“Mistakes are a crucial part of art. It’s those small imperfections that make the rest of the work shine a little brighter.” — Willem Bosch
I had the pleasure of talking with Willem Bosch. Willem, born in Tilburg, Netherlands, is a prominent screenwriter, director, and producer, whose creative work has significantly shaped modern Dutch television and film. Raised in Noord-Brabant, a region noted for its Roman Catholic roots, Bosch’s upbringing was marked by a balance of tradition and openness. His father, a former Roman Catholic priest, brought an intrinsic storytelling influence into Bosch’s early life, an aspect that would shape his future career.
Bosch attended Koning Willem II College in Tilburg before embarking on a specialized education at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam, where he studied screenwriting. Accepted into the prestigious institution at just 17, Bosch graduated at 21, setting the stage for a career marked by an early breakthrough and steady professional momentum. His initial foray into the industry began with writing assignments for the Dutch Public Broadcaster, placing him ahead of many peers by a decade in terms of experience.
Throughout his career, Bosch has contributed to several highly regarded Dutch television dramas, such as Van God Los, Penoza, and Nieuwe Buren. He co-created the popular series Feuten, showcasing his knack for sharp, often dark humor, which resonated well with European audiences. Bosch’s distinct voice was further highlighted in successful dark comedies like Boy Meets Gun and Zina, which solidified his reputation as a versatile storyteller.
Bosch’s evolution into a leading showrunner and executive producer saw him spearheading ambitious projects such as Nemesis, a Disney+ original that became the first Dutch-language drama on the streaming platform. The series tackled themes of financial crime among the wealthy, reflecting Bosch’s commitment to merging compelling storytelling with socially relevant topics. Nemesis stood out for its complexity and ability to engage audiences with a mix of intrigue and subtle commentary on systemic economic issues.
In addition to his work on Nemesis, Bosch created and wrote One of Us, a true crime series for Canal+ that delved into a real-life murder from the late 1990s. The show further expanded his portfolio and reaffirmed his position as a significant figure in European drama production. His writing, marked by characters with deeply personal motives and intricate plotlines, earned critical acclaim, reinforcing Bosch’s reputation for nuanced storytelling.
In 2022, Bosch’s company, which specialized in script development, was acquired by Newen Studios, a subsidiary of the French media conglomerate TF1 Group. This acquisition underscored his influence within the industry and facilitated wider international collaborations. Bosch’s career includes accolades from prestigious festivals, with wins at the Austin Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, and Seattle Film Festival, recognizing his skill in both short and feature-length narratives.
Looking forward, Bosch is branching into the international film market with The Binding, a dark thriller set against the backdrop of his Catholic upbringing. The murder mystery represents Bosch’s first major project intended for the U.S. audience, blending his distinctive European sensibility with themes that resonate broadly. His ability to write fluently in both English and Dutch facilitates seamless cross-border storytelling, promising to enhance his reach and influence.
Bosch’s professional journey has not only been about his own creative output but also about championing authenticity and inclusivity in casting and production practices. His approach to revising roles without altering core narratives, as seen in his adaptive casting for Nemesis, showcased his commitment to challenging norms and refreshing perspectives within established genres.
Amid his professional achievements, Bosch remains devoted to balancing his career with family life, emphasizing the importance of personal time and the value of stepping away to recharge creatively. He holds a firm belief in the benefits of embracing mistakes as part of both personal and professional growth — a philosophy that imbues his work with a distinct relatability and realism.
As Bosch continues to explore projects that push the boundaries of conventional storytelling, his work not only captivates audiences but also opens up conversations on cultural, ethical, and existential themes. His influence, already strong in Europe, seems poised to expand on a global scale, marking him as a creative force to watch in the years to come.
Yitzi: Willem, it’s an honor to meet you. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you tell us how you grew up?
