BEST OF TASTY CLIPS: Mario Van Peebles still making it happen with ‘Nemesis’
By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
MARIO VAN PEEBLES returns this week as executive producer of a new Netflix series premiering May 14 called “Nemesis.” From Courtney A. Kemp (“Power”) with a cast of familiars including Y’lan Noel (“Insecure”), Matthew Law (“The Oval”), Michael Potts (“Highest 2 Lowest”) and Cleopatra Coleman (“Black Rabbit”), the drama tells the story of an expert criminal and a brilliant police detective at odds with each other.
When he last spoke to TASTY CLIPS, Van Peebles was attempting to change the landscape of horror with the SyFy network’s “Superstition,” a high concept show in which he starred as Isaac Hastings, the Black funeral parlor owner whose family served as supernatural protectors and guardians of the fictional town of La Rochelle.
“We thought this is a very exciting diverse America that we wanted to show,” he said of the series that also featured Robinne Lee, Demetria McKinney, Brad James and his daughter, Morgana Van Peebles. “Part of the other thing we kicked around was this notion that, you know, what would The Obamas really be like when the cameras go off?”
Van Peeples guaranteed to keep the BS meter on.
“They’re not doing stupid things,” he explained of the characters. “Sometimes in horror movies people do stuff you would never do. My character would never go back in that haunted house looking for the kitten. He’d be, like, I’ll come back tomorrow.”
For the director of classic movies “New Jack City,” “Panther” and “Posse,” filmmaking is all part of the Zen. The son of indie film veteran Melvin Van Peebles (“Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” “Watermelon Man,” “Don’t Play Us Cheap”) says his family is “kind of like The Jacksons without the talent. You know, we just get in there and we’re scrappy. And we make it happen.”
“I grew up seeing my dad do a lot of this,” he added. “I learned what to do and what not to do. He has a great sense of humor and has never been bitter. I mean, this is the cat who started directing when there were no Black directors. And he went to Columbia Pictures and said I want to direct movies. And they said we don’t need elevator operators.
“He said to me, ‘Son, there’s three kinds of people in the world. There’s people that watch stuff happen. There’s people that complain about what happens. And there’s people that make things happen.’
“And the Van Peebles, we get out there and make it happen. You might not like the show. You might not like the movie but rather than just complaining about what’s on TV or what’s not on TV, get out there and put it on TV. And hopefully if you build it, they will come.”
The 30th annual American Black Film Festival, as part of its 2026 “Homecoming” celebration (May 27-31 in Miami Beach) will recognize Van Peebles at Netflix’s Celebration of Black Television panel, to be moderated by Nina Parker.
Spanning generations of storytelling excellence, the star-studded conversation will feature fellow icons like Debbie Allen and showrunner Felicia Pride discussing legacy and the highly anticipated sequel of “A Different World” alongside the series’ new lead, Maleah Joi Moon.
The panel will also spotlight the creative forces behind “Nemesis,” including showrunner, creator and executive producer Kemp, co-creator and executive producer Tani Marole; alongside Michelle Buteau, creator, executive producer and lead star of “Survival of the Thickest” and the series showrunner and EP Amy Aniobi; as well as stars from “Beauty in Black,” Crystle Stewart and Taylor Polidore Williams. For additional details, visit www.abff.com.
For 12 years, Bill Vaughan has kept Wave readers up to date with the latest news in entertainment. Now, we are collecting some of those past columns into what we call the Best of Tasty Clips. To contact Vaughan, visit his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram or @tasty_clips, on X @tastyclips, and on LinkedIn to William Vaughan.
