Skyler Gorsett | Contributing Writer

“It’s the Ryeburg Shoooooowwwwww!!!” Seth Mecklenburg shouts in an announcer’s voice as the intro to the second episode of the show, Pilot Dos, begins with a comeback sketch. The Ryeburg Show was gone for nearly six months, but is back to take over Buena Vista University’s (BVU) television station, University Cable Network (UCN), once again.

The show is hosted by sophomores Seth Mecklenburg and Caleb Ryerson. The show’s name derives from the mixing of the hosts’ names. Originally, the two filmed random skits due to Mecklenburg’s interest in the field of filmography as well as Ryerson’s interest in acting off the air, but it eventually led to airing on UCN.

“The Ryeburg Show…it’s a comedic variety show targeting the college demographics and a little bit from high school as well,” Mecklenburg said.

The show features various skits done by Mecklenburg and his crew. This includes comedy ranging from movie parodies to a news segment known as “Probably News” and the occasional movie reviews all rolled into what Mecklenburg described as “a package.”

Since the first episode The Ryeburg Show, which aired back in September, the duo had since disappeared, leaving fans wondering whether it would ever return again. Now, six months later, the show has indeed returned and has now produced six episodes. The two were in a theater production, which is the first reason why the show had gone on hiatus.

The show’s set is fairly simple: a three-sided set painted with a bright fire truck red, and in the center a black silhouette picture of Mecklenburg and Ryerson with the name of the show written underneath.

The main crew is made up of four people. Mecklenburg and Ryerson serve as the two hosts, junior Cassie Forsyth as the team’s graphic designer, camera worker, and occasional actress in the skits, and senior Hannah Jo Anderson who also does acting in the skits. However, the show features many other students from across campus as guest stars in their videos, such as freshmen Claire Boston and Brett Pongratz, who have done several skits with the team.

“When we write, we try to leave some stuff open in case we have other actors, giving them some freedom rather than concrete the person so it doesn’t become stale on the screen,” Mecklenburg said.

The two hosts relate their acting to two big stars.

“I’m kind of like the James Franco, and he’s like the Seth Rogen,” Ryerson said.

Mecklenburg also feels like he has learned plenty through the process of producing the show. He also mentioned plans to start with comedy and use it as a stepping stone to other genres to gain experience for later in life.

“I know we didn’t do much the first semester, but I hope this goes on into the summer and into the future,” Ryerson said.

“Each episode, I kind of change the way I do the show a little bit,” Mecklenburg said. “I’ve learned a lot through Avid and how to route it through UCN, what’s good for TV and what’s not…and how to write things for television.”

The show will continue to air every Sunday at 9 p.m. and is available on UCN’s channel 3.

To stay updated on the show, like them on Facebook, follow them on twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Graphic by Cassie Forsyth