Willem: Yeah, I was born and raised in the south of the Netherlands, called Noord-Brabant. It’s the part of the Netherlands that’s Roman Catholic, unlike the north, which is mostly Protestant. It’s not a small area, but it’s a strip down south. My dad was actually a Roman Catholic priest before he met my mom, and then, of course, he stopped being a priest. Yes, she “ruined” him, maybe. But that was in the 70s, so back then, it wasn’t exactly a scandal, but it was still a big deal when it happened.
They had three kids, and I’m the middle one. I was raised — I wouldn’t say Catholic, but I wouldn’t say completely atheist or secular either. It was there in a cultural way. I think when it came to storytelling, which my dad believed was part of his profession as a priest, that influence was present too.
I was raised somewhat left-wing, in that Western European way, which, compared to the United States, is a little more left of center. I went to film school when I was 18, and overall, I had a very happy childhood. Of course, there were some issues like everyone has, but there isn’t much trauma from my childhood to dive into when writing. It’s a shame for me as a writer, but lucky for me as a kid.
I went to film school in Amsterdam at 18, and I’m one of those people still doing exactly what I set out to do. I studied screenwriting, which I’m still doing now. People would have thought I’d go through five different majors before settling on something else, so it’s out of character for me to be doing what I always planned to do.
When I started film school, most people there were older — the average age was around 25. I was just 17 when I was accepted, and the admission process was quite strict. Because of that, I was very young when I graduated at 21, and I started working right away. I landed a show with the Dutch public broadcaster as a credited writer at 21, which gave me about a 10-year head start on most of my peers. It’s not that I was better than anyone else; it’s just one of those things where, by the time you’re 30, you’re very experienced but still relatively young. I think that’s part of why I’m doing well now — I just got really lucky, really early. If that makes sense to you.
Yitzi: So, you probably have some great stories from your professional career. Can you share one or two that really stand out?
Willem: That’s a good one. Let me think. Well, one of the big moments in my career was the first show I wrote and directed. It’s called De Spectacular. I think it’s on Prime in the US, but I’m not entirely sure — you’d have to check. It’s definitely somewhere on streaming. It was one of those terrifying productions because, when you work on a big show, sometimes it feels like everything is going wrong. The scripts aren’t quite there yet, one of the locations falls through, and it feels like a disaster waiting to happen.
We were about six weeks from shooting, and it felt like we weren’t ready at all. The cast wasn’t finalized either. I went home and said to my wife, “I think I’m going to need a miracle to pull this off.” A week later, we got news from China that COVID was about to begin. So, it wasn’t a miracle, but the opposite. However, it ended up saving my career in a strange way because everything got postponed for a year. Obviously, I couldn’t be happy about the situation — it was a disaster for everyone, and my dad was in lockdown, which was awful. But when we were finally ready to shoot a year later, it felt like everything had come together.
We filmed during COVID and were one of the few productions in the Netherlands that kept going. We followed all the COVID protocols, wore masks, and stayed cautious. The remarkable thing was that, out of hundreds of people, not one person got COVID during the production. It felt almost miraculous, but in a bittersweet way. That’s a story that really defined my career.
Another story involves the Disney show I recently worked on, Nemesis, which is now on Disney’s platform. The Dutch film and TV industry is small — there are only about 18 million people in the Netherlands, so everyone knows each other. We were producing Nemesis, and a couple of months before we started shooting, one of the main actors had to drop out. It was another one of those terrifying moments where you think, “I’m supposed to start shooting in eight weeks, and I don’t have a lead actor.” The original actor was a man about 10 years older than me — just an average cop type.
I needed to find an actor of the same stature, both in fame and talent. While talking to my wife at home, I thought of a very famous actress in the Netherlands who’s also the godmother to my child. She had acted in a previous movie I directed. She’s the same age as the original actor but otherwise completely different — she’s a Black woman from Suriname. I called her up and said, “Look, I have a proposition. I want you to play this part. To show you that we’re casting this completely colorblind, I’m not changing anything in the script. It was written for a white man in his 50s, but now it will be played by you.”
