Courtney Kemp on Netflix series ‘Nemesis’ and diversity in Hollywood
The Business
KCRW
4.5 • 699 Ratings
🗓️ 22 May 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Eric Deggans talks to Courtney Kemp, co-creator of the Netflix crime drama Nemesis, about the changing TV landscape, and whether she sees Hollywood standing by diversity initiatives despite the pushback from the Trump administration. She also explains how some executives who give her notes don’t necessarily grasp what matters to her audience. After signing an overall deal with Netflix in 2021, Kemp developed Nemesis, a Los Angeles-set crime story built around ambition, class, and power.
[Editor’s note: this segment was taped before it was announced that Kemp had signed an overall deal with Apple TV, and did not renew her deal with Netflix.]
Plus, host Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the penultimate episode of which included a jab by Bruce Springsteen directed at Larry and David Ellison. The duo also assess the latest Star Wars release - The Mandalorian and Grogu. Disney has a lot riding on whether the franchise can successfuly turn a popular TV series into a box office hit.
[Editor’s note: this segment was taped before the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired.]
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From KCRW, I'm Kim Masters, and this is The Business. |
| 0:04.5 | Courtney Kemp's crime drama, Nemesis, is the first to emerge from her overall deal with Netflix. |
| 0:09.9 | She says she made some compromises so the show could shoot in L.A., |
| 0:13.2 | and that's hardly the first time she's had to yield to get something made. |
| 0:17.4 | I can't speak for anyone. |
| 0:19.1 | What I can say is I wanted to make money and I was willing to |
| 0:24.1 | sometimes bend my vision in order to secure the success of the show for everyone who was |
| 0:30.2 | working behind the scenes. I'll be like, I'll do that note. It's fine. Like, okay, right, |
| 0:35.6 | are you going to greenlight the show or not? The former showrunner of the Star Series Power talks to Eric Deggans about the changing TV |
| 0:42.1 | landscape in the streaming era and whether she sees Hollywood standing by diversity initiatives |
| 0:47.3 | despite the pushback from the Trump administration. She also explains how some executives |
| 0:52.4 | who give her notes don't necessarily grasp what matters to her audience. |
| 0:57.3 | But first we banter. Stick around. It's the business from KCRW. |
| 1:05.0 | I am joined by my colleague in banter at Bellany. |
| 1:12.6 | Hello, Matt. |
| 1:13.2 | Hi there. |
| 1:13.8 | So Matt, take a listen to this. |
| 1:15.3 | Ladies and gentlemen, Bruce Springsteen. |
| 1:19.8 | Stephen. |
| 1:21.9 | I'm here in support tonight for Stephen because you're the first guy in America who's lost its show because we've |
| 1:28.4 | got a president who can't take a joke. And because Larry and David Ellison feel they need |
| 1:34.1 | to kiss his ass to get what they want. So these are... I've never seen anything like this before, |
... |
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