My Name Is Earl is an American comedy created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005 to May 14, 2009 in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television. OverviewSet in fictional Camden County, the series stars Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly, Eddie Steeples and Nadine Velazquez. Lee stars in the title role as Earl J. Hickey, a petty crook with occasional run-ins with the law, whose newly won $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. Lying in a hospital bed, under the influence of morphine, he develops a belief in the Americanized concept of karmic retribution when he hears about karma during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. He decides he wants to turn his life around, and so makes a list of every bad thing he's ever done in an attempt to correct them, as he believes that this is the only way he can gain positive karma. After doing his first good deed, he finds the $100,000 lottery ticket he had previously lost. He sees this as a sign and, with his new lucky money, he proceeds to cross items off the list, one by one, by doing good deeds in correspondence to the list items to atone for them. ConceptionCreator 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 after meeting with Garcia, after which he signed on to play Earl Hickey. RatingsThe 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). CancellationNBC canceled the series on May 19, 2009. Season four had ended with the caption 'To Be Continued'. The series' producer, 20th Television, approached the Fox, ABC, 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." CharactersMain characters- Earl Jehosophat Hickey
- Randall "Randy" Doo Hickey
- Joy Farrah Darville Hickey Turner (Jaime Pressly)Earl's ex-wife, now married to Darnell. She is unsophisticated "trailer trash", self-centered, manipulative and aggressive. She tricked Earl into marrying her when she became pregnant with another man's child, then had an affair - and apparently a child - with Darnell while she and Earl were still married. (In the final episode of the series, her first son, Dodge Hickey was revealed to be Earl's son, and her second son was revealed not to be Darnell's.) However she is very protective of her family. She is openly scornful of Earl's List. She has a strong dislike for Catalina. She drives a Subaru BRAT painted with the American flag. Her frequent catchphrases are "Oh Snap", "What the Hell", and she frequently calls both Earl and Randy "Dummy".
- Darnell 'Crabman' Turner, formerly Harry Monroe (Eddie Steeples)Joy's husband, and still one of Earl's best friends despite apparently impregnating Earl's then-wife Joy. He now acts as father to Joy's two sons (In the final episode of season 4 , Earl Hickey, Jr. was revealed not to be Crabman's biological son after a DNA test). He works in the local dive, "The Crab Shack" where he acts the part of a good-natured fool, but is actually a former assassin for a secret government organization. He was placed in the witness protection program when he refused to kill the child leader of a socialist nation and testified in court against his former employers. Darnell demonstrates greater intelligence than those around him. A running gag within the show is that Darnell smokes marijuana. He had a sister Pam who was killed by what Joy said is honesty. Darnell's dad is called Thomas Monroe and works for the agency. His nickname comes from the fact that Earl couldn't remember his name when they first met and referred to him by his job. Another running gag is that whenever the two run into each other, Darnell greets Earl with "Hey, Earl," and Earl responds with "Hey, Crabman".
- Catalina Rana Aruca (Nadine Velazquez)The beautiful housekeeper at Earl and Randy's motel. She is also the number one dancer at Club Chubby. She shares a green card marriage with Randy who had a huge crush on her but this ended when they slept together and he appreciated her more as a friend. She has a strong dislike for Joy since Joy called her a whore when she first saw her. She occasionally breaks the fourth wall when supposedly shouting insults to Joy in Spanish which are actually notes for the fans.
Recurring characters- Carl Hickey (Beau Bridges)Earl and Randy's father. Earl was supposed to be named after him, but the nurses misread Carl's cursive. At the start of the series he refused to have anything to do with Earl, but gradually realizes his son's efforts to improve his life were sincere and they have since become close again.
- Kay Hickey (Nancy Lenehan)Earl and Randy's mother, a friendly woman who gently chides Earl to be nicer to his father. In Season 4, it was revealed she once slept with a neighbor, causing Carl to leave home for a while before he returned and they made up.
- Dodge Chaz Hickey (Louis T. Moyle)Joy's oldest son. Named Dodge because all she could remember about the father was he drove a Ford pickup truck. In the Season 4 final episode, Earl is revealed as his father.
- Earl Hickey Jr. (Trey Carlisle)Joy's son due to an affair. Father is Darnell Turner, but Season 4 ended on a cliffhanger, suggesting that Darnell may not be the real father.
- Kenny James (AdultGregg Binkley, childAndy Pessoa)Kenny is a childhood victim of Earl's bullying and a formerly suppressed homosexual, who became the first person Earl helped with the List. He is now dating a male police officer.
- Patricia Michelle Weezmer aka Patty the Daytime Hooker (Dale Dickey)A friendly Camden prostitute who also works as a night-time waitress. She got 1500 on her SATs, holds a Masters degree and speaks Bengali. In the episode "Witch Lady", her full name was revealed to be Patricia Weezmer. In the episode "Inside Probe", her middle name was revealed to be Michelle.
- Ralph Mariano (Giovanni Ribisi)Earl's childhood friend. He is constantly in trouble with the law and has betrayed Earl and Randy for as little as $175, but they always forgive him. In season two Earl married Ralph's mom but later had the marriage annulled. He was in jail with Earl but quickly escaped.
- Willie the One-Eyed Mailman(Bill Suplee, Ethan Suplee's father). He lost an eye when Joy broke Earl's Def Leppard mirror with a bowling ball and the glass shot into his eye.