She ended up playing a kind of almost non-binary character, and it brought a really fresh and exciting energy to the show. She loved the part, and it resonated with audiences right away. People watching the show would say, “Wow, that’s such a wonderfully written character.” I think part of the success came from the fact that I hadn’t originally written it with her in mind, so it became this happy accident that defined the success of the show.
Yitzi: It’s been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Do you have a story about a humorous mistake you made and the lesson you learned from it?
Willem: I really believe in that, and I think I’m constantly making mistakes. Fixing my own mistakes is probably what I do most. I don’t have a specific example from my work that comes to mind right now, but it’s something I see with my kids too. When you’re raising kids, you’re constantly making mistakes and thinking, “Oh no, I might have just traumatized them for life.” That’s just part of being a parent. You’re going to mess up in some ways — not ruin them, but make mistakes over and over.
What I try to teach my kids is that it’s okay to make mistakes. The important part is to show them that you can take responsibility and be accountable. If you do something wrong, you need to tell them you’re sorry. A mistake is just a mistake; it’s not the end of the world. If you can teach your kids that, then all the bad stuff you do as a parent, while still not great, is just part of being human.
I try to apply that same idea to my work. To me, mistakes are also a crucial part of art. When I’m shooting a scene, people often strive to make everything perfect, including the simplest things, like keeping the shot in focus. You have a focus puller who adjusts constantly to keep the subject sharp, but sometimes there’s a brief moment where the focus dips. Editors usually cut those moments out during post-production. Sometimes, though, I put those little dips back in because they keep the scene feeling alive.
It’s those small imperfections that make the rest of the work shine a little brighter. So, yeah, I think mistakes are really important.
Yitzi: So, you have so much impressive work, Willem. Can you share with our readers some exciting projects you’ve recently released or are working on in the near future?
Willem: Yeah, about the Disney project — I just finished a Disney show called Nemesis. It’s the first Dutch-spoken drama series on Disney’s Star platform. My manager always tells me I shouldn’t call it a “Disney show” because that means something different in the US than it does in Europe. So, just to be clear, it’s not a Mickey Mouse or Hannah Montana type of show. That kind of content isn’t on our version of Disney in the Netherlands, so we just refer to it as the Disney show.
Nemesis is the first of its kind, and I would say it’s been a critical hit. Disney is, of course, a bit secretive with their numbers, but we feel confident that it’s doing well. We’re hoping for a second season. I can’t say much about it yet — not because I’m not allowed to, though I probably can’t say too much anyway — but because I genuinely don’t know yet. We’re waiting and hoping for news soon.
I also have another show that premiered a month ago on Canal Plus called One of Us. It’s a bit grittier and darker, more European in style. It’s a true crime show based on a murder that took place in the Netherlands in the late 90s. I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but it’s been another big hit here, both critically and with audiences. It’s been the craziest month of my life!
Now, I feel like I’ve reached the end of what I can do within the Dutch industry. It’s very small, and while I love it and enjoy working with Dutch people, I’m looking to see what else is out there — specifically on a larger, international stage, which is still the United States. I’m not necessarily planning to move to the US or leave the Netherlands, but I’m exploring my options.
Right now, I’m focusing on a spec script I wrote called The Binding. It’s making the rounds with producers and actors, and we’ll see where that leads. So far, it’s been going well, so fingers crossed.
Yitzi: That’s really wonderful. And, as you mentioned, it’s pretty rare to have a show with the tone and style of Nemesis on Disney Plus. How did that happen? Did you reach out to them, or did they come across it themselves?
Willem: I had a script that I worked on through a small company I set up with a few other writers a couple of years ago. I sold that company to a Dutch production company, which was then acquired by a large French company called Newen. They’re massive, essentially a European studio buying up production companies across the continent. The Dutch production company I worked with is called Pupkin Film. I’d collaborated with them quite a bit before but never exclusively — I was never on their payroll.
