Never a dull moment with Ces gars-là. Even when the cameras aren't rolling, Sugar Sammy and Simon Olivier Fecteau are. It's fairly early in the day. The boys have yet to have their first hit of caffeine, but the barbs are flying so fast between them that they're leaving onlookers dizzy yet splitting a gut.

The scene at N. D. G's Café Orange could pass for another episode of their hit sitcom Ces gars-là, now into its third season on V.

It's safe to say that their art owes a huge debt to their lives and camaraderie. Unlike other famed comedy tandems over the years, Sugar Sammy and Fecteau genuinely enjoy each other's company and particularly enjoy ribbing one another.

Both write and star in the series, with Fecteau having the additional responsibility of directing. It works seamlessly. Their bond has produced comedy gold on the tube. Think a franco take on Seinfeld/Curb Your Enthusiasm/The Office/The Simpsons.

“The only difference is that I'm not really a chauvinist dog in real life, and he's not nearly as sensitive as he comes across on the show,” cracks Sugar Sammy, who turns 40 next month.

“Hard as it might to believe, he may be right,” Fecteau, 40, counters. “He may be more sensitive in real life and I may be more of a dog. It takes serious acting to make someone like me look sweet.” He laughs.

Season 3 begins with Fecteau confined to a wheelchair. Although he claims to have broken both his legs in a hang-gliding accident, the reality is less romantic: he slipped on a sidewalk while riding a Bixi. He also appears to find love with a woman in wheelchair — but she's in it for the long term. Touching — to a degree.

For his part, Sugar Sammy is still smitten by the same foxy cop from Season 2, despite the fact she's not good enough for his parents. Fecteau is, nonetheless, impressed: “You're almost showing emotion.”

No matter. Sugar Sammy's parents aren't impressed. They wish to set up an arranged marriage for their offspring. They even find the perfect candidate and make plans for a dinner with the would-be bride and her parents. But, alas, they bail at the last moment, throwing Sugar Sammy into a funk.

“What did you tell her family about me?” Sugar Sammy asks his dad. “I told them you could drive (an) automatic (car),” his dad responds. “And you are always on time for dinner,” his mom shoots back.

Seems that the parents aren't much moved by their son's comedy smarts. But audiences will be. Based on the four episodes screened, Season 3 is the sharpest yet. Without giving away any spoilers, audiences will howl at a coming episode featuring Fecteau and Sugar Sammy as vigilantes patrolling their 'hood on kids' bikes. And let's just say there is a referendum of sorts, with the ethnic vote figuring prominently, in another episode down the road, and the boys knock it out of the park with that parody.

What makes the series even more effective is that audiences are not seeing the Sugar Sammy persona from his smash You're Gonna Rire standup spectacle. While the chuckles are as abundant on the TV series, it is an entirely scripted buddy comedy, which cleverly and satirically plays off the cultural identities of its two principals.

Even anglos who aren't fully up to speed on the nuances of French will have little difficulty comprehending the series.

“We're thrilled with the fact that this is the first time anglos and allophones seem to be watching French TV — besides hockey,” Sugar Sammy says. “And I'm thinking they're watching less hockey, because it's not so funny any more.

“I think the reason for the show's success is that we reflect a lot of the reality of life in this city. You don't see too many TV shows joking about the dichotomy of life here — like me dating a separatist woman in Season 1. But a lot of these situations are inspired by our real lives. I feel that our writing is really gelling now and that the connection between us is stronger than ever.”

“The thing I hear the most from anglos is that we're the only franco show they watch. Too bad they don't count the anglos and allos for the ratings,” adds Fecteau before musing: “Still, it's gratifying to know that I'm one of the only francos that anglos say hello to in the city.”

Fecteau, whose mother is an anglo, points out that the series has a different sensibility because he and Sugar Sammy were nurtured on American sitcoms.

Although Sugar Sammy will be bringing his comedy act to France in the fall, the guys are already tossing out ideas for a Season 4 — should the show get the go-ahead. Even better, what if a portion of Season 4 were to take place in Paris, with the guys both having to deal with serious culture shock?

When asked if he'll miss Sugar Sammy after he heads off to France, Fecteau doesn't mince words: “No!

“We see so much of each other for much of the year working on the series together, so it's a real break to get away from him for a period.”

“But our idea of working together is really just hanging out together — most of our story ideas come from goofing around,” says Sugar Sammy, who, in addition to taking up residence in France in September, has just been booked to do six French shows — and likely a few late-night English performances — in Paris in April.  

While Fecteau has a solid TV background, with experience on the acting, writing and directing fronts, Sugar Sammy came into the series a raw rookie. The first season of Ces gars-là marked his acting and TV-writing debut.

“He started totally from scratch — and he knew nothing about the way TV worked,” Fecteau says. “Now he's got it all down. I can see him taking on a bunch of other roles.”

“You can study acting all you want, but nothing beats putting in the hours by being on the set,” Sugar Sammy says. “That's the ultimate acting school. I was probably the least experienced of anyone on the set, but I put myself in that student mode and asked a lot of questions.”

“But this business is all about compromise,” allows a grinning Fecteau. “For example, I come to do interviews on his turf in the West End, where I can be served in French in one out of every 10 stores.”

“Really, he comes to the West End, because unlike the Plateau where he lives, people can actually find parking and turn right when need be,” Sugar Sammy fires back. “At least one in 10 stores serves him in French here, but no stores serve me in Punjabi in the Plateau.”

“The truth is that Sammy was my first English friend, so I want to see how the others live,” Fecteau retorts.

“That's funny, because Simon was actually my ninth French friend, but I'm still looking for that good one,” kids Sugar Sammy.

“And it's from this kind of nutty yet natural dialogue that we write our shows.”

“We can get an entire episode just by having coffee together,” Fecteau says. “We have this wacky chemistry, and it seems to work.”

No question.

AT A GLANCE

Season 3 of Ces gars-là airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on V. The first two episodes of Season 3 can be caught online at vtele.ca.