Anyone who wants to interview Ewout Genemans will receive one clear message from his management: private life is off the table. Partly for safety reasons, but that’s not the whole story…
Ewout Genemans is one of the most recognizable faces of Dutch crime television. He has been closely following police officers, guards and detainees for his Bureau series for years, and that visibility comes at a price. Those who so emphatically side with the police not only attract admiration, he explains in the Panorama.
‘No questions please!’
The Panorama interviewer on duty reveals that Ewout imposed one important condition for the interview. “Anyone who requests an interview with you will be told by your management that no questions can be asked about your private life, including in connection with safety. How dangerous is your profession?”
He then says: “I notice that there are more and more people who are not such a fan of the police. In my work it is quite visible that I am pro-police, so people are sometimes quicker to criticize me than a few years ago. But that is not the main reason for me that I do not talk about my private life in interviews.”
No TV games
What is Ewout’s main reason? “There are people who spend all their time on TV, but I really see making television programs as my profession. What I do outside of that is not part of it. That is why I never participate in TV games. That only distracts from the work I do.”
What is his private life actually like? How does he relax? “By doing relaxed things. Walking with the dog, eating with friends, going on holiday. All the exciting things I do for work, in terms of action and adrenaline, I don’t do privately.”
The White Lotus
Ewout enjoys watching Netflix in peace and quiet. “Some people relax through effort. I relax by taking it easy. When I turn on the TV, it is usually for a drama series or something else that has nothing to do with my work.”
He concludes: “I’m currently watching The White Lotus. It’s so far removed from me that I can completely escape reality for a while.”