Then, Pupkin Film asked me if I wanted to join them officially, and they had just secured a development deal with Disney. Disney asked them to develop a pilot, so Pupkin asked me, “Can you take a look at it? Can you polish it and rewrite it?” That was my first job after joining them, so it was definitely nerve-wracking. I knew that if I messed it up, it would be a rough start to this new working relationship. But thankfully, I didn’t. Disney came back and said, “We really like it. Let us think about it for a couple of weeks.”
By the end of 2021, just before Christmas, they gave us the green light to move forward. It was an incredibly thrilling time.
Working with Disney was a unique experience. We all know them as this giant, almost intimidating company, and they are, of course. But I found the process with them surprisingly refreshing. They almost felt like a startup in the way they put their trust in you. There’s definitely a big barrier to cross initially, but once you’re in, they trust your ability and say, “We chose you for this, so go ahead and do it.” That’s the only way to really work well in this kind of system.
You often hear horror stories about dealing with big streaming platforms, and maybe some of them are true, but I haven’t experienced that yet. I’m sure it might happen at some point, but so far, not yet.
Yitzi: So, let’s talk a bit about Nemesis. I see on IMDb that it has very high ratings, and overall, your filmography has consistently strong ratings — mostly 7s and 8s. That’s really impressive. What lessons or themes would you say society could take from the motifs in the series?
Willem: I think it’s about financial crimes, which have been a significant topic in the Netherlands over the past decade, and probably in the United States and across Europe as well. The Netherlands has long been considered a tax haven for big corporations and, by extension, for criminals and even dictators. These lenient tax rules are designed for everyone, and they make the country wealthy, but it raises the question: who actually benefits from this wealth?
One of the first lines in the show is, “Every day, you read in the newspaper that the Netherlands is a tax haven. But I always wonder, who’s not paying these taxes? Because I’m paying a lot of taxes.” You realize that it’s not everyday people like you and me who get those breaks; it’s corporations and the ultra-wealthy. So, the show stems from a sense of frustration about that imbalance.
That theme runs through the series — it’s rooted in wanting to make a meaningful statement. But at the same time, it needed to be a commercially viable, enjoyable, and thrilling show. Working for Disney, I found myself trying to create something that felt a bit more accessible, almost like the kind of content you’d see on cable networks like ABC or CBS. It’s a show that could appeal to a wide audience — not necessarily for the whole family since it’s not kid-friendly, but definitely suitable for adults, from my age group to my elderly father’s generation.
What I love most about it is that it doesn’t underestimate the audience. It’s sometimes quite complex and challenging to follow, and I appreciate when shows treat viewers as intelligent. Even if I’m not as smart as the show thinks I am, just knowing that the writer respects the audience’s intelligence makes me enjoy it more. So, that’s the essence of Nemesis.
Yitzi: Wonderful. Okay, so, this is our signature question. Even with all your success, looking back to when you first started, can you share the five things you wish someone had told you about filmmaking when you first began?
Willem: Yeah, alright. I don’t have all five on the top of my head, but I’ll start with one and hope more come to mind.
First, no one is thinking about you. And that’s not a bad thing. When you feel like you’ve messed something up or embarrassed yourself, you imagine everyone talking about you, judging you, thinking they’re better than you. The reality is, they’re not thinking about you at all — not today, not yesterday, not tomorrow. You might lie awake at night worrying about what people think, but the truth is, they’re not thinking about you at all. Even if you release something that gets panned by critics and you feel like hiding under your bed, they’ll say, “That’s a shame for him,” and move on. Your competitors, your family, and your friends might think about you, but the wider world? Not really. Realizing this gave me a lot of freedom.
Second, if you don’t celebrate your successes too much, the failures won’t hurt as much. If you get a five-star review and blast it on social media, that one-star review will crush you later. The secret is not caring too much about the praise so that you don’t care as much about the criticism. You’ll always feel the sting of a bad review more than the joy of a good one, but if you can think, “That’s just one person’s opinion,” you’ll be more balanced. So, don’t over-celebrate your wins. It helps balance out the losses.
