My Name Is Earl
NBC, Tuesdays, 9 p.m.THE PLOT Petty crook Earl is hit by a car seconds after winning the lottery and then, while hospitalized, he learns about karma courtesy of Carson Daly's talk show. He compiles a list of everyone he's done wrong (258 sins and counting) and sets out to make good, one misdeed at a time.
WHY WE LOVE IT Earl has his list, we have ours: (1) Showed us a sitcom-perfect premise like nothing we've ever seen before. ''If Earl was some white-collar lawyer in New York trying to turn his life around, I don't know how relatable that would be,'' Jason Lee says. (Answer: not very. See Fox's canceled Head Cases.) ''This world we've created, it's accessible and it has heart.'' (2) Has a lyin', cheatin' thief of a main character — and also, somehow, the shiniest morals on TV this side of 7th Heaven. ''As long as the moments are earned in the show and don't feel sappy, people are very satisfied,'' says creator-exec producer Greg Garcia. ''A friend said, 'It makes me feel good.' And that's the biggest compliment we can get.'' (3) Introduced us to a damn funny group of rednecks...without making fun of them. ''Randy likes to drink beer and eat chips and stuff,'' Ethan Suplee says of his character. ''He's very simple. But no part of him is evil at all.''
WHAT IT'S UP AGAINST Commander in Chief (ABC), The Amazing Race (CBS), House (Fox), Sex, Love & Secrets (UPN), Supernatural (The WB)
WHAT'S NEXT Earl tackles the old ''ruined Dad's chances in a mayoral race by getting caught robbing a convenience store'' problem, with Beau Bridges guest-starring as his father. Then he enters a beauty pageant to replace Joy's beloved, broken prize. Also, our antihero's old buddy, ''Bad Ralph'' (Giovanni Ribisi), gets out of prison and comes after the lotto winnings. Plus, Joy and the Crab Man make it official. But beyond the next few episodes, there's no master list of Earl's wrongs. ''We're not trying to outsmart ourselves or the audience,'' Lee says. ''It's all beautifully random.''
—Jennifer Armstrong
