“Dog the Bounty Hunter” back on the air

Every dog has his day. Looks like Duane “Dog” Chapman will get another.

Cable channel A&E announced today it will produce fresh episodes of Dog the Bounty Hunter. The fifth season will begin airing July 16.

A&E pulled the plug on the Hawaii-filmed “reality series” on November 2 after Chapman’s son Tucker leaked a private phone conversation with the Dog using a racial slur. Chapman immediately apologized, but the public relations damage was already done. The network announced it would also suspend production “indefinitely”—or in PR terms, “temporarily.”

Can’t say we’re surprised A&E is throwing Dog another bone. We pretty much saw Chapman’s eventual return the moment A&E pulled Dog the Bounty Hunter off the air. The series was the network’s highest-rated prior to going on hiatus, averaging more than 2 million viewers per show. It was also one of its most profitable.

Alongside brand new fifth season episodes will be episodes filmed before A&E yanked the show. The network has promised that new episodes will continue to follow Chapman and his crew at Da Kine Bail Bonds as they rid Hawaii of its apparently bottomless supply of bail-jumping fugitives.

Finally, peaceful nights of sleep for the rest of us again.

Dog the Bounty Hunter will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on the East and West coasts, 6 p.m. Hawaii time.

What do you think of Dog’s return to the air?