Les Simpson: Québécois version of show to return on air after uncertainty

Fans of Les Simpson have a message for anyone who doubted the future of the beloved and long-running Québécois version of the animated satirical show: Mange de la crotte.

Les Simpson will return for its 36th season in the fall after telecoms giant Bell Media said it had reached an agreement with Disney for the rights to air and dub the show. The deal caps nearly a year of uncertainty surrounding the adaptation, which is beloved in Canada’s lone francophone province.

The series was cancelled last August after Télétoon opted not to renew broadcast rights. The decision meant viewers in Quebec would have to watch the version dubbed in “European French” – a prospect that left fans in the province devastated.

The show has developed a loyal following over the years because its ability to tailor jokes and geographic references to the region. For example, instead of cheering for the Dallas Cowboys football team, Homer is a fan of the Montreal Alouettes.

On Reddit, as fans celebrated the decision, they pointed out how the show uses a coarser, working-class style of dialogue to help situate the world of Springfield.

“It’s basically a satire of our North American society. Canada might not be the US, it’s still the country that resembles ours the most,” wrote one user. “A dive bar that’s serving cheap local beer like at Moe’s, we have that. Europeans drinking places are different … Now try imagining the Simpsons as if they were French, British or German nationals in their respective countries, as they are currently portrayed in the show … it doesn’t work. Picture them as Québécois and suddenly it fits.”

Thiéry Dubé, the Quebec actor who has voiced Homer Simpson for the past eight years, said last year that the adaptation “shines” because it “adapts in each country to what people experience”. In this case, the show was a “very, very, very Québécois” product.

“From the start, Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa speak with a very Québécois French, from an average suburban Quebec family,” he said, adding that Les Simpson “is a piece of our identity”.

The cast has grappled with a string of losses in recent years. Béatrice Picard, the Québécois voice of Marge Simpson, died in December, at the age of 96. She had voiced the character until the age of 93. On Monday, the day the news broke that the adaptation would continue, members of the cast attended the funeral of Benoît Rousseau, who had voiced Grampa Simpson, Mr Burns and Lenny Leonard.

“It’s a difficult day because we’re saying goodbye to our friend Benoît,” Dubé told the Canadian Press. “But at the same time, we’ve received this fabulous news – it shows that life goes on.’’

In a clip posted to social media announcing the decision, Bart and Lisa Simpson share the news with their Québécois accents. “Can you imagine that, thanks to you, the Quebec version is making a big comeback?’’ Bart said.