America’s first family of animated comedy is heading to China. The Simpsons will be legally available for online streaming thanks to a new multi-year deal between Fox and Sohu Video.
The deal does include the show’s latest season, which will premiere on Fox in the U.S. on Sept. 28. According to Variety, the shows will be available with Mandarin subtitles.
“This deal once again demonstrated our commitment in bringing the best experience to our users and tireless efforts to enhance our competitive edges in the industry,” Charles Zhang, chairman-CEO of Sohu.com Inc., said in a statement.
Al Jean, the show’s longtime executive producer, joked, “Woo hoo! Now we can reveal Springfield is actually in Guangdong province.”
Sohu is among the leading providers of online streaming content in China. The site and several others like it have legally bought foreign shows to China, as the government has strict control over the traditional airwaves. However, last week, it was revealed that the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television is instituting new rules that require government approval for foreign shows before they are posted online.
It is not known if all 522 episodes of The Simpsons will be available in China. The series experienced renewed interest over the past few weeks as 20th Century Fox’s FXX ran a 12-day marathon of every episode in the series.
image of Matt Groening courtesy of INFphoto.com