In the 1970s and 1980s, it was rumored that Klaas Bruinsma, the godfather of the Dutch drug trade, recruited young boys to send to the police academy. Once inside the force, they would pass on confidential information to the drug lord. These young infiltrators are also called ‘sleepers’: moles who work unnoticed within the police force for years.
The series of the same name by Robert de Hoog (1988) shows how corrupt police officer Martin Oudkerk, played by De Hoog himself, becomes increasingly entangled in his role as sleeper. Not only the success of the first two seasons, but also the enormous cliffhanger – did Willem (Teun Kuilboer), Martin’s criminal childhood friend, survive the assassination attempt? – paved the way for the third season. In it, Martin does everything he can to leave the underworld behind and protect his family. But escape proves virtually impossible and the only ways out are usually to be murdered or go to prison. “To get out, Martin must embrace the underworld and stoop to it,” says De Hoog NRC. “That is the question this season. Is he willing to get blood on his hands? Actually there is no other option.”
The third season took two years, a conscious choice by the writer and actor. “I thought okay, we have made two very successful seasons and we can now continue with an idea that works. But I wanted to reinvent myself and add depth,” he says. “This season has become much more psychological, much more of a chess season.”
Officer Martin’s urge to keep his family safe is central, but “the tragedy of that world is that once you’re in it, you never get out,” says De Hoog. “And I find it interesting to write about that, about an empathetic person who doesn’t want any of this at all. That is something completely different from the archetypal criminal who is just bad. Take the character of Pierre [Bokma], he doesn’t give a fuck. He would shoot someone straight away and then quietly order a coffee.”
Pierre Bokma as the criminal Stanley.
Image Videoland
Gross violence
Wild shootings, heads cut off and tongues cut out of mouths, Sleepers does not shy away from brute force. After all, that also happens in real life, and moreover, De Hoog wants to make something that grates. There is no violence that goes too far for him to include in the series. But: “In the first season there was a lot of swearing about cancer. I included that because those guys really talk like that. But it is so annoying and unnecessary. I struggled with it and when my wife asked why I didn’t just leave it out completely, I immediately took it out. It is and will never be heard again in productions for which I am showrunner. Violence can also be seen as unnecessary. But it is really part of a police crime series. And if I could get back from everyone that it is too intense, then as a filmmaker you have the opportunity to take it out or give it a different twist.”
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“While writing I spent so much time Googling murder cases and how people can be beheaded. We have group chats with all creatives with examples of severed hands. I just hope that no one is monitoring our phones,” says De Hoog, chuckling. “Then they really think, who are these people? Why do we find this world so interesting? It is a kind of fascination.”
Obsessions
De Hoog’s father used to work in the business management of the Amsterdam police and had to deal with a lot of corrupt officers. “The stories he told completely mesmerized me. Years later I read in the newspapers about the trials against Willem Holleeder and the flat caps [corrupte agenten]. Then a kind of childhood fascination was stirred up in me again. I can become obsessed with topics.”
Are all his obsessions so sinister? De Hoog has to laugh. “No, because I also bake a lot of cookies. I can go crazy with that. And a while ago, sourdough breads that I was in the kitchen until two in the morning making. As an actor, I have also had this for roles in Shakespeare plays, for example. When I play or write a role, I just want to know everything, and for that you have to immerse yourself completely in it.”
Glennis Grace as Joyce and Hef as Orlando.
Image Videoland
De Hoog wrote the first and part of the second season together with writer and detective Simon de Waal, and the new season with screenwriter and actor Martin van Steijn. With realism as the main benchmark of the series, the writers mainly seek out the rawness that is so characteristic of the criminal environment. De Hoog: “Think of parking spaces in the woods. Or a grim gas station. No places where Jetten and Bontenbal are discussing the formation.”
“I think we distinguish ourselves because we are so realistic. And the game really matters – all the feathers for the cast, I am very proud of that. Sometimes people say ‘un-Dutch good’, but we must stop qualifying it as un-Dutch if a Dutch film or series is good. It is simply Dutch good.”
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