New rumors claimed My Name Is Earl is returning for Season 5 on Hulu in 2024, and fans wonder how true talk of a reboot may be.
My Name Is Earl debuted four seasons from 2006 to 2009. It starred Jason Lee as Earl Hickey, a former criminal who sets out to right the wrongs of his past after a near-death experience changes the course of his life.
My Name Is Earl Reboot Rumors Explained
A viral Facebook post stirred up speculation My Name Is Earl will return for a new season in 2024 on Hulu, marking a reboot of the early 2000s comedy thanks to a poster marketing an all-new season coming in September.
The caption promised the return of Jason Lee's Earl Hickey and the gang as they return for "ten new episodes filled with hilarious and heartfelt adventures" when the series supposedly returns in September:
"MY NAME IS EARL RETURNS!!!
Earl Hickey (Jason Lee) is back on Hulu in My Name is Earl! Join Earl, Randy, Joy, and Catalina as they embark on ten new episodes filled with hilarious and heartfelt adventures, righting past wrongs and tackling a mysterious second list. Get ready for laugh-out-loud moments, unexpected twists, and heartwarming resolutions when the series returns this September!"
Unfortunately, My Name Is Earl does not currently have a reboot in development at Hulu or any other network, and the viral poster is fake.
My Name Is Earl was canceled in May 2009 after Season 4 closed out with a "To be continued" tease for more to come after delivering some major revelations.
Networks such as Fox, TNT, and TBS were approached by 20th Century Fox Television to continue the series but all decided it was impossible without "seriously undermining the artistic integrity of the series" (via E! News).
During an appearance on the Slick & Thick podcast in 2023 (via Looper), Randy Hickey actor Ethan Suplee explained how the cancellation came out due to financial negotiations between the network and studio breaking down:
"We were a hit. And the network called the studio and said, 'We want to license the show for another year,' and the studio said, 'Well, we want more money. We want to renegotiate our deal with you.' And the network basically did not respond for two weeks. And then the studio called back and said, 'We'll take your deal,' and the network said, 'Too late.'"
Is My Name Is Earl Coming Back?
Star Ethan Suplee spoke to Screen Rant in 2023 and revealed how "everybody involved has said they would do" a revival of My Name Is Earl, noting how the return of other major comedies may raise the chances:
"Man, I think it would be awesome, and I think everybody involved has said they would do it. Greg Garcia went and pitched it to a number of studios, and nobody bit. I think when you see shows that are coming back for revivals, like I think they did with 'Will & Grace' and 'Full House,' those were just much larger shows than 'My Name Is Earl.' 'My Name Is Earl' did very well, but I just don't think it was ever as big as 'Will & Grace.'"
He added how he has discussed with showrunner Greg Garcia "what the last episode would have been" but was clear he doesn't "have a lot of hope" that a My Name Is Earl revival will ever happen:
"I think we would all do it, and we've talked about doing it, and Greg Garcia has explained what the last episode would have been had he been given notice, like, 'This is it,' and it and it's so good. It would be really the cherry on top of My Name is Earl, so I would love for it to happen, but I don't have a lot of hope that it will happen."
In 2011, two years after the series was canceled, Jason Lee confirmed talks with Garcia to wrap up My Name Is Earl with a movie. The actor told E! News how he "definitely [saw a movie] happening:"
"I definitely see it happening. It's time! We have to finish the list which we never got to do, so it's sort of just floating out there in limbo somewhere incomplete."
But alas, the My Name Is Earl movie never happened, and many of the series' stories and mysteries were left unresolved.
Across the series, Earl Hickey carried a list of over 250 wrongs from his criminal past to right, of which he only worked through under 100. As such, there are plenty more stories to tell and some major revelations to be explained.
During a Reddit AMA session, Garcia revealed details of the planned follow-up to Season 5, including teasing how Earl Jr.'s real father was "going to be someone famous" who "came to town on tour and Joy slept with:"
"We never really got the chance to fully figure it out but the talk in the writers room was that Earl Jr’s Dad was going to be someone famous. Like Dave Chappelle or Lil John. Someone that came to town on tour and Joy slept with. But when we got canceled we never got the chance to figure it out. I was worried about doing a cliffhanger but I asked NBC if it was safe to do one at the end of the season and they told me it was. I guess it wasn’t."
He explained how Earl "wasn't ever going to finish the list" but would instead run into someone "who had a list of their own" to fulfill:
"I had always had an ending to Earl and I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to see it happen. You’ve got a show about a guy with a list so not seeing him finish it is a bummer. But the truth is, he wasn’t ever going to finish the list. The basic idea of the ending was that while he was stuck on a really hard list item he was going to start to get frustrated that he was never going to finish it. Then he runs into someone who had a list of their own and Earl was on it."
With Earl placed on this list, he would come to realize he started "a chain reaction" of others righting their wrongs and can give up his "with good karma:"
"They needed to make up for something bad they had done to Earl. He asks them where they got the idea of making a list and they tell him that someone came to them with a list and that person got the idea from someone else. Earl eventually realizes that his list started a chain reaction of people with list and that he’s finally put more good into the world than bad. So at that point he was going to tear up his list and go live his life. Walk into the sunset a free man. With good karma."
While My Name Is Earl is still on the minds of at least some of the cast and crew, the time gap since the Season 4 finale may make a reboot unlikely unless the show was to catch a second wind of fame on streaming as other classics have.
My Name Is Earl is streaming on Hulu.
