Professor T was originally a comedic Flemish crime drama series which saw one of the main supporting characters, Daan De Winters leave to work on other projects.
Professor T was originally a comedic Flemish crime drama series which ran from 2015 until 2018.
The television series received new life after it was rebooted with an English cast in 2021 for a six-episode season, featuring English actor Ben Miller in the lead role.
The original series featured Belgian actor Koen De Bouw in the title role of Jasper Teerlinck, also known as Professor T.
While the original supporting main cast stayed for the four-year duration of the show, Inspector Daan De Winters left the series during season two.
What was Professor T about?
Originally created by Paul Piedfort, Professor T first premiered as a Flemish comedic-crime drama series that was premised on, “The eccentric but brilliant criminology professor Jasper Teerlinck is an advisor to the Belgian federal police in Antwerp. Although a valuable contributor, he drives everyone nuts because of his strange behavior.”
Professor T was enlisted into the Belgian federal police in Antwerp by his former student and secret admirer, Annelise Donckers.
Annelise had a partner, Daan De Winters, who was only part of the first two seasons before deciding to leave the role in 2016.
Professor T: Why did Daan leave?
Professor T’s Daan De Winters was played by actor Bart Hollanders. When he was introduced in the world of the story, he was introduced as Inspector Annelise’s partner and another supporter of the enlisting of the eccentric Professor T into the Belgian federal police in Antwerp.
However, his exit from the series began with the second season of the show. This is after the season one finale, where he experienced an accident which resulted in him permanently using a wheelchair.
He soon discovers the difficulties of doing his work from a wheelchair, which slowly persuades him to hang up his official title and leave the police force.
His decision to leave the force took place during the third episode of season two, titled, De familie. In subsequent episodes, we watch as Annelise deals with the aftermath of her partner leaving the force and being forgotten by other members.
Why did Bart Hollanders leave Professor T?
Bart Hollanders’ exit from Professor T was never addressed by Hollanders or the production team behind the original series.
However, it is believed that it was a decision taken by Hollanders in order to explore other acting ventures. This is as he did not take a break following his 2016 exit from Professor T.
In the same year, he landed a role on another television series titled Callboys as Randy Paret, which went on until 2019. In between playing the role of Randy, he also worked on other short films and made cameos on a few television shows.
Why did Professor T end?
Professor T, the original Flemish comedic-crime drama, ended in 2018 after four seasons. No official word has been given on why the show came to an end after four seasons.
However, from (English) reviews of the series, it seems that it’s blurry genre specification eventually caught up with it.
This is as people began to wonder whether the show was a comedy or crime drama, due to the range of topical investigations that were conducted.
For instance, one episode dealt with a sexual assault investigation, and the episode attempted to strike the balance between being a drama, while still being comedic, which was contentious for viewers.
How was Professor T revived?
In 2021, Professor T was revived as an English reboot. The reboot was a mini-TV series consisting of six 30-minute episodes.
Acclaimed English actor Ben Miller assumed the title role of Professor T, while the main supporting cast consisted of actors Emma Naomi, Barney White, Sarah Woodward and Andy Gathergood. It aired for one season only, with no news of a possible second season reboot.
Final Thoughts
Professor T originally ran from 2015 until 2018, and while most of the cast members would stay with the series for the four years that the Flemish comedic-crime drama would run, some did not. Specifically, actor Bart Hollanders, who played the character of Daan De Winters.
In the world of the story, Daan left the force after he realised the implications of doing a job he loved with his new disability, as he was using a wheelchair during the second season of the series.
However, for Hollanders, it seems the decision was inspired by the desire to explore new acting roles.