Picture Credit: Netflix
Courtney A. Kemp’s long-awaited Netflix debut, Nemesis, has officially dropped, bringing a high-octane, Heat-style cat-and-mouse game to our screens. With a jaw-dropping finale that left the streets of Los Angeles littered with casualties, fans are already clamoring for more. Will Isaiah Stiles and Coltrane Wilder return for Season 2? Here’s everything we know so far about the renewal status and what to expect next.
Created by Power mastermind Courtney A. Kemp and Tani Marole, Nemesis follows the explosive, deeply personal rivalry between hotheaded LAPD Detective Isaiah Stiles (Matthew Law) and calculating master-thief Coltrane Wilder (Y’lan Noel).
Please note: This article contains major character and plot spoilers for the first season of Nemesis.
Has Netflix Renewed Nemesis for Season 2?
Official Netflix Renewal Status: Pending (Last Updated: May 17, 2026)
As of right now, Netflix has not officially greenlit Nemesis for a second season, but all signs are pointing in a highly positive direction as of the first couple of days, although we haven’t got official viewership just yet (check back on Tuesday, May 19th, for our analysis on that). As of the time of publishing, the series is the number 2 series on Netflix globally after the second season of Berlin. The show is currently ranking in the top 10s in 83 countries.
Netflix typically monitors a show’s viewership numbers and completion rates over the first 28 days before making a decision, but the creators have made it abundantly clear that Nemesis was never designed as a limited series.
In fact, Courtney A. Kemp recently revealed in an Instagram Live (via Primetimer) broadcast responding to a fan that there is already a “season 2 blueprint” in place. She similarly told The Hollywood Reporter that she actively fought against giving the first season a definitive ending. “Netflix asked us to wrap it in a place where you wouldn’t need a second season, and I was like, ‘Bet, we’re not doing that,’” Kemp said. “We knew that we did not want Coltrane to get caught. We didn’t want it to feel like you did all this for nothing.”
Beyond the ongoing narrative, the creators have real-world motivations for pushing for a renewal. In our own interview with the creators of Nemesis, Kemp and Marole discussed the importance of keeping their production in Los Angeles and hiring a massive local crew right after the devastating L.A. fires.
“It was just after the fires that we started to shoot, too. Los Angeles was really at a low, so it was important,” Kemp told What’s on Netflix. “We really hope we have more seasons of this show so we can bring our amazing crew back.”
Reviews are pretty good thus far, with a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, albeit based on only 10 reviews from critics. Audience scores are slightly more mixed right now, with a 41% RT score and a 5.4 IMDb score.
Cr. Saeed Adyani/Netflix © 2026
What to Expect from Nemesis Season 2
If Season 1 was about obsession, Season 2 is shaping up to be about the catastrophic consequences of that obsession. By the time the credits roll on the finale, both men have lost almost everything. Stiles chose to save his son from an errant Alvarez cartel bullet instead of capturing his nemesis, allowing Wilder to escape and deliver the ultimate parting shot: “You were never going to win.”
So, where does the story go from here?
The Hunt for Ebony
Wilder may have escaped the LAPD and the cartel, but his carefully curated legitimate life is officially upended. More importantly, he is separated from his pregnant wife. In the finale, Wilder’s sister-in-law Charlie sent a team of fake “nurses” to break Ebony (Cleopatra Coleman) out of the hospital while Wilder acted as a decoy.
“I think we have definitely ended the season where Coltrane’s gonna have to go find his wife,” Kemp teased to The Hollywood Reporter. With a target still lingering on his back, a reunion will be anything but simple.
Cr. Saeed Adyani/Netflix © 2026
Stiles Faces the Music
Isaiah Stiles is about to enter Season 2 with his hands tied and his life in shambles. “We have made it pretty clear that there are some more consequences coming for Stiles,” Kemp confirmed.
Stiles has been stripped of his badge and service weapon, meaning he no longer has the protection or resources of the LAPD. To make matters worse, his marriage is completely fractured—Candace (Gabrielle Dennis) has fled into the arms of ADA Malik Jacobs. And let’s not forget the elephant in the room: Stiles called in a favor from the Alvarez cartel to kill Wilder, crossing a major moral line. Now, he’s made an enemy of the cartel, and they aren’t exactly known for letting grudges slide.
Noah’s Dark Path: The Next Tariq?
With Power on her resume, Kemp is no stranger to putting teenage sons in the crosshairs of their fathers’ dangerous choices. After being thrown in a closet by his grandfather, Amos “Nightmare” Stiles, and watching him be murdered in cold blood by Wilder, Noah (Cedric Joe) is fundamentally changed. Taking a cartel bullet at the end of the season only adds to his physical and emotional scars.
Will Noah’s trauma push him into the criminal underworld, much like Tariq St. Patrick? “I’m always wrestling with inheritance, genetics, nature versus nurture,” Kemp noted. “All the things that have happened to Noah — the nurture, the trauma — he might not turn out so great. But whose fault is that?”
Who Will Be in the Nemesis Season 2 Cast?
The bloody shootout in Century City and the various betrayals thinned the herd in Season 1. We officially said goodbye to Deon (Quincy Isaiah), Andrei (Shahar Isaac), Amos (Moe Irvin), and Detective Harper (Stephanie Sigman), meaning they won’t be returning unless through flashbacks.
However, we can expect the core cast to reprise their roles for the next chapter should Netflix pull the trigger.
- Matthew Law as Isaiah Stiles
- Y’lan Noel as Coltrane Wilder
- Gabrielle Dennis as Candace Stiles
- Cleopatra Coleman as Ebony Wilder
- Cedric Joe as Noah Stiles
- Sophina Brown as Charlie
- Michael Potts as Sealey
- Jeff Pierre as Malik Jacobs
Are you hoping Netflix renews Nemesis for a second season? What do you want to see happen next? Let us know in the comments down below!
