Vancouver comedian joins Netflix roster
Ivan Decker is one of eight Canadian comics to be part of new standup series
Vancouver comedian Ivan Decker will be among 47 comedians from around the world featured in a new Netflix comedy series to be released next year.
Decker is one of eight Canadians in the mix and the only British Columbian.
“It’s an odd thing to keep under wraps,” said the 32-year-old, who has had to stay mum about the special for nearly two months.
“People are always talking about, ‘When are they going to give Canadians a Netflix special?’ and I have to be like, ‘Yeah, geez! When’s that going to happen?’”
Each comedian is doing a halfhour standup special, with all 47 episodes to be released simultaneously in 2019 , the streaming platform announced on Tuesday.
Some of the sets will be filmed at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal later this month — including Decker’s performance — while others will be taped in Brazil, Mexico, India, Germany and the Netherlands. The selection of comedians is diverse, with various comedy styles, gender, ethnicities and seven languages represented.
The Netflix taping will be Decker’s longest filmed set to date.
“I feel so lucky, so blessed to have all the things that have happened to me this past year and it does give me that real sense of pride,” said Decker, of being a Canadian comic on Netflix.
“It’s fun to know I’ve got the country behind me and I really hope that I can do them proud, you know?”
In 2017, Decker was named a “comic to watch” by TBS at the New York Comedy Festival and made his American television debut on Conan.
He has also taped specials at Just for Laughs Montreal, as well as at the Winnipeg and Halifax comedy festivals. His debut comedy album I Wanted to be a Dinosaur won the 2018 Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year.
Earlier this spring, Decker relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his career, but had plenty of kind things to say about the comedy community in his hometown, noting that he “couldn’t think of another place (he’d) rather be from.”
“The comedy scene is so great, it’s so nurturing, there’s just so many great comedians to inspire you. The comedy there is so good and the audiences in Vancouver are so great because they come out, they support, they love it,” said Decker by phone from Los Angeles.
“A lot of shows here — it’s people who work in the industry. Like, everyone in Hollywood works in entertainment so your audience is probably going to be people who are either in the business or are comedians themselves.
“It’s like doing magic for magicians. It’s a bit different.”
Netflix executives hope the comedy event series, which is not yet titled, will introduce viewers to comedians they may not have otherwise known.
“Few things are better than discovering a new comedian you love,” said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix’s VP of documentary and comedy.
“With this event, we’re creating a true comedy festival experience for our members where they can scour the globe from home to find some of the freshest voices in comedy.”
As for what’s next, Decker said he’s had to stay “in fourth gear” as his career continues to gather momentum.
“It’s harder to find those moments of peace, but I kind of love it,” he said of breaks between projects. “I’d rather have too many phone calls than none at all.”
The comedy there is so good and the audiences in Vancouver are so great because they come out, they support, they love it.