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My Name Is Earl
SERIES: NBC, Tuesday 9:00p (30 minutes)


8.7

based on 30 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?

based on 126 votes
read user comments
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Get more information on this show at TV.com.

Official Show Site

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.

GENRE(S):	Comedy
CREATED BY:	Greg Garcia
FIRST AIR DATE:	September 20, 2005

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...

100

Detroit Free Press Mike 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.

100

Miami Herald Glenn Garvin

My Name Is Earl rampages like a bull in a politically correct china shop.

100

New York Daily News David Hinckley

One of this season's most tasty and twisted TV treats.

100

Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker

Jason Lee excels as scruffy Earl -- he's a Jed Clampett for the new millennium.

100

Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm

One of the best comedies in years.

100

San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman

The fall's funniest sitcom.

Wall Street Journal Nancy 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.

Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron

The buzz is that "My Name Is Earl" is good, and the truth is that it's better than the buzz.

Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert

The NBC sitcom is so unpretentious and original, it will probably win you over on its own sweet merits.

Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman

The casting is for awesome, flat-out too-good-for-TV acting.

USA Today Robert Bianco

Earl shares the look and heavily narrated sound of Arrested Development, but it has its own scruffy comic tone.

Entertainment Weekly Kristen 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 Dealer Mark 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.

Variety Brian Lowry

"My Name Is Earl" isn't the best comedy around, but it's pretty darn good.

San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum

Manages to be crude and sweet, smart and splendidly stupid, all at the same time.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie 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.

The New York Times Alessandra Stanley

Offbeat and utterly charming.

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.

TV Guide Matt 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.

PopMatters Terry 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.

New York Post Linda Stasi

Bad taste meets good writing.

Newsday Verne Gay

Congenial.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob 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.

Chicago Tribune Sid Smith

"My Name Is Earl" is cheeky, inventive and often bewitching.

Los Angeles Times Paul 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.

New York Magazine John 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.

Baltimore Sun David Zurawik

My Name Is Earl is not a stupid sitcom - that is what makes its sexist and homophobic jokes so maddening.

People Weekly Tom 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 Yorker Nancy Franklin

The show is charmless and patronizing, and as refreshing as dust.

Washington Post Tom Shales

Amounts to a character study of a character not worth studying.

The average user rating for this tv show is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 126 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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

Adam W gave it a10:
This show has taken the UK by storm, I for one am a huge fan of this show some would say I am addicted. The first and Second series Were 10/10 Looking forward to the 3rd Series 10/10

Chris R. gave it a10:
This show is great. You go Jason Lee!!!

Leslie Y. gave it a10:
This show is extremely refreshing when compared to the rash of reality shows. Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee make a great team. The premise of the show is absolutely delightful and a great message for everyone. Way to go guys, this is a winner.

Dustin W. gave it a10:
Singlehandedly the best creation of the television realm. This show is clever, witty, and just plain hilarious. No matter what kind of mood you're in, foul or joyful, this show will always leave you feeling back. I dread the day of this show's demise, which I don't foresee happening anytime in the next few years. This show is nothing short of incredible in my books.

My Name Is Earl SERIES: NBC, Tuesday 9:00p (30 minutes)

My Name Is Earl
SERIES: NBC, Tuesday 9:00p (30 minutes)