My Name Is Earl

My Name Is Earl Information

My Name Is Earl is "You know the kind of guy who does nothing but bad things and then wonders why his life sucks? Well, that was me. Every time something good happened to me, something bad was always waiting round the corner: karma. That's when I realized that I had to change, so I made a list of everything bad I've ever done and one by one I'm gonna make up for all my mistakes. I'm just trying to be a better person. My name is Earl."

Besides Lee, the show also stars Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly, Eddie Steeples and Nadine Velazquez (Lee and Suplee had previously worked together numerous times, first on the film Mallrats more than ten years prior).

Synopsis

Earl J. Hickey (Lee) is a petty criminal and ne'er-do-well, living in the fictional rural county of Camden, whose winning $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car while he celebrates his good fortune. Lying in a hospital bed, under the influence of morphine, he develops a belief in the concept of karmic retribution when he hears about karma during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. Convinced he has to turn his life around to survive, Earl gives himself over to the power of karma. As his first step of a makeshift twelve-step program to fix his misdeeds, Earl makes a list of every bad thing and every person he has wronged and commences efforts to fix them all. After doing a first good deed, he finds the $100,000 lottery ticket that was previously lost. Seeing this as a sign of karma rewarding him for his commitment, Earl uses his newfound wealth to do more good deeds according to his list.

As he continues to perform good deeds, Earl's motives initially come across as shallow and selfish " that he is only doing good to improve his karma and by extension his own life. However, Earl begins to develop a genuine sense of morality and ethics, refusing to participate in illegal or immoral activities " though sometimes finding himself in very awkward situations, including those involving a suicidal stunt man, a second-hand hot tub that gives his ex-wife Joy a communicable toe disease, a Korean War veteran who wants to reclaim some possessions Earl destroyed (including the ear of a fellow soldier) and a "witch woman" who proves him right in thinking she is evil when she knocks him and many others out and stores them in her basement.

In many cases, Earl discovers that his crimes and misdemeanors had far more repercussions than he could have imagined, and that complete fixes in those cases would require far more trial and effort than could have been imagined. Yet he would also find that repairs would also have deeper and more layered results as well, bringing the realm of the show into the religious and spiritual as well as comedic.

The series generally ended its episodes with Earl and his brother Randy talking about things that have nothing to do with the rest of the show before saying good night and turning in for a night's sleep. In many cases, these conversations took place in their shared motel room bed.

Conception

Creator and head writer Greg Garcia wrote the pilot while working on another sitcom, Yes, Dear. He initially pitched the series to Fox which passed on the series. He then approached NBC, which optioned the pilot on a cast-contingent basis, meaning they would order the pilot provided a suitable cast could be assembled. Jason Lee was approached for the lead role, but was uninterested in working in television and passed on the series twice before finally agreeing to read the pilot script. Though he liked the pilot, he was hesitant to commit to his first TV starring role until meeting with Garcia, after which he signed on to play Earl Hickey.

Ratings

The series premiered on September 20, 2005, drew in 14.9 million viewers in the United States, earning a 6.6 rating. By the airing of the third episode it was apparent that My Name Is Earl was the highest rated of NBC's new fall offerings, and a full season (22 episodes) was ordered. In its first month, it was also the highest rated new sitcom of the season to air on any network and was the highest rated sitcom on any network in the 18"49-year-old demographic. The show was renewed for a second season (2006"07), a third (2007"08), and a fourth (2008"09).

Season	Timeslot (EDT)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Viewers (in millions)
1	Tuesday 9:00 P.M. (September 20 " December 6, 2005) Thursday 9:00 P.M. (January 5 " May 11, 2006)	September 20, 2005	May 11, 2006	2005"2006	10.9
2	Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 21, 2006 " May 10, 2007)	September 21, 2006	May 10, 2007	2006"2007	8.9
3	Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 27, 2007 " May 15, 2008)	September 27, 2007	May 15, 2008	2007"2008	7.3
4	Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 25, 2008 " May 14, 2009)	September 25, 2008	May 14, 2009	2008"2009	6.6

Cancellation and future

The series ended abruptly on May 19, 2009 after running for four seasons. Season four had ended with the caption 'To Be Continued'. The series' producer, 20th Century Fox Television, approached the Fox, TBS and TNT networks to continue the series, but they were unable to come to terms without "seriously undermining the artistic integrity of the series."

In October 2011, Jason Lee told E Online he has been in talks with Greg Garcia to finish the list via a movie, and that it remains to be seen whether it will be a TV movie or a proper feature film but he was intent on making the film happen. It was also mentioned that the film could be released online.

