SNL Quebec is Saturday Night Live’s official French-Canadian offshoot. Its first season aired on Télé-Québec earlier in 2014, inasmuch as February 8 and March 22 airdates constitute a “first season.” Being a public provincial educational network, Télé-Québec doesn’t have the resources of Radio-Canada, TVA, or V. Suffice it to say, the trial balloons did their job.

The second season consists of seven episodes, and the season premiere is September 20, 2014. Castmembers are Virginie Fortin, Phil Roy, Léane Labrèche-Dor, Mathieu Quesnel, Katherine Levac, and Pier-Luc Funk. The promo video mentions Normand Brathwaite, Antoine Bertrand, Patrick Huard, Guy A. Lepage, Charles Lafortune, and Véronique Cloutier as hosts. This was confirmed in May 2014, although a seventh guest is still unconfirmed.

As a longtime Saturday Night Live enthusiast, I’d like to see how SNL Quebec matches up to the parent show (I don’t speak or read much French). Cult MTL (Feb. 8 review; Mar. 22 review) and Montreal freelance journalist Chris Hanna suggest SNL Quebec needs work, which isn’t surprising; Saturday Night Live is uneven at its core. Two episodes in, at least SNL Quebec has a future. I can’t say that about English-Canadian televised sketch comedy as a whole. Also, Katherine Levac is pointed at as SNL Quebec’s best castmember.

For the curious, episodes one and two of SNL Quebec are online at Télé-Québec’s website. Yes, SNL Quebec has its own version of “Schweddy Balls”. Even Bill C-36 can’t prevent thousands of Québecois from enjoying Schweddy Balls throughout the province.