Series star Jason Lee was just as bummed as the fans when My Name Is Earl was axed after a four-season run. Originally airing on NBC from 2004 to 2009, the sitcom was created by Greg Garcia and featured Lee in the titular role, also starring Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly, Nadine Velazquez, and Eddie Steeples. It follows Lee as Earl Hickey, a man who makes a list of everything he's done wrong in his life and embarks on a journey to make up for every single one, all in the name of karma.
My Name Is Earl was very popular when it was on the air, and though ratings were not the same in season 4 as they were in season 1, they were still pretty strong. That's why it came as a surprise when NBC canceled the show after its fourth season. Because the cast and crew were expecting another renewal, season 4 ends on a complete cliffhanger, complete with the words, "To be continued." Unfortunately, the storyline never was continued, leaving fans to wonder what happened next.
Lee recently addressed the cancelation of My Name Is Earl in an interview, per The Nine Club. The actor recalled how devastated he felt when the series was canceled and how the news was delivered without warning on the set by series creator Greg Garcia. It's clear to Lee that many fans still feel cheated as well, as he's still consistently asked by fans on social media about what ultimately happened with Earl and his list. As Lee explains:
"Yeah, [it was popular] until it got canceled, abruptly out of the blue. It [ended on a cliffhanger], yeah. It was really devastating. There's probably not four days that go by without somebody messaging me on Instagram like, 'What happened to Earl?' Or some people thinking it's my fault, like, 'Dude, you left us stranded, what the hell?' I'm like, 'I'm not NBC, I didn't cancel the show, man!' It was out of my hands. Greg Garcia, the creator of the show, he's still my friend. What he did with that show is incredible. He showed up on set one day and said, 'Hey, I have bad news, guys. It looks like we're getting canceled.' So, like, 'clean out your lockers' kind of vibe. 'We're out of here.'"
Jason Lee Has Said He's Open to Revisiting the Series
In 2020, Jason Lee said in an interview with JoBlo that he'd love to finally provide a real ending to the series. He doesn't necessarily think that a full-on series revival would be the best way to go, but even a limited series or one-off reunion special just to wrap up the storyline would be enough for Lee to feel satisfied. Lee said:
"We’ve talked about it, yeah. At least like, even a little three-part series to wrap up the list or something, we’ve talked about it, yeah. But, yeah, that's definitely on the list, no pun intended, to try to wrap up that universe if we can... Start a petition. Everybody asks me, 'what happened, what happened, what happened'? I get that question probably more than any other question. My answer to that is 'I hope we do.'"
Whether this happens remains to be seen, but anything is possible in the age of reboots and revivals.