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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed shows.
My Name Is Earl
EMAILPRINTSERIES: NBC, Tuesday 9:00p (30 minutes)

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 30 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 133 votes
Read user comments
Rate this show >
Show Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Created By: Greg Garcia
First Air Date: September 20, 2005
Summary
Starring Jason Lee, Jaime Pressly, Ethan Suplee, Eddie Steeples, and Nadine Velazquez
This unconventional comedy centers on Earl (Chasing Amy's Jason Lee), a redneck, drunk, no-good thief, who wins the lottery, loses his ticket, and is hit by a car. While recovering, he is inspired by a Carson Daly appearance on his hospital televison to change his life for the better, and he sets out to correct each wrong (all 259 of them) that he has done in his lifetime.
Episode Guide & More Info: More about this show at TV.com
Also On The Web: Official Show Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
Brimming with cockeyed echoes of everything from "Raising Arizona" to "King of the Hill," NBC's best new comedy since "Seinfeld" is that rare chucklehead treat: it's both wildly irreverent and blessed with a cheerful, endearingly upbeat nature.
Read Full Review >Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
My Name Is Earl rampages like a bull in a politically correct china shop.
Read Full Review >New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
One of this season's most tasty and twisted TV treats.
Read Full Review >Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Jason Lee excels as scruffy Earl -- he's a Jed Clampett for the new millennium.
Read Full Review >Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith
Watching "My Name Is Earl" unfold is like taking a hydrofoil ride and flying so fast above the ordinary surface of television life that when the show ends you feel dazed and amazed for hours afterward.
Read Full Review >Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
The buzz is that "My Name Is Earl" is good, and the truth is that it's better than the buzz.
Read Full Review >Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
The NBC sitcom is so unpretentious and original, it will probably win you over on its own sweet merits.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
The casting is for awesome, flat-out too-good-for-TV acting.
Read Full Review >USA TodayRobert Bianco
Earl shares the look and heavily narrated sound of Arrested Development, but it has its own scruffy comic tone.
Read Full Review >Entertainment WeeklyKristen Baldwin
Lee may be a tad too smart to embody this reformed dimwit, but his smooth charm makes Earl go down as easy as a tallboy. [23 Sep 2005, p.82]
Cleveland Plain DealerMark Dawidziak
"My Name Is Earl" is a good show that doesn't quite have the feel of being the next "Seinfeld" or "Cheers." But like Lee's Earl, Garcia's feel-good concept is strangely effective. If not brilliant, it is ambitious, and it is definitely funny.
Read Full Review >VarietyBrian Lowry
"My Name Is Earl" isn't the best comedy around, but it's pretty darn good.
Read Full Review >San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesCharlie McCollum
Manages to be crude and sweet, smart and splendidly stupid, all at the same time.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
Cute and smart, "Earl's" pilot pulled a coup unheard of in recent network comedy memory, juggling un-P.C. humor with a winning sweetness.
Read Full Review >The Onion A.V. Club
The premise is gimmicky, but based on the promising first two episodes, Lee's infinite list of wrongdoings should provide many seasons' worth of amiable comedy.
Read Full Review >TV GuideMatt Roush
Earl is unashamedly crude, at times downright stupid in its lowlife caricatures, yet it's all so cheerfully endearing that you can't help but be won over by its lowbrow high jinks.
PopMattersTerry Sawyer
What's so wonderful about My Name Is Earl is that it's a comedy with its heart in the right place and everything else gleefully in the gutter.
Read Full Review >Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Though the characters are quite different, "Earl" somehow brings to mind NBC's "Ed," perhaps because both shows feature a cast of oddballs and are ultimately uplifting, heartwarming portraits of people trying to do good by making a fresh start.
Read Full Review >Chicago TribuneSid Smith
"My Name Is Earl" is cheeky, inventive and often bewitching.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles TimesPaul Brownfield
Watching "My Name Is Earl," you feel like you're in a movie, or at least a movie trailer. In ways more good than bad, it's immediately comprehensible.
Read Full Review >New York MagazineJohn Leonard
We have to put up with characters whose brainpower compares unfavorably with a fire hydrant, but Lee is funny even in a gay bar.
Read Full Review >Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik
My Name Is Earl is not a stupid sitcom - that is what makes its sexist and homophobic jokes so maddening.
Read Full Review >People WeeklyTom Gliatto
Lee may lack the essential sweetness, or pathos, to make Earl ever seem like more than a cute variation on those lovable, loquacious losers who tumble, beer can spurting, through Coen brothers movies. [3 Oct 2005, p.39]
The New YorkerNancy Franklin
The show is charmless and patronizing, and as refreshing as dust.
Read Full Review >Washington PostTom Shales
Amounts to a character study of a character not worth studying.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this show is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 133 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mr. Furley gave it a10:
Very funny show. Love all the guest stars and zany plots. Incomparable. Ralph is one of my favorite characters.
Stuie M. gave it a5:
Its not the worst thing on TV but it really isn't that good. After the first season or two it gets really repetitive and far fetched. The fact that Randy is slow and Earl is almost as stupid says a lot. The only good part about this show is Crab Man. His character is actually decent.
james d. gave it a0:
A very poor show. Very dated slapstick with nothing of any value in it. It should never have been made as it is an embarrassment to America and humanity!
Harry N. gave it a10:
This show is awesome, funny what they twist karma into. Ethan Suplee was born for the part of Randy.
Anonymous gave it a10:
This show is clever and poignant. This is genius!
Anna N. gave it a10:
A unique, thoughtful comedy with a great message.
Natalie o gave it a9:
This show has me laughing out loud
