"Dog the Bounty Hunter" returns to the air this summer, on July 16, months after it was pulled when the Chapman used a racial slur in an offensive phone conversation.

According to executives with the A&E, the cable network that broadcast the show, filming has already begun on the fifth season.

"You know the saying, 'Sticks and stones can break your bones and names will always hurt you?' I've learned that," Chapman said yesterday at a media availability announcing the resumption of the TV series.

He said he learned how much harm words can do and assured everybody that he was more careful now when he chose the names he used “whether they be racial or whatever.”

The show was suspended on Nov. 2, after a recorded private call, in which Chapman used the n-word when referring to his son’s girlfriend, was made public. On the audiotape, Chapman is heard using the n-word six times as he expresses his displeasure that his son Tucker is dating an African American.

Shortly after, a teary-eyed Chapman went on air and apologized for his comments regarding his son’s African American girlfriend, promising never to utter the word again.

Since then, he tried to reach out to members of the African community, explaining he was not a racist, but he had only said those words out of a terrible anger that he could not control.

"My sincerest, heartfelt apologies go out to every person I have offended for my regrettable use of very inappropriate language. I am deeply disappointed in myself for speaking out of anger to my son and using such a hateful term in a private phone conversation," Chapman said at the time.
Well, it seems Chapman’s efforts to convince everybody he was good-natured were fruitful and he now got a second chance.

A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said the cable network did not welcome Chapman back because of the ratings the show made, but because the A&E staff knew he was a good man and not a racist, and decided the man deserved a second chance.