Connection to Raising Hope

In 2010, Garcia premiered a new show, titled Raising Hope on Fox Broadcasting Company. On the series premiere, you see the newspaper being delivered by 2 men in a green Ranchero, Randys car a gift from Earl in season 4 episode 7, also a newscaster in the background reports, "A small-time crook with a long list of wrongs he was making amends for has finally finished, and you'll never guess how it ended." However, the newscast is cut off before viewers can hear more. In episode 10 of the first season, Jason Lee appears as a rock star and refers to Gregg Binkley as Kenny, his character's name on My Name is Earl rather than Barney, his character's name on Raising Hope.

Also in the Season 1 finale, when Jimmy lives in Howdy's watching pornographic videos that his cousin drops off. The video he is watching is from the episode Inside Probe Part 1 when Joy reveals she starred in a smut film for Crabshack owner, Ernie kicking a man repeatedly in the gonads.

Midway through season two, more nods to My Name Is Earl were made. In "It's a Hopeful Life", when Jimmy is standing outside the movie theater, posters for two movies – My Name Is Earl: The Movie and 2 the Max – can clearly be seen. In "Gambling Again", Patty the Daytime Hooker and TV's Tim Stack make an appearance. The Hope two-part second-season finale "Inside Probe" and "I Want My Baby Back, Baby Back, Baby Back," featured the show within the show Inside Probe, which formerly had appeared (with Geraldo Rivera hosting) in a two-part fourth-season Earl episode also titled Inside Probe. Part of the opening sequence to Earl can also be seen on the Chance's television in the "Inside Probe" episode of Hope.

In season three, episode three, "Throw Maw Maw From the House, Part 2", Maw Maw is temporarily sent to live at the "Earl J. Hickey Memorial Nursing Home." Later in season three, during episode sixteen, the Chances take a trip to Hollywood where Burt encounters the executives for numerous television networks. He kicks the NBC executive in the groin shouting "That's for cancelling 'My Name Is Earl'!" before running off; the executive (played by Graham Clarke), in pain on the ground, then complains that he was not responsible for the series' cancellation, and that he actually loved the show.

In the season 3 episode "Making the Band" every major actor from My Name Is Earl appeared as their Raising Hope characters in a storyline that contained an abundance of references to the former show. For example Crabman "pizza delivery boy" says he is in witness protection and that Mr. Turtle had been missing for roughly four years, this includes a reference by Ethan's character running over said turtle four years before. This also includes a reference to Earl's list of people he wronged, and his sudden belief in Karma.

Characters

See List of My Name Is Earl characters for more information

Main Cast

Jason Lee as Earl Hickey
Ethan Suplee as Randy Hickey
Jamie Pressly as Joy Turner
Eddie Steeples as Darnell "Crabman" Turner
Nadine Velazquez as Catalina Aruca

Recurring Cast

Noah Crawford as young Earl Hickey
Ryan Armstrong as young Randy Hickey
Beau Bridges as Carl Hickey
Nancy Lenehan as Kay Hickey
Louis T. Moyle as Dodge Hickey
Trey Carlisle as Earl Hickey, Jr.
Tamala Jones as Liberty Washington
DJ Qualls as Ray-Ray Washington
Alyssa Milano as Billie Cunningham
Gregg Binkley as Kenny James
Dale Dickey as Patty, the daytime hooker
Clint Howard as Creepy Rodney

Giovanni Ribisi as Ralph Mariano
Silas Weir Mitchell as Donny Jones
Timothy Stack as TV's Tim Stack
Abdoulaye N'Gom as Nescobar-A-Lop-Lop
J. Lamont Pope as Jasper
Michael Rapaport as Frank Stump
Raymond Cruz as Paco
Tim DeKay as Hank Lange
Mike O'Malley as Deputy Stuart Daniels
Billy Gardell as Deputy Jeff Hoyne
George Frangides as Deputy Bob Smiley

Kathy Kinney as Deputy Bobbie Bowman
Bill Suplee as Willie the One-Eyed Mailman
Tracy Ashton as Didi the One-Legged Woman
Abdul Goznabi as Iqball
Jack Axelrod as Electrolarynx Guy
Beth Riesgraf as Natalie Duckworth
Burt Reynolds as Richard Chubby
Norm Macdonald as Little Chubby
Craig T. Nelson as Warden Jerry Hazelwood
Josh Wolf as Josh Martin
Jonathan Walker Spencer as Kevin the Cameraman

Jason Priestley
Geraldo Rivera
Chelcie Ross
Amy Sedaris
Jane Seymour
Dax Shepard
Jimmi Simpson
Christian Slater
Kevin Sussman
Christine Taylor
Michael Teutul
Paul Teutul, Jr.
Paul Teutul, Sr.
Melody Thomas Scott
Joan Van Ark
Jerry Van Dyke
Miguel Varoni
Michael Waltrip
John Waters
Betty White
Matthew Willig

Location

My Name Is Earl is set in fictional Camden County. Creator Greg Garcia says:

On episode Inside Probe (Part 2), Earl hints at a general location by saying, "I guess we are in the central time zone." The show is filmed in the San Fernando Valley, in Southern California. On the last DVD, in reply to a viewer's question, Greg Garcia admits that Camden is loosely modeled on Waldorf, Maryland.

