After filming the pilot, it was time for my pitch meetings. I discussed it early with Sophia. We both agreed to approach streaming services first. If those didn't work out, then the Dutch networks. Yes, we had also recorded it in English, but we wanted to conquer the Netherlands first. I just didn't know how to tackle this. I didn't know anyone who had ever pitched a series. At least, not that I knew of.

  "Why don't you ask Teddy or Niels?" Sophia said at breakfast. I looked at her. "They're theater makers, darling." She nodded. "Yes, but a theater play idea also needs to be pitched. Maybe they know how to get started," she said. I nodded. She had a point.

  "But after that?" I asked. "Make a short trailer," she said. "What's more exciting than not knowing everything? So have your editor make a short teaser." I looked at her. "Why?" She laughed. "Which movie would you go to?" she asked. "The one where you've seen the most exciting bits but still have questions? Or the one where you already know everything?"

  I sighed softly. "The first one." She came and sat with me. "Have that trailer made. Send it where you want to go. In the meantime, with help from Teddy or Niels, prepare a pitch for whoever responds." I kissed her cheek. "Are you sure someone will respond?" I asked.

  "Absolutely. It's a good story, Lucas. A streaming service will see that too." She ran her hand through my hair. "You're better than you think." I kissed her wrist. I wasn't so sure myself. But her belief in me always helped.

  She was more than everything to me. She was my muse. My voice of reason. My strength, but above all my one true love. "I have to go to work," she said smiling. The only thing I thought at that moment was how beautiful she was when she laughed. "Should I ask Teddy to come for dinner?" I nodded. "Do that," I said.

  The whole day I tried to put together a short trailer with my editor. After hours of brainstorming, it finally worked. It was a 90-second trailer. Half an hour later, Sophia came home with Teddy. "Oh, do we have company?" she said, seeing my editor. "Are you staying for dinner too, Ruben?" she asked with a friendly laugh.

  "No, otherwise my girlfriend will get mad," he said. "Ah yes, anything for the girl, right?" I teased. "You of all people shouldn't talk, De Witte," Ruben teased back. "Yeah, but I'm married, right? And you have to obey the wife," I said, kissing her cheek. Ruben laughed. "I'm heading home," he said and left.

  During dinner, we discussed how to best plan my pitch. "I have less experience with streaming and networks, of course. But it seems important to me that when you're invited, you unfold your story," Teddy began. "Be enthusiastic. Think about the target audience." I wrote everything down quickly.

  "I looked on Google and LinkedIn. I found some email addresses that could be useful for you." He handed me a piece of paper. "Keep them safe and check occasionally if they're still valid," he said. "Only give your pilot on the day itself. Make them curious. They shouldn't be able to do anything but buy your series. You do that by making them so curious they want to know what you plan to do with it." I nodded.

  "You're sure you don't want famous faces, right?" I nodded. "Not in my headcast for sure," I told him. "Go for a low budget. And as small a crew as possible for now. As soon as the series takes off, the streaming service or network will definitely give more budget. In other words: be modest but confident." I laughed a little. "Aren't those two extremes?" I asked.

  "Oh absolutely. The trick is knowing when to be one and when the other. When telling the story, be confident. Don't name your actors. Especially not that little lady of yours." I looked at him. "Why not?" Teddy rested his chin on his hands. "70% of your cast is family. They'll think you're choosing blood over talent. And especially with that little lady of yours. You light up the moment you mention her name. I know how good she is. But Netflix, for example, doesn't."

  I looked at him. "What's wrong with that? That I make her the lead?" Teddy looked back at me. "Nothing. I know what she can do, she's amazing. You know it. Our whole group knows she's phenomenal. A streaming service doesn't know her. They'll think: yeah, his wife. He just wants to give her the lead out of love. No objectivity." I understood him now. "Let them see how good she is first before you tell them you're a couple." I nodded.

