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Saturday Night Live set for production in China

By Andrew V. Pestano
Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake arrive on the red carpet at the SNL 40th Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City on February 15, 2015. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
1 of 4 | Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake arrive on the red carpet at the SNL 40th Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City on February 15, 2015. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

BEIJING, March 3 (UPI) -- A Chinese version of Saturday Night Live is set to be produced under a partnership between a Chinese video website and SNL producer Lorne Michaels.

The deal between Sohu.com and Broadway Video Entertainment for the new sketch comedy show will feature Chinese comedians. The U.S. version of SNL is already available to Sohu's audience.

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Michaels founded Broadway Video Entertainment in 1979.

There are more than 600 million Internet users in China and Sohu has been attempting to provide more original content. Internet accessibility is increasing in the nation of 1.3 billion people.

"China's Communist Party has been looking for new ways to engage with an audience because past forms of preaching are no longer suitable for today," Wang Sixin, a professor at the Communication University of China, told Bloomberg. "What Sohu needs to be careful about, though, is finding the right balance when doing satire about social and political issues."

Saturday Night Live recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. SNL veterans like Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Will Ferrell and Tina Fey attended the event.

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Broadway Video Entertainment also produces The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Portlandia and Late Night with Seth Meyers.

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