In the episode "Burn Victim", Earl is seen writing a check to pay for a prom for a fellow prisoner, a gift in hopes the prisoner will make amends with his parents, thereby earning Earl 6 months off his sentence. As he writes "freedom" in the memo line, a closeup of the check is seen. Though Earl's information merely lists his address as "Camden County, USA", the bank information is also visible. The fictional bank, "Eagle America Bank" is listed as being in fictional "Glen Falls, Ohio 44529". Though the zip code is also fictional, it would be in the Youngstown, Ohio suburbs if real.

Critical reception

The show was well received by critics and audiences alike. On Metacritic it garnered a 77% "generally favorable" critics' metascore; 8.7 out of 10 users' rating. One reviewer speculated that Earl's forthrightness to having led a life of idiocy is what endears him to the viewer, and is what suggests there is a depth to his character beyond what is initially seen. Many of the negative and ambivalent reviews center on what is perceived to be base and bigoted humor.

Some critics claimed the series had a Scientologist bias or message, with actors Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee being Scientologists. In 2008, Alec Baldwin publicly named Earl creator Greg Garcia as being a Scientologist; Garcia quickly denied any involvement with Scientology, claiming that the Daily Mirror had incorrectly reported him to be a Scientologist.

The series was nominated twice for Best International Programme at the British Academy Television Awards in 2007 and 2008.

Episodes

Main article: List of My Name Is Earl episodes

	Episodes	Originally aired	DVD release	Blu-ray release
1	24	2005 – 2006	September 19, 2006	TBA
2	23	2006 – 2007	September 25, 2007	TBA
3	22	2007 – 2008	September 30, 2008	TBA
4	27	2008 – 2009	September 15, 2009	September 15, 2009

DVD releases

Season releases overview

DVD Name	Release dates		Ep #	Additional Information
DVD Name	Region 1	Region 2	Ep #	Additional Information
Season One	September 19, 2006	September 25, 2006	24	The four disc box set includes all 24 episodes. Bonus features include deleted scenes, commentary tracks on selected episodes, selections from the season's gag reel, and a "mini-episode" vignette where Stewie Griffin from Family Guy influences Earl to get revenge on everyone who wronged him.
Season Two	September 25, 2007	January 28, 2008	23	The four disc box set includes all 23 episodes. Bonus features include deleted scenes, commentary tracks on selected episodes, as well as other featurettes.
Season Three	September 30, 2008	October 20, 2008	22	The four disc box set includes all 22 episodes. Bonus features include a gag reel, "Creating the characters" featurette and deleted scenes.
Season Four	September 15, 2009	October 5, 2009	27	The four disc box set includes all 27 episodes. Bonus features include deleted scenes, a gag reel, "Earl's Fan Mail" featurette and a movie trailer inspired by the premiere episode. Also released on Blu-ray

Season 1 DVD set

The season one "mini-episode", titled Bad Karma, is an alternate version of the events of the pilot episode featuring what would have happened if, instead of seeing Carson Daly talking about karma while in the hospital, Earl saw Stewie Griffin of Family Guy talking about vengeance.

At Best Buy locations the set came wrapped in a miniature replica of Earl's flannel shirt.
The DVD set at Target stores featured a limited-edition bonus DVD with extra bloopers and other bonus features.

Syndication

20th Century Fox Television has cleared My Name Is Earl in nearly 50% of the U.S., said Bob Cook, the company's president and chief operating officer. 20th had sold the off-net sitcom to the Fox, Tribune, CBS, Hearst-Argyle and Sinclair station groups for a fall 2009 debut.

My Name Is Earl is being currently rerun in off-network syndication and on TBS, Ion Television and MyNetworkTV in the United States. Canada airs the series on Joytv and Peachtree TV.

In March 2011, E4 in the UK began airing episodes of My Name Is Earl. In 2013 The UK Channel 5* Took the rights.

Adaptation outside the U.S.

A Greek adaptation entitled ?? ???? "??????? (?y name is Vangelis), starring Vasilis Charalampoupoulos as Vangelis, Makis Papadimitriou, Klelia Renesi, Anna Dimitrievic and Michalis Afolayan, premiered on November 14, 2011 on Mega Channel.

Comic book

Independent comic book publisher Oni Press had announced a comic book tie-in to the series in 2006, and season one's DVD release included ads for the comic; but none were produced. Since the cancellation of the show, Oni has abandoned the comic.