Courtney A. Kemp and Tani Marole‘s new Netflix series Nemesis is an action thriller that borrows heavily from Hollywood’s long tradition of cat-and-mouse crime sagas, in which a relentless lawman obsessively hunts an equally cunning criminal mastermind. Blending the psychological tension of classic cop thrillers with the scale and style of modern prestige television, the series explores the razor-thin line between justice and obsession as both men become consumed by the chase.

Like classics such as Heat, To Live and Die in L.A., and The Fugitive — or the rivalry between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty — Nemesis follows master thief Coltrane Wilder, a criminal one score away from freedom, and Lieutenant Isaiah Stiles, the relentless detective determined to stop him. Their collision drives the series, pitting an “unstoppable force” (Coltrane) against an “immovable object” (Isaiah).

What makes Nemesis so hypnotic is its two leads: apex predators locked in a psychological war. Both men are brilliant, obsessive, and guided by their own code, making every encounter feel like more than cops and robbers — it feels personal.

The further the chase, the clearer it is that Coltrane and Isaiah may understand each other better than anyone else in their lives — a connection that makes their inevitable collision all the more dangerous.

Stars Matthew Law and Y’lan Noel talked to TV Insider about the evolution of their characters and how the series peels back the layers of two men trapped by their own obsessions, histories, and personal codes, even as they move toward an inevitable collision.

“That is just comes from the amazing construction of Courtney and Tommy’s vision of this world and of these people and their relationships,” said Law. “We’ve been here talking about both of these men, and I think that they are two institutionalized men in their own ways. The way that Coltrane comes from having time served, and the way that Isaiah has his own method, [like] a prison, which has sort of shaped him.”

“I think that we see some of the outcomes of that,” continued Law. “I think for me, it was just having grace and compassion for seeing what other people might see is just huge mistakes. I think both of us, we had to see the why. Like, ‘Why? What is that rooted in?'”

“Yeah, that’s a part of it. That’s all the game is,” agrees Noel. “Why is this person doing what they’re doing? And it just depends on who’s telling the story, whether somebody was good or whether they were bad. And if we’re honest, we all have a little bit of both in us.”

So, where you have two men who blur the lines of good and bad thanks to their obsessions, who is the bad guy? Is it the cop who will do anything to catch his man? Or is it the thief who takes care of his loved ones and community by stealing from others?

'Nemesis' Season 2: Plot Details, Episodes Descriptions, Trailer, Cast & More
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'Nemesis' Season 2: Plot Details, Episodes Descriptions, Trailer, Cast & More

“That’s a discussion for the audience, for sure,” said Noel. “I’m excited to see how the audience feels about that. My goal is always to humanize people who could easily be stereotyped and discarded. So if grandma can say, ‘Wait a second! Coltrane has a point! Like, I’m rocking with him,’ then I think, we in the show — because it’s Courtney and Tony that wrote it — I think we achieved something if we can have that happen.

“And I think we knew that we all win if both of us were as dangerous as we could be, you know. So really, we were always mining,” said Law. “I was always trying to find and ask and push and explore for the truth of it, just how hot his fire was burning into these scenes.”

“We both play characters that are alike in that way. The more and more we can highlight how alike they are, I think more and more we can sort of drive home, sort of one of the biggest takeaways of the show,” explained Noel.

Nemesis, Season 1 premiere, May 14, Netflix

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Originally published on tvinsider.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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