  "You unfortunately have a point." Teddy laughed. "You'll nail this, man." He stood up. "Thanks for dinner," he said and left. That evening we sat together at the laptop. "We should check what each streaming service airs," Sophia said. "Netflix is all about international appeal. So we send both trailers. Amazon Prime is mostly international too. Videoland. Binge series." I said. She looked at me. "This fits that."

  "HBO?" I nodded. "Real stories and epic series, they have Harry Potter in their wheelhouse." I said. "Yeah, and they're going to ruin it with a black Snape. And they say they will be book accurate? While Snape is described in the books as having skin like sour milk." Sophia said. I laughed softly. "Disney. Yeah, I'm skipping them," I continued. "Why?" Sophia asked. "They fired Johnny Depp without real proof. No, if I ever make a movie I want him in, I'm not going with Disney." Sophia laughed. "Dream on, my love," she said, looking at me. "Dreams are good. They challenge us to be better." She added. "Take mine. I'm going to do Who shall I pick?” she began. "I'm going to make Andrew loyd Webber jealous. Because I'll have written the best play ever." I kissed her. "That's not a dream, girl," I said.

  She shook her head. "No, I don't think so either." I laughed softly. "Do you know what that is?" I asked. "That's a certainty. It's just a matter of time." She gave me a gentle tap on the arm. "You're not objective." I looked at her. "Maybe not," I admitted. "But I want you to keep it as a dream." She looked at me, her eyes sparkling. "Why?" she asked. "Because dreams challenge you to get better. To keep learning. That's what you just said yourself."

  We soon sent emails to almost everyone on Teddy's list. "Now it's just waiting," I said. "Don't worry," she said and hugged me. "It's scary sending your baby out into the world alone. But trust it." I laughed a little. "I want to see you do it when it's our flesh-and-blood child." Her eyes sparkled again. "Deal. But you too."

  After two weeks, I was approached by SkyShowtime, Netflix, HBO, and Videoland to schedule a pitch meeting. I'd be busy with those meetings that coming week. My first was with a delegation from SkyShowtime. It was in one of the meeting rooms at a Van der Valk hotel.

  I was in the meeting room half an hour early. With sweaty hands and knocking knees, I stood ready in a bare meeting room. There was a TV on the wall for my presentation. That was easier than lugging around a flapover.

  There was a white oval table in the middle with 20 to 30 transparent chairs around it. On the wall was something that looked like black leather. But the ugliest was the lamp above the table. It was an industrial spotlight but ten sizes bigger and black. The large window overlooked rooftops.

  Finally, I heard voices in the hallway. I took a deep breath; it was starting. A group of gray-haired men entered the room. I counted them: about eight. They sat around the table and all looked at me as if to say: what does this snot-nosed kid want?

  I put on a smile. "Good afternoon. I'm Lucas de Witte. Creator, director, and writer of Hannah's Chaos." I looked around at the men. "First of all," I looked around at the men again, "I want to thank you for hearing me out today."

  I took another deep breath. "I understand you might have questions. I'm ready to answer them all." The men nodded. "Tell the story first. And where you want to go with this series. And especially, how do you see our collaboration?"

  Stolen story; please report.

  I smiled. "It's about Hannah James. She comes from a poor family and to earn money, she goes to work as an au pair for a fairly dysfunctional filthy rich family. The Klein family. Mother, father, 3 kids. House carer.. That's what he's called because he hates the term butler." I let that sink in.

  "The family dynamic in the Klein family is pretty broken. Dad works almost 7 days a week at his supermarket. Because if he's not there, all hell breaks loose, he thinks. And he wants to make it the new Walmart, that's his dream so busy busy busy. Mom Linda is a fashion designer with her own line. Pretty successful. Always away actually. Milan, New York, London. Name a fashion paradise and she's there. She's home maybe one weekend a month. And yeah, then it's time to do things with her husband. And yeah, the kids. Oh, you say good morning to them and they play. So yeah. And for other things, there's Hannah, right? Or James otherwise." The men nodded.

