The NBC hit comedy series,”My Name is Earl” returns to TV on April 3 with nine new shows after its hiatus due to the Writers Guild strike.
Greg Garcia, the executive producer of the series, says this will be the show’s most exciting seasons yet. “Earl” follows a man attempting to correct past failures.
“The strike actually helped our success and creativity,” said Garcia during a recent conference call.
“The characters have more freedom in their roles and the break brought a new life to the show,” said the Emmy Award winner, who has produced or written for such shows as “Family Guy,” “Family Matters” and “Yes, Dear.”
The comedy’s star, actor and former professional skateboarder Jason Lee who plays Earl, said although the writers’ strike kept the show spontaneous, it also made it extremely tough to generate the nine episodes consecutively.
“The cast has never had to cram in so much in such little time,” Lee said. “It was nerve-wracking.”
The first episode will be a one-hour special starring Paris Hilton.
Garcia said Hilton was fun to work with, and nothing at all like how the tabloids portray her.
“She was a real trooper, nice and friendly,” Garcia said.
Lee said the pop star heiress, who comes to visit Earl in a dream, had a good sense of humor despite an apparent cluelessness.
“Paris has probably never even seen the show, but she still did a great little cameo,” Lee said.
Garcia said “Earl” picks up with Earl and Billie, played by actress Alyssa Milano, laying in the middle of the road after being hit by a car.
The new episode will focus on whether Earl is able to come out of a coma or if karma has finally gotten the best of him, Garcia said.
“This season we wanted to go back to the basics,” Garcia said. “Season one mainly focused on Earl’s list while season two looked at Jamie’s legal problems.”
Burt Reynolds guest stars on one show, along with many other surprise celebrity guests.
Garcia said he wished the show could have gotten even more renowned actors to appear.
“I think it’s just that more actors of high caliber aren’t interested in a television show like ours,” Garcia said. “Instead, more would rather stick to film and not a nontraditional show.”
The “Earl” format has more stunts and special effects and resembles a short film, said Lee.
He said that he enjoys how different the comedy is and feels the new shows should raise ratings.
The writers used interesting story-telling devices to keep the show fresh.
“We built upon each character, have different people narrate and even did a flashback scene,” Garcia said.
Lee said a great chemistry with the cast has also helped the show regroup after the writer’s strike.
“We have a good balance,” Lee said. “As goofy and out there as the characters are, there’s a message and a heart at the core that keeps people coming back.”
Garcia said people can really identify with the characters.
“We’ve received so many calls about how people have started their own lists just like Earl does on the show,” Garcia said.
Heather Hope can be reached at [email protected].
