The creators of "South Park" appear ready to fire back at Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology following a dust up earlier this month that included soul singer Isaac Hayes quitting the series.

Read Roger Friedman's "South Park" scoop

On Wednesday's ninth-season debut, Hayes' character, Chef, pops up in an episode which creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are devoting to his mysterious return to "South Park." They are expected to poke fun at his religion, Scientology.

While details are scarce, Comedy Central officials say the duo are putting the finishing touches on the episode (Wednesday, 10 p.m.) -- which, like many others, is being written and animated in less than a week.

Last fall, the show -- which, in nearly a decade on the air, has managed to poke fun at almost every religion -- ripped Scientology. In the episode, one of the space-based faith's biggest proponents -- Tom Cruise -- was skewered.

Hayes was allegedly insulted by the show and quit, according to reports.

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Last week, the network had planned on re-airing the episode, but it was pulled at the last minute, after Cruise allegedly threatened not to promote his new movie, "Mission: Impossible 3," which is produced by Paramount, a division of Viacom, which owns Comedy Central.

Reps for Cruise have denied the reports.