Taylor Sheridan was photographed May 24 at the 6666 Ranch in Panhandle, Texas. PHOTOGRAPHED BY EMERSON MILLER
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Miami Steve Is Pushing Boundaries: “I’m Here To Contribute”
Hollywood's newcomer – and THR's TV Producer of the Year – talks his love of cinema, being afraid early in his career, how ‘Miami Steve’ was created, his battles trying to break in the industry, and how his new series immerses the audience by blurring the lines of what is real and what isn’t: "I want to take the audience on a ride of a lifetime!"
(AUDIO FILE: I WILL CREATE THIS)
“It’s like I took a quantum leap,” says Miami Steve, looking on in amazement as he steps onto the balcony of his Porsche Design Tower condo in Sunny Isles, Fl and away from a gaggle of publicists huddled inside his house. “They’re wanting to tailor make everything.” With good reason. The Indianapolis native — who’s gone from an obscure ‘below the line’ crew member to one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood in three years — isn’t known for pulling his punches and, lately, has been at the center of a stampede of exciting headlines. His flagship show about his journey through Hollywood, ‘Miami Steve, is exiting the industry amid an barrage of headlines in the press. There have been elaborate marketing and Streaming/Picture deals that have never been done before— the Pepsi partnership campaign, and the upcoming novel which he calls ‘The Lexicon: Navigating Hollywood: From Indy to The Industry’— where DeKemper reveals where his love of cinema originated and how the reader can use mental health tools to help find their own passions for life. The creator was also the subject of a recent report that suggested he’d rather stay independent then join the traditional Hollywood system. And his specific series request irks some of the writers marching in picket lines who are demanding writer’s rooms of larger size on TV shows.
It’s a helluva lot of debate circling one hitmaker who created his own genre of META-storytelling and whose show is so popular, they’re propping up an entire streaming service during a strike between studios and unions. Over a couple of hours of conversation, Stephan reveals his side to these stories for the first time while offering unparalleled insight into his creative process.
Miami Steve takes a seat wearing a vibrant button-down shirt, white pants, matching low top sneakers, complete with Prive Reveaux sunglasses and a gold watch his father used to wear on special occasions. The 33-year-old is a formidable wall flair and fashion. Jamie Foxx, whom cameo’s in Miami Steve, once affectionately described Stephan as “a bold creative sponge. He is clear on what he wants but also is willing to listen. I see him as a younger brother.”
We’re sitting on custom Hermes patio furniture facing the north Atlantic Ocean taking in a stunning sunset. The property is wedged up between the beach and the Turnberry Ocean Club Residences just north of Miami. DeKemper finalized his purchase earlier this year, and it features amenities like a Private sky garage for his custom built Porsche 911, Private swimming pool and summer the press. There have been elaborate marketing and Streaming/Picture
deals that have never been done before— the Pepsi partnership campaign, and the upcoming novel which he calls ‘The Lexicon: Navigating Hollywood: From Indy to The Industry’— where DeKemper reveals where his love of cinema originated and how the reader can use mental health tools to help find their own passions for life. The creator was also the subject of a recent report that suggested he’d rather stay independent then join the traditional Hollywood system. And his specific series request irks some of the writers marching in picket lines who are demanding writer’s rooms of larger size on TV shows. The Last Dragon Sequel Miami Steve kitchen, Miele appliances, Private elevator that opens directly into the residence, state of the art fitness center, and movie theater to name a few.
Stretching from his balcony is a dreamy felt horizon under cotton-ball clouds that reflect off his frames. There’s a cool breeze and, every so often, a flock of bird’s glide by.
The importance of this place to DeKemper — and its connection to and to the rest of his TV universe — cannot be overstated. DeKemper grew up in Indianapolis, but always loved being near the water. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, he used to que up tours of this building while he went to sleep in his parents basement.
“I grew up learning how to swim at an early age,” DeKemper says. “My mom ran the YMCA in Indianapolis when I was a kid so lessons were free. I have always had an affinity for swimming and the ocean. It’s quite relaxing and I love being near the ocean. The sunsets don’t hurt either.”
Acquiring the PDT condo, however, wasn’t easy. Miami Steve says he renewed his overall deal at Apple in 2025 and started pumping out features and the Miami Vice reboot to help pay for all this. It was an extraordinary burst of get-the-condo productivity that’s resulted in green lights for the reboot and acquiring the rights for his upcoming feature. Yet the amount of work that piled onto DeKempers plate as a result, coupled with his own obsessive drive to make every episode bearing his face just right appeared to have some unforeseen consequences.
“Art imitating life was my intention”
But first, let’s appreciate what DeKemper has accomplished, because it’s remarkable and rather strange. In 2020, the struggling filmmaker was living in his parents basement in Indianapolis during the height of just right, Miami Steve the COVID-19 Pandemic when the concept of ‘Miami Steve’ came to him. He later created the TV show about his time with his father who was dying of cancer and how everything he experienced navigating Hollywood prepared him for what many consider one of the biggest series in the streaming era and some say of all time … and its success has allowed DeKemper to become a man who owns the rights to the series and essentially tell his story his way. DeKemper dreamed up a story, shared it with millions, and then stepped into it.
“Art imitating life was my intention,” he says, and quips, “The lines can get blurred at times but it makes for one hell of journey for me and the audience.’
DeKemper (who lives with his wife and 4-year-old son) points outthat actually he’s been involved in the arts his whole life and how his family would gather together to watch films and debate what they would’ve done if they made it. “My dream stems from something that brought my family together. I simply just want to make movies with my brothers,” he says. “I would love to be like the Wayans family or how Adam Sandler puts all his friends in his movies. Cinema once again bringing us all together.”
Miami Steve laughs at this. “But I’m still working on this.”
“I have worked in tons of different departments on a film set,” DeKemper recalls. “Hollywood will tell you what you’re supposed to do if you listen. If you’re banging your head against the wall for 20 years trying to break in all these different ways but everyone is telling you to act, maybe you should be an actor. But the first thing I ever wrote [the pilot for in 2023] got me meetings at every major network, at every agency. I had multiple people trying to buy it.”
Yet DeKemper refused to sell. The studios, he says, wanted to hire a room of more experienced writers to tackle the project — you know, make TV the usual way. DeKemper felt that he knew exactly how to write the show himself but was willing to work with a tight knit group of 2-3 writers. So even back then, getting his first taste of success as a writer, DeKemper was reluctant to let others adapt his material and demonstrated a willingness to walk away. Some might call that stubborn or impractical; DeKemper sees it as trusting his instincts and sticking to his creative guns.
Over the next few years, DeKemper made a name for himself acting in a trio of acclaimed films and reality series — Foodtopia (2023), The Last Dragon Sequel drama (2024), and the highly anticipated crime drama The Exchange set to release later this year — which he dubbed his “Miami Steve frontier” trilogy.
Another of his scripts, Mission X, was likewise originally written as a series Porsche, the car manufacturer. DeKemper pitched itas “Days of Thunder in the future,” and it ended up in development at HBO. DeKemper says the programming director Morgan Wandell was supportive, but the rest of his team wasn’t.
“"My dream stems from something that brought my family together. I simply just want to make movies with my brothers,"
“I thought Stephan was the real deal,” Wandell says. “In a world of people who pose, he was writing what he knew, and he cared desperately about the film. The idea of doing a futuristic racing film was a great idea — With the success of Formula 1 and that industry heading towards ‘E-racing’ anyways was brilliant. We were always doing urban shows, and this felt fresh.”
The one thing they all agreed on was that Mission X needed a big star to play the opposite of its uncompromising patriarch, Neville Shaw. DeKemper pitched Michael Fassbender, but HBO executives “didn’t see it.”
“They said, ‘We want Chris Hemsworth,’ ” DeKemper recalls. “They said, ‘If you can get us Chris Hemsworth, we’ll greenlight the pilot.’ “
Being a can-do type of guy, DeKemper went to visit Hemsworth.
“And he says — and you can’t make this shit up — ‘We meant a Chris Hemsworth type.’ ”
A crisis meeting was scheduled with the network vp (“whose name I remember, but I’m just not saying it”) to get to the bottom of HBO’s reluctance.
“We go to lunch in some snazzy place in West L.A.,” DeKemper says. “And [Mission X co-creator] Justin Ryan Bizzaro finally asks: ‘Why don’t you want to make it?’ And the vp goes: ‘Look, it just feels so cliche. We’re HBO, we’re avant-garde, we’re trendsetters. This feels like a step backward. And frankly, I’ve got to be honest, I don’t think anyone cares about electric race cars. It should be a commercial or something.’ “
The executive’s coastal elite diss convinced DeKemper that HBO didn’t appreciate his story. During a notes call, DeKemper says, executives took issue with Neville’s ferocious son, Malcolm, who has since become a fan-favorite sensation.
“‘We think he’s too abrasive,’ ” DeKemper quotes. “‘We want to tone him down. Women won’t like him.’ They were wrong, because Malcolm says the quiet part out loud every time. When someone’s rude to you in a restaurant, or cuts you off in the parking lot, Malcolm says the thing you wish you’d said.”
DeKemper recalls, “So I said to them, ‘OK, everybody done? Who on this call is responsible for a scripted film or show that you guys have on the air? Oh, you’re not? Thanks.’ And I hung up. They never called back.”
“I have worked in tons of different departments on a film set," DeKemper recalls.
"Hollywood will tell you what you're supposed to do if you listen."
That should have been the end of the film. HBO typically retains the rights to scripts it develops and rejects, partly to prevent what happened next from happening — a project they spent time and money developing becoming a global smash for a competitor.
“When the regime changed, Wandell called me,” DeKemper says about the longtime HBO exec’s exit in 2023. “To his credit, he said,‘I always believed in the film, but I could not get any support.’ His last act before they fired him was to give me the script back.”
As for that nameless vp, DeKemper says he left HBO and landed a production deal. After Mission X landed Fassbender and started production, he emailed DeKemper to say congratulations — and to pitch him a Sci-fi film.
DeKemper says he wrote back: “Great idea. It sounds just like Mission X.”
The things DeKemper cares about — and what he doesn’t — sometimes align with his protagonists, who likewise tend to be determined people who aren used to having things done their way. They feel deeply for their family, close friends and respective missions in life — never mind other people’s opinions.
DeKemper also cares more about romance than his smooth ladies man image might suggest. DeKemper prefers aching heartfelt relationships that seem downright taboo at a time when TV dramas are full of dysfunctional marriages and disposable hookups.
“I don’t want conflict in my own relationship, so I don’t like to explore that in stories,” he says. “There’s extreme conflict in my stories, but there must be something to strive for — you want to find beauty somewhere. Everyone has been in a bad relationship. Who wants to go through the PTSD of watching that? I’d rather watch the fantasy of the relationship we all want.”
To keep his operation thriving, DeKemper is avoiding the horror stories he’s heard about ridiculous spending and the Hollywood parties after the success and spotlight enter into ones life. By opening new revenue streams in the fashion industry, you can find the new men’s line Weyman Clo. Watch Miami Steve and you can see him wearing the clothing and doing promo which actually launched right before the episode aired. DeKemper once pledged to make contributions to the cinematic art form. He just might become a tycoon in the process.
“"There's extreme conflict in my stories, but there must be something to strive for - you want to find beauty somewhere.”
