My Name Is Earl

Series Similar to My Name Is Earl

If you enjoyed My Name Is Earl, these series share similar themes, tone, and quality. Each recommendation is scored on genre overlap, tonal match, and critical acclaim.

1. How I Met Your Mother

   2005 · Drama, Comedy, Romance · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile.

   How I Met Your Mother is a comedy about Ted and how he fell in love. It all starts when Ted's best friend, Marshall drops the bombshell that he's going to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Lilya kindergarten teacher. At that moment, Ted realizes that he had better get a move on if he too hopes to find true love. Helping him in his quest is Barney a friend with endless, sometimes outrageous opinions, a penchant for suits and a foolproof way to meet women. When Ted meets Robin he's sure it's love at first sight, but destiny may have something else in store.

2. Malcolm in the Middle

   2000 · Comedy · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile.

   In the words of They Might Be Giants' rollicking Grammy-winning theme song, "life is unfair." The inventive and wholly original sitcom Malcolm in the Middle has been honored with a Peabody Award and Emmys for directing and writing, but if life was fair, it would have earned an Emmy for Best Comedy Series, not to mention statuettes for its pitch-perfect cast. With his perpetual "yes, me worry" expression, Frankie Muniz instantly earns audience empathy as Malcolm, whose chances for a normal life are thwarted not only by his genius IQ, but also by his outrageously dysfunctional family: Lois, his obsessive, control-freak mother; Hal, his loving but ineffