Xander De Rycke
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Xander De Rycke | |
|---|---|
 De Rycke in 2018 | |
| Born | December 19, 1987 |
| Notable work | Mosselen om half twee, Houdt het voor bekeken |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Medium | Stand-up comedy |
| Subjects | media, youth, everyday life, trends |
| Website | Official website |
Xander De Rycke (born 19 December 1987) is a Belgian (Flemish) stand-up comedian. He is known for his stage shows, the podcast Mosselen om half twee, and the year-end media review show Houdt het voor bekeken.[1]
Early life
De Rycke spent his early childhood in Zelzate. At the age of eight he moved to Eeklo, returning to Zelzate in his mid-teens. In a 2011 interview with Humo, he said he never knew his father and was raised by his mother.[2] In later interviews, he has said his mother struggled with alcoholism.[3][4] According to the same 2011 interview, he left school at 18 intending to pursue stand-up comedy professionally and subsequently moved out of the family home, living for a time with an acquaintance in Eede (in the Dutch province of Zeeland), just across the border.[2]
Early career
De Rycke began performing stand-up comedy in 2006. He won the talent competition Homo Cabarectus and later that year reached the final of the Lunatic Comedy Award organised by The Lunatic Comedy Club.[5][6][7]
He gained wider recognition after winning the Comedy Casino Cup on Canvas in 2007.[8] That year, he also appeared at the newly introduced Comedy Stage at Pukkelpop.[9][10]
Stand-up comedy
De Rycke's first full-length show, Uw Zoete 666, premiered in 2008 and toured until 2010.[4] His second show, Mijn Zwarte Parade, premiered in 2011 and toured through 2012.[11] His third show, Zijn Derde Show, premiered in 2013.[12]
To mark ten years on stage, De Rycke toured in 2015 and 2016 with the anniversary show 10 jaar bezig, 2 uur grappig ("10 years at it, 2 hours funny"), concluding with a three-day 10 jaar Xander De Rycke Ego-Festival (31 March–2 April 2016).[13]
In 2017 he premiered Quarter-Life Crisis.[4] In March 2020 he premiered Bekend & Bescheiden ("Famous & modest"). The planned tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he created an alternative pandemic-era show, Uitgerust & Immuun, focused on the coronavirus and lockdown measures.[4] Bekend & Bescheiden returned to the stage in 2022.[4]
On 27 November 2021 he performed the best-of show XDR15 at the Lotto Arena.[5] In the final week of 2022 he presented Een avond met Xander De Rycke ("An evening with Xander De Rycke"); a recording was uploaded to his YouTube channel on 23 January 2023 under the title Dit Terzijde.[14] The show later received a television broadcast on Canvas.[15]
Year-end show
In 2016 De Rycke launched the year-end show (eindejaarsconference) Houdt het voor bekeken, a satirical review of the Flemish television and media landscape.[1] Recordings of editions have been published online, including the 2016–2017 show.[16]
A planned 2020 edition (HHVB Endgame) was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] In late 2023 De Rycke returned with arena editions of Houdt het voor bekeken, which continued in 2024.[18] In 2025 the show moved to the Sportpaleis for the first time.[19]
Television and radio
In 2011 De Rycke appeared in the third season of Mag ik u kussen? on Canvas and later appeared as a panellist in the follow-up Een Laatste Groet.[2] In 2013 he presented the seventh season of Comedy Casino on Canvas.[4]
From 2022 to 2025 he worked at Studio Brussel as co-presenter with Eva De Roo on De Roo en De Rycke.[20]
In 2024 he competed on De Slimste Mens ter Wereld.[21] He also appeared in a 2024 special of the VRT 1 programme Ik vraag het aan.[22]
Other projects
In 2011 De Rycke published an autobiography, Het leven is kak, en dan wordt het grappig ("Life is crap, and then it gets funny").[4] In 2020 he published a second book, Bekend & Bescheiden, described as a reworked edition with additional material.[4]
In 2019 De Rycke presented five live talk-show-style evenings at the Minard Theatre in Ghent, titled Vanavond Live met Xander De Rycke, combining interviews, stand-up, and live music and modelled on American late-night television formats.[23]
Podcasts
De Rycke launched the podcast Mosselen om half twee in 2011; De Morgen credited the programme with helping sustain the Flemish podcast scene during the mid-2010s.[24]
Stage shows
- 2008–2010: Uw Zoete 666[4]
- 2011–2012: Mijn Zwarte Parade[11]
- 2014–2015: Zijn Derde Show[12]
- 2015–2016: 10 jaar bezig, 2 uur grappig[13]
- 2016–present: Houdt het voor bekeken[1]
- 2017–2019: Quarter-Life Crisis[4]
- 2020–2022: Bekend & Bescheiden[4]
- 2020–2021: Uitgerust & Immuun[4]
- 2021: XDR15[5]
- 2022: Dit Terzijde[14]