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.
I am so mad there is no season 5. Who cancels a show when the ending to a season is one like that!? Bring it back for the 5th season!!
They should bring the show back, it was a bleeding good series and we the fans deserve to at least have a fifth season. I mean prison break done it and look how popular that wad when it aired again. Some creative writing and the old cast and you could be o to a winner
I was really pi–ed off that some moron decided to cancel 1 of the best shows there was on tv. He deserves to get a slap off a car like earl did only let him rot a lot longer in his coma.
Only recently started watching this series on reruns and have absolutely fallen in love with the show.. what management plonker decided to cancel this.. they should be sacked as this was a classic and could have gone on to achieve so much more. This is what happens when accountants run things.
I think and should of let my name is earl finish with happy end on a cliff hanger.
Please make n season 5 or a movie… Its the best show that exists, we will do anything
Great show! Please finish the 5th season soon!
And my vote for Earl Jr’s dad…. TIGER WOODS, of course 😀
Let Joy realize her dream of being a Millionaire!
Finish the fifth series now it would be extremely popular
I never had a chance to watch earl until now and I bought the series, but to my disapointment it ended with no clouser. It’s a shame the networks don’t listen to the fans. Maybe the producers should of tried another network. I know it won’t happen but I wish it would come back long enough to finish the story.
its ridiculous how they cancelled a really good show when there is absolute **** ones on tv these days a think we should have a petition list to get the show back on the air am sure netflix or amozon prime would air it for it to have 4 seasons am sure it had a lot of fans and no doubt the big man of netflix or amazon prime would be happy to get them fans
MY NAME IS EARL was an awesome show i watched all 4 seasons twice i loved the show that much still wish there was a proper ending to season’s 4 cliffhanger
i miss this show please bring it back it was amazing why doesnt netflix just buy the rights to the show and get the actors together to get the show back ? that could be done if all other tv networks wont take it back on please bring it back
My life will never be the same without Earl. A four hour movie would be so nice!
I would love to see a special or a movie. If things have to end in my life, I like closure
I want to see the movie! I think there’s enough left to make an entire movie. Let’s wrap these things up and show off these characters that had amazing chemistry