  "Hannah loves kids but is inexperienced. So, trial and error. Then the kids. Jannik 3 years old. On the outside cute as a button. Wraps everyone around his finger in 2 seconds. But meanwhile, a spoiled tantrum thrower. Cara, the middle one, 6 years old, 100% the doll mommy. Wants to take care of everyone. Feed Jannik. Help big brother Mick with homework even if she doesn't get it."

  One of the men nodded again. "Mick the oldest, 9 years old. Wants to be older already so acts like it, he thinks. Pants where you see the underwear above because that's sooo cool. Hoodie words like 'what now Bro? Tsss what do you think?' Extremely spoiled. Oldest heir so gets everything his little heart desires."

  One of the men raised his hand. "And where do you want to go with it?" he asked. "Ultimately, I want the family to partially fall apart. Because this isn't a marriage," I said. "Let me guess, and Hannah marries dad?" The man looked at me bored and contemptuously. At that moment, I thanked Sophia in my heart on my bare knees. "No. I think Hannah will eventually get a relationship. But not with someone from the family. Or James. I haven't figured out the series ending yet, to be completely honest, gentlemen. But that's the exciting part. We can discover together where it ends."

  "And your cast?" asked another. "What's with that?" I asked. "Who are they? Where did you find them?" I looked around at the men. How could I explain this? "Take Hannah. Pretty girl. Where's she from? How much experience does she have? And is there a relationship with you?" I was afraid of this. I couldn't lie.

  "Yes, there's definitely a relationship with me. Sophia is my wife. But I cast her for the role based on her talent," I said as politely as possible. "Are there more actors with a relationship to you?" the same man asked. "Yes, the man playing the butler is my little brother. The woman playing Linda is his wife and the boy playing Jannik is my nephew. And the young guy playing Jan is my buddy. But they were chosen for their talent. Because I know what they can do." The men shook their heads.

  "I think this meeting is over. Sky is not the platform for nepotism." I wanted to yell. I wanted to let them know how furious I was. But that wouldn't help. The men stood up and left. I packed my things and drove home frustrated.

  I walked in and slammed my laptop a bit too hard on the table. "O jeez. That bad?" asked Sophia, setting a glass of water in front of me. "You have no idea!" I said and flopped on the couch. "They asked straight up if there was a connection between you and me. And yeah, I'm not lying so I admit you're my wife." She sat next to me. "Then they asked if there were more ties." She laughed and put her hand on my leg. "And you're honest." I nodded. "And there's no room for nepotism with them. Even though I said the ties weren't the reason I chose you all but your talent." She stroked my leg comfortingly. "That's just one for now," she said. "Get up, dust off your butt, learn from it, and move on."

  "What did I learn from that?" I asked frustrated. "That you have to try to deflect that kind of question." I sighed. "And how do I do that? Honey, I don't want to lie." She nodded. "Pretend the question is asked to me," she said. "Okay. Mrs. de Witte, is there a connection with the actors and you?" I asked. She looked at me smiling.

  "I ask you now sir: is it about whether I know the people I work with? Or about how they perform? Before I answer that, I can show you how talented my cast is. And explain why I think they're perfect for the roles I've given them. If you still think that question is important after that, I'll answer it." Her eyes sparkled mischievously again. "I didn't lie a word."

  I laughed a little. "You can do that. I don't know if I can," I admitted. "When's your next one?" she asked. "In two days." She nodded. "Then we'll practice it together. This will be fine, sweetie."

  The next meeting was with HBO. They asked many of the same questions. Where do I want to go with the series? What's the story? How many episodes? Luckily, they stayed away from questions about cast connections.

  "We find an unknown cast too risky. Your story is great. And the idea of helping shape the direction is exciting even for us. But if we go into business together, we insist on a famous cast. Especially in the lead roles. I understand the kids are nearly impossible to replace so we'll leave that. But we have a nice alternative for Hannah." I tried to stay calm though I knew my answer.

