Comedy Central has halted production on Chappelle's Show.
In a terse, three-line statement, the cable channel said that it is "optimistic" production will resume "in the near future" on the third season of the show, which was scheduled to premiere May 31.
No word on the reason for the abrupt move only one day after the channel buoyantly pitched its shows to advertisers.
Comedian Dave Chappelle's sketch comedy has been one of the channel's marquee shows, whose DVD sales have been cited by corporate parent Viacom with boosting the bottom line.
Chappelle re-upped for two more seasons (a total of four) back in August, with a lucrative deal that has been pegged at anywhere from $30-$50 million that was based projections of DVD and other back-end sales through the end of the fourth season.
In 2004, when season two aired, the show averaged 3.1 million total viewers (2.2 million in 18-49), which made it one of the channel's top-rated shows.Season one DVD sales were 2.8 million units. In its most recent financial statement, Viacom pointed to a 30% increase in ancillary revenue, singling out Chappelle's Show for special mention.
