Comedy Central on Wednesday said it suspended production of “Chappelle’s Show,” and that the third season of the highly rated program will not premiere on May 31st as scheduled.

“All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future,” the network said in a statement.

Comedian David Chappelle last August signed a deal to keep his show on Comedy Central that was valued at as much as $50 million, including revenue from DVD sales. Since then, however, production of the series has been delayed.