  "A Gillian Anderson ? Jody Whitaker? Billy piper?" the man suggested. I shook my head. "No. If you insist on that, we might as well end this meeting. I'm sticking with my core cast. They're great actors. Lovely people. Amateurs with lots of experience. No. I'm staying with them." The man nodded. "Then this meeting is indeed over. Good luck." I nodded. Another one failed.

  At home, Sophia and I talked about it. "So they wanted Jody Whittaker as Hannah?" she asked. I nodded. "I want to keep you all. No celebrities at least not in my base cast." She kissed my hand. "That's what you feel. You have to do that," she said. "And what do I learn from this?" I asked. "That you're loyal and steadfast," she said. "Didn't you know that?" She laughed. "I did. Now you do too." She hugged me. "Who do you have left?" she asked. "Pff, Netflix and Videoland," I said. "Be yourself. Do what we practiced. One of them will find your story irresistible." I looked at her. "As long as you find me irresistible," I said teasingly. She laughed and kissed me. "Always."

  The next day was Netflix time. They didn't ask many questions, just the standards: what do you want? How many? What's your budget idea? But they said they were interested in my pilot. They wanted to review it at their leisure and then decide.

  I still went ahead with the Videoland meeting. My mom taught me not to put your eggs in one basket.

  The day of that appointment came soon enough. It was a drizzly day. It had been misting for hours and the sun wasn't showing. Perfect day for a long meeting. This time the meeting was scheduled in an old rustic building with catering and meeting rooms.

  Everything was set up. I was a bit less nervous than at SkyShowtime. Around one o'clock, a woman and man walked in. "Pleased to meet you. Nicole de Raaf," the woman said. The man extended his hand. He had short brown hair, a full beard, and wore a nice suit. "Steven van Roosmalen," he said. "Lucas de Witte," I introduced myself.

  Nicole and Steven sat down. "Your trailer was interesting. Family comedy. The story was somewhat visible already. Young very pretty woman joins a family with various kids. Grumpy butler," Steven began. "No no. Not a butler, James hates that term it’s house carer," I said. Steven had to laugh at that. "Nice twist. Funny. You can bring it back more often. Friendly at first, then increasingly frustrated." I nodded. "Where do you see it ending?" I sighed at that question again. "I hope for more seasons of course. I have one done or almost. I know the direction I want but not a definitive end yet."

  Nicole nodded. "So room for discussion there?" I nodded. "And your actors. Do they get to contribute ideas too?" I nodded. "Absolutely. It's a group of passionate, talented, driven people. They can definitely brainstorm. Whether it all gets incorporated isn't guaranteed but input is always welcome." Steven nodded.

  "And that group of actors. If they're so driven and talented, why don't we and the viewers know them yet?" I laughed. This was a great question. "Because they come from amateur theater. So they have 'normal' jobs. The man playing the butler is an elementary school teacher. The lady playing Linda is in marketing and design. Sophia, who plays Hannah, is a theater teacher and director," I said. I felt my smile grow bigger when talking about her.

  "Sam who plays Jan is a session pianist. But except for Jonas, all flexible to deploy. And Jonas can do evenings during vacations and weekends. He's agreed that if it works out, he'll teach the kids on set. So then flexible too. So all driven."

  Nicole nodded. "You seem to know them well." This made me nervous. Had I talked myself into trouble? "That doesn't really matter," she added. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Now: how long are the episodes?" Steven asked. "About half an hour." He nodded. "Budget wish?" he asked. "Whatever you think fits. I'm fine with low budget. Take Doctor Who. It had almost no budget at the start. And it's been running 60 years like crazy." Nicole laughed at that. "Good. We'll review your pilot. Discuss it. See if it fits us and if we have space. You'll hear from us," Steven said.

  They stood up and left. "Doctor Who had almost nothing too," I heard Steven softly laughing repeating. "He's right. And that Whovian fanbase goes through the roof." Then the door closed and I didn't hear them anymore. This felt good. Now it was wait and see.