Dog The Bounty Hunter Returning To A&E In June

A&E has announced that Duane “Dog” Chapman and his show are coming back to A&E. Network executives and Dog announced that reruns of the show will resurface June 25, with new episodes of Dog the Bounty Hunter turning up “a few weeks” later. Filming has already begun on the fifth season.

The popular cable reality show was pulled from the air last November, following in an incident in which its star, Hawaii-based bounty hunter Duane ”Dog” Chapman, used a racial slur in a taped telephone conversation. But on Wednesday, Chapman was flanked by his family and a civil rights organization representative when A&E announced his comeback in a carefully orchestrated press conference. Said A&E spokesman Michael Feeney, ”It’s not about ratings . . . . We know his heart. We know him and know he’s not a racist.”

New episodes, including some from the show’s fourth season that have yet to be aired, are expected to be ready after June 25.