weeks comfortably in Netflix’s top 10 worldwide for English-language series. According to new Netflix engagement reports, it racked up 7.1 million views in its first few days, just behind the massive return of Berlinale and ultimately racked up 32.6 million views in the first half of the year.
Whoever takes the reins will have plenty of explosive narrative threads to choose from. Season 1 concludes with a bloody Century City shootout, where angry LAPD detective Isaiah Stiles (Law) sacrifices his son, Noah (Cedric Joe), from an Alvarez Cartel bullet to capture master thief Coltrane Wilder (Noel). Heading into Season 2, Stiles is stripped of his badge and isolated, having lost his wife Candace (Gabrielle Dennis) to ADA Malik Jacobs (Jeff Pierre). Meanwhile, Wilder is on the run, desperately needing to locate his pregnant wife, Ebony (Cleopatra Coleman), after her sister-in-law Charlie (Sophina Brown) dramatically sabotages the hospital.
Fans will also be interested to see if the new showrunner maintains the series’ deep connection to Los Angeles. As we found out in our exclusive interview, Kemp and Marole prioritized filming in authentic, less-visited neighborhoods like South Central, Watts, and the Diamond District, and emphasized that keeping a local crew of more than 200 employed following the devastating L.A. fire was paramount to the show’s identity.
Netflix has not yet announced an official replacement for Kemp, but we’ll stay tuned for any production updates.
Are you surprised by the showrunner shakeup? slavery season 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
