“Do good things and good things happen, do bad things and bad things happen” is Earl’s explanation of karma. “My Name Is Earl” (NBC Thursday’s, 8 pm eastern) is a sitcom based in a small redneck town, Camden County, USA. Created by Greg Garcia, Jason Lee takes on the leading role as Earl Hickey, along with Ethan Suplee as Randy Hickey, Jaime Pressly as Joy Turner, Eddie Steeples as Darnell “Crabman” Turner, and Nadine Velasquez as Catalina Aruca Hickey. “My Name Is Earl” is worthwhile to watch because of its unique plot, creative characters, and hilarious writing.


The plot of “My Name Is Earl” is unique in many ways. Earl Hickey is a small time crook with no care for the law, until he acquires a winning lottery ticket. Upon receiving the ticket, Earl is hit by a car while rejoicing in the street and he loses the ticket. He wakes up in the hospital and has an epiphany; he realizes he has been doing wrong all his life and it hasn’t helped him, so he adopts the concept of karma. Now, he makes a list of all the people he’s wronged and sets out to cross those people of his list, one by one, in each and every episode.


Earl hickey is a perfect character in every way, and Jason Lee makes him an even better one. Randy Hickey, Ethan Suplee, is earl’s right hand man. Although dimwitted, he can be a big help to Earl, like in “Stole Beer from a Golfer”, when he quickly finds the dog of a man who’s on the list. Jaime Pressly plays as Earl’s divorced wife, Joy Turner. She lives in a trailer park with her husband and two kids, and though she may seem a bit harsh, she truly is a good person.


Greg Garcia is the creator and producer of the show, and he does a great job of it. The hilarious writing makes the characters interactions even more realistic than the acting does alone. For instance, on one of the episodes, Earl says, “I was gonna focus on quitting smoking, but it turns out quitting smoking is stressful, and when I’m stressed out, I smoke.” That for instance, makes something true and realistic, funny.


Although this show may sound a bit cheesy, and it is at times, the rest makes up for it. “My Name Is Earl” is a show that dares to be different in the storyline, characters, and writing, and that’s a good thing. So, next time a Thursday rolls around, and you’re looking for a show to watch, at 8 pm eastern generally, why don’t you just flip to NBC and give it a chance, you won’t regret it.