My Name Is Earl aired for four seasons on NBC before it was cancelled, and the creator has revealed how he would have ended the series if it had continued on to a natural end. The series ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, but Greg Garcia did have a plan in mind for how to wrap things up.
In a Reddit AMA, he revealed how he would have ended the comedy series if he had been able to close it out. He said:
“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. 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.”
Garcia also revealed that he had asked the network if it was okay for him to end the season on a cliffhanger. The network told him to go ahead, and it was only after that NBC decided to cancel the series. Garcia might have written a different season four finale if he had known the network was going to cancel the series.
In addition, Garcia also planned to reveal who Earl Jr’s father was before the show ended. The writers were thinking that it would be someone famous who’d been in town for just one night. The writers didn’t get to decide who that would be, but the baby daddy was intended to be revealed before the series ended.
Were you a fan of My Name is Earl? Did Garcia’s reveal give you closure for this series? Tell us what you think.
Netflix should but this show
I want to know who Earl Jr. father was and this was a terrible ending why leave Darnell hanging
I love my name is earl and rasing hope i love how the kinda play of each other I wish they never ended them but that’s what happens to the good shows
I knew once the cops episode came for round two the show was going dim and the Geraldo one was the end but you come back with a twist of who the real parents are? I almost looked further down the series line on netflix until this point and was sure I wouldn’t be disappointed by a finali now that it was getting interesting… and there went the rug beneath me. NBC; you have bad karma now, and you gotta fix it.
Wow. Way to end out strong. I love the show, have to say, seen better endings.
I loved this show and was totally bummed out with the way it ended. I agree that it would be amazing if they continued it or at least did a long series finale for the show on Netflix. It was funny and uplifting at the same time. I know a lot of people would like to see these characters again.
I just got done watching all 4 seasons again and got addicted to it again. It’s sucks the show got cancelled. I wish the writer could do a season to finish the show off on Netflix instead. The show ended to soon. Netflix isn’t a bad idea to finish a amazing show everyone loved.
unbelievable … I just wish freedom of speech was a real thing on the internet.
The show all together was amazing but the ending was complete ********. I truly wish I had become a fan of the show earlier because seeing the show end the way it did just isn’t fair to all of the viewers. It was a perfect end to a season but an absolutely terrible end to a show. I’m blown away that the show didn’t continue. I highly doubt Jason Lee, Gregory Garcia(writer), or any of the other producers of this show will ever see this post but I promise you that this show has a future no matter how long… Read more »
Same here. We really enjoyed it and ended up rooting for these characters.
I really want My Name Is Earl to come back on! There were so many people that LOVED that show, we would all rate it 1,000,000 stars for the show to come back on! We really want to see more of My Name Is Earl! Right now I’m crying in my heart because we the people really miss that show!
If they can bring Roseanne back….PLEASE bring Earl back…..Please!!!
You have to make series 5 now and tell us who is the father of the kids and what happens. Nearly as annoying as Quantum leap Sam Beckett never returns home and we didn’t know what happens
BRING IT BACK!! let us see it on tv!!! this isn’t faaaair!!!!
I love Garcia’s take on how he would’ve ended the show, but I much rather see it on screen. Season 5 is a must, please! Look, it’s 2017 and My Name is Earl still has fans longing for a proper series finale!
VERY UPSET TO FIND OUT THEY WILL NOT END THE SERIES PROPERLY. I LOVE THIS SHOW AND NOT SURE WHY IT DID NOT OURLIVE SOME OF THE TRIPE THAT IS OUT THERE NOW.