NBC Renews 'My Name Is Earl' And 'The Office'

NBC has rewarded My Name is Earl (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET) and supplied The Office (Thursdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET) with full-season orders of 22 episodes each through the 2006-07 season, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

"The strength of the ratings and performance and the quality of these two shows make this a very easy decision," said Reilly. "We are confident that these comedies will only continue to increase in popularity."

In "Earl," the title character (Jason Lee) has taken one too many wrong turns on the highway of life. However, a twist of fate turns his life into a tailspin of life-renewing events. Earl won a small lottery, and, after an epiphany, he is determined to transform his good fortune into a life-changing event as he sets out to right all the wrongs from his past.

In its first season, My Name is Earl has been nominated for two Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, one Directors Guild of America Award and three Writers Guild of America Awards. It has also won the coveted People's Choice Favorite New Television Comedy Award.

Joining Earl along his quest to cleanse his karma are a few dim-witted friends: hapless brother Randy (Ethan Suplee) and the very sexy Catalina (Nadine Velazquez). Even Darnell (Eddie Steeples), a worker at the Crab Shack where Earl drinks beer, offers his support. But it's Earl's ex-wife Joy (Jaime Pressly) who won't lift a finger to help unless there's something in it for her.

Created and written by Greg Garcia (Yes, Dear), My Name is Earl is executive produced by Garcia and Marc Buckland (Medical Investigation, Ed). The series is produced by Amigos de Garcia and Twentieth Century Fox Television.

From Reveille and NBC Universal Television Studio, The Office is a unique comedy series offering a smart, tongue-in-cheek documentary-style look at the humorous, and sometimes poignant, banality of the 9-to-5 white-collar work world. After airing its initial 16 episodes over two seasons, the series received three Writers Guild of America Award nominations, including Outstanding Achievement in Writing for a New Series and Outstanding Achievement in Writing for a Comedy Series.

The Office takes a painfully funny look at the interactions of the desk jockeys at Dunder Mifflin paper-supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Recent Golden Globe winner Steve Carell (The 40-Year Old Virgin) stars as unctuous regional manager Michael Scott who hosts the documentary crew on a tour of the workplace. Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, and B.J. Novak star as the employees who tolerate Michael's inappropriate behavior only because he signs their paychecks.

With unshaken enthusiasm, Michael believes he is the office funnyman and a fountain of business wisdom. Unaware of how he is perceived by his employees, Michael comes off alternately absurd and pathetic, but always hilarious.

Executive producer Greg Daniels developed The Office for American television. The series' other executive producers are Ben Silverman, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Howard Klein.