[Gina1201]

From mtv.com:

A year after Dave Chappelle walked away from his series' production, we will finally get to see some new "Chappelle's Show" episodes. Don't get too excited, though. Comedy Central has got its hands on the unaired material the comedian shot before he went on abrupt (and seemingly permanent) hiatus earlier this year, but the network is not promising that Chappelle is back for good.

According to a story in Variety, Comedy Central (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom) will air the finished material as part of what it's calling season three of the popular sketch comedy show. The episodes will first run on the station's broadband network, MotherLoad, and then air on the station sometime next year.

Chappelle signed a multimillion-dollar deal for future editions of the show last year, and began working on season three before walking out on the tapings in April and taking a "spiritual retreat" in Africa. Since returning to the U.S., the comedian has done a number of stand-up dates, but has never discussed the full story behind his departure from the show.

A preview of material from season three was shown at a recent Comedy Central event, and it included spoofs of MTV's "Cribs" and the Morgan Spurlock fast-food documentary "Super Size Me." A spokesperson confirmed for Variety that all the bits were taped before Chappelle pulled the plug on the show, but would not say whether the decision to air them meant the network was admitting that the comedian was not coming back.

— Gil Kaufman