SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE DEBUTS IN CHINA

Saturday Night Live has come to China — but not on television. Subtitled versions of the longrunning comedy show are being carried online by Sohu.com, which has posted ten episodes of the current season. It said that it will carry future episodes, without subtitles, on Monday and subtitled versions of the same episodes on Saturdays. Ordinarily shows like SNL, with their heavy emphasis on topical matters and pop culture would never see the light of day on Chinese television. But Sohu chief Charles Zhang, who studied for his PhD at MIT and no doubt got his first taste of the program at that time, told a news conference in Beijing, “Things that are controversial in America are probably not controversial in China. … And this talk show [sic] is in the spirit of fun and humor. I don’t think there will be any problem.” Zhang declined to discuss terms of his deal with NBC for the show.