- Billie Cunningham (Alyssa Milano)Earl's third wife. She is a little crazy and gets very jealous of Earl spending so much time with his List instead of her. After finding inner peace on an Amish-type location near Camden, she not only divorced Earl but gave him $72,000 she'd received after being hit by a car.
- Liberty Washington (Tamala Jones)Joy's mixed race half-sister. They hated each other for years but eventually bonded to the point where Joy became a surrogate mother for Liberty and her husband Ray-Ray's baby. She tends to treat Ray-Ray exactly the way Joy treats Darnell: with full measures of both hostility and love.
- Ray-Ray Washington (DJ Qualls)Liberty's husband who similar to Darnell wears a tanktop and whenever Earl sees him he says "Hey, Ray-Ray", similar to "Hey, Crabman" to Darnell. He also owns a bearded dragon named "Mr. Bearded Dragon" whom he treats in the same fatherly manner that Darnell treats Mr. Turtle.
- Jerry Hazelwood (Craig T. Nelson)The Camden County prison warden. He is an immature, whiny man who has his job because his wife is the Governor of the unnamed state Camden County is located in. He gave Earl numerous "time off" certificates when Earl helped him out with prison problems, but later broke Earl's spirit by reneging on the agreement, which led Earl to escape from prison.
- Mr. Sydney TurtleHe is the beloved pet turtle of Darnell. He is apparently Jewish and was born in 1913. In "Made A Lady Think I was God", Darnell mentions that Mr. Turtle had no first name. However on the grave made for Mr. Turtle in "Got the Babysitter Pregnant", it states 'Mr. Sydney Turtle'.
- Donny Jones (Silas Weir Mitchell)An intimidating reformed thug who went to jail for a crime that Earl committed. He forgave Earl for committing the crime that he was accused for doing because while Donny was in prison, he read the Bible and started believing in Jesus.
- Didi (Tracy Ashton)She is a one-legged girl whom Earl claimed to love. She hates Earl since he stole her car. She was #86 on Earl's List, and he crossed her off when she made him walk all day on one leg.
- Little Chubby (Norm MacDonald) Little Chubby currently owns most of Camden. He appeared on Earl's list after Earl kicked him in the nuts. Little Chubby then proceeded to get them fixed, he then became evil like his father. After deciding to change his evil ways, he took a baseball to the nuts. He appeared in season 4 (Dodge's Dad) and said he got a ball transplant with a bull and is once again evil.
Other recurring characters include Electrolarynx Guy, Bruce, Nescobar Aloplop, Doug, Jasper and his Russian mail-order bride, Joy's deaf lawyer and her interpreter, DJ Dave, Slow Roger, Bob Smiley, and TV's Tim Stack. Stack usually appears in his Son of the Beach costume, completely intoxicated, or bothhe is also a writer for the show. Several of the show's characters appeared on the July 8, 2008 episode of Celebrity Family Feud. One team, the Hickey family, consisted of Earl, Joy, Randy, Crabman, and Catalina. The other team, dubbed "Camden County," consisted of Tim Stack, Patty, Wilford (Tim's agent), Kenny James, and Nescobar Aloplop. The Camden County team defeated the Hickey family, but lost to the cast of The Office in the finals. Notable Guest StarsLocationMy Name Is Earl is set in Camden County, a fictional location in the Central Time Zone of the United States. In the series, it is described as a place that was called "Central" during the American Civil War which supported neither side and seceded from both the United States and the Confederacy. Darnell remarks that the Central only lasted from 3:30 to 3:45 on March 10, 1861 as a nation before the North and the South massacred the citizens. [ As to the exact location, creator Greg Garcia says: ]
However, actual outdoor set filming is done in Lake Balboa, California.Critical receptionThe show has been on the whole well-received by critics and audiences alike. One reviewer has noted the significance of the fact Earl's very confession to having led a life of idiocy is what endears him to the viewer, and is what suggests there is more to his character than the surface persona that the viewer initially sees.
Some critics have claimed the series has a Scientologist bias or message, with actors Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee being Scientologists. Reports in the British press incorrectly identified series creator Greg Garcia as also being a Scientologist, but Garcia himself has denied any affiliation with Scientology.DVD releasesSeason Releases OverviewSeason 1 DVD setThe 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.
- The DVD set at Target stores featured a limited-edition bonus DVD with extra bloopers and other bonus features.
Awards and nominations- Nominated for 2006 Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy.
- Jason Lee nominated for 2006 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy.
- Jaime Pressly nominated for a 2005/06 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
- Marc Buckland won the 2005/06 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (episode: "Pilot").
- Nominated for 2007 BAFTA TV Awards for International Programme of the Year.
- Jaime Pressly won the 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
- Michael Goi, ASC, nominated for 2008 Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography For A Half Hour Series/Episode "Stole A Motorcycle"
- Betty White nominated for 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress("Witch Lady")In A Comedy Series
- Al Jones nominated for 2009 Emmy Award for Stunt Coordination in "Bullies."
SyndicationTwentieth 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. Twentieth has sold the off-net sitcom to the Fox, Tribune, CBS, Hearst-Argyle and Sinclair station groups for a fall 2009 debut.
In September 2009, The Comedy Network in Canada began to show My Name is Earl on a nightly basis at 8:30 PM EST.See also
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