My Name Is Earl is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). [1] The first season premiered on September 20, 2005. Three additional seasons followed before the series concluded on May 14, 2009, after 96 episodes had aired. [2] The series was unexpectedly cancelled, ending on a cliffhanger. [3] [4] [5] The production company, 20th Century Fox Television, attempted to get the program picked up by other broadcast networks including the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and the Fox Broadcasting Company. [6] Talks were also at one-time underway with the basic cable network Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) for a 13-episode fifth season; [7] these fell through after it was discovered that the budget would have to be reduced by $1 million per episode, which was seen as unsustainable due to the resultant cuts in cast, writers, and crew. [8]
Contents
- Series overview
- Episodes
- Season 1 (2005–06)
- Season 2 (2006–07)
- Season 3 (2007–08)
- Season 4 (2008–09)
- Viewing figures
- Notes
- References
- External links
The series follows the titular character, Earl Hickey (portrayed by Jason Lee), an unemployed petty thief who lives in the fictional Camden County. After he wins the jackpot on a lottery scratcher, Earl celebrates and is struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run collision. While in the hospital, he discovers the concept of karma and decides to make a list of his bad deeds. He uses his lottery winnings to make up for them by helping the people he wronged. Earl resides in a motel with his brother Randy (Ethan Suplee) who frequently accompanies him on his tasks. They are friends with the housekeeper, Catalina Aruca (Nadine Velazquez), whom Randy also has a crush on. Earl and Randy also regularly interact with Earl's ex-wife and the mother of his son, Joy Turner (Jaime Pressly), as well as her new husband, Darnell (Eddie Steeples), an employee at the local bar. Most episodes follow Earl as he completes an item on his list and are occasionally supplemented with subplots that make up pieces of long-term story arcs. [9] [10]
My Name Is Earl was consistently a strong performer in viewing figures for NBC. [11] [12] The show garnered critical acclaim [13] and was broadcast internationally [14] as well as receiving accolades and award nominations. [15] [16] It takes place in a shared fictional universe with Raising Hope , another sitcom created by Garcia. [17] Within that series, it was suggested that Earl ultimately completed his list. [18] Lee, Suplee, Velazquez, Pressly, and Steeples also appeared in one episode of Raising Hope in new roles that contained references to My Name Is Earl. [19]