Third, this one is about money. Especially when you’re younger and just starting out, money is a big incentive to keep going. I made decisions based on fear, especially when I had my first kid. I felt I needed to secure an income because I had this responsibility now. And that’s fine — it is your responsibility when you have a family. But I would tell my younger self that it’ll come. Don’t lose sleep over it as much as I did. I was always terrified of not having a steady income, especially in this business where every year can be completely different. But if you’ve been earning steadily for the past five years, there’s no reason to think it will suddenly stop. Just relax, and you’ll be fine.
Fourth, this is a writing tip I give to everyone, and it’s something I teach in screenwriting classes in Amsterdam. You don’t find this in most books, but it’s crucial: no one thinks of themselves as the bad guy. Every character in your script, from their perspective, is the hero of their own story. They make excuses for their behavior and truly believe they’re doing their best. Even the most selfish characters think, “I’m entitled to this because I never had anything growing up,” or “I’m just doing what I need to do.” This mindset makes your writing stronger, especially when crafting antagonists who have a point of view that makes sense to them. It’s also a life lesson for me — while I might not always understand others’ actions, it forces me to try to see things from their perspective.
Fifth, and this is advice I’m glad I’ve followed: prioritize your personal life, especially when you have kids or are in a relationship. It’s a cliché, but it’s true: stop working on time. Celebrate your weekends and holidays. Don’t work during breaks. Your kids are only young for a short period, and being there for them is far more important than any project you’re working on. It’s not a big sacrifice — being present for the first eight years of their lives is invaluable. And even beyond the personal benefits, it makes your work better. Taking breaks, spending time with loved ones — it all contributes to a more creative and balanced mindset. I try to maintain this when I’m on vacation with my family; I don’t work, and that ultimately improves my writing.
So, those are my five pieces of advice.
Yitzi: Okay, so, we’re almost done. This is our aspirational question and our last question. Because of your great work, you’re a person of enormous influence. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Willem: Yeah, that’s a good one. I don’t think I’m that influential, but I understand the question. It’s not a very exciting or popular answer, but I believe the truth almost always lies somewhere in the center. That might not be what people want to hear, especially now. When I see the extremes on both sides of any debate, I often think, “I definitely don’t want to be there,” and I understand why people run in the opposite direction. But centrism has become almost a curse word — it’s seen as a sign of cowardice or moral emptiness. I don’t believe that’s true at all.
Centrism is where people meet and discuss their differences. It’s where solutions can be found. I know it’s a boring movement; it doesn’t have the allure of radical change or breaking norms. But the truth is, many of those basic norms exist for a reason — they work. Living a good life, being honest, wise, and balanced might sound mundane, but it’s essential. It’s not the most exciting answer, and I know it’s something people don’t always want to listen to, but I’m convinced it’s the most important thing. So, that’s where I stand, even if it feels a little embarrassing to say.
Yitzi: Yeah, I agree with you 100%, and I applaud your vulnerability in sharing that. You’ve said amazing things. How can our readers continue to follow your work? How can they support you in any way possible?
Willem: Well, watching Nemesis on Disney Plus would definitely help. If people want to support me, it’s the ones who aren’t subscribed to Disney Plus yet that we need — those are the important ones! But yeah, there’s more work coming out after this, and readers can follow me on Instagram. They’re more than welcome to, but I’ll warn them it’s mostly pictures of my kids and will be in Dutch, so it might be a bit of a strange experience. But absolutely, everyone is welcome.
Yitzi: Well, Willem, it’s been an honor to meet you. I hope we can do this again next year. You’re truly a rising star, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot of great things from you.
Willem: Oh, thank you so much. I’d love to come back next year, and thanks again. This was really pleasant.
Yitzi: Truly an honor, my friend. I wish you continued success.
Willem: Goodbye.
Willem Bosch on Writing for Disney+, True Crime, and the Art of Making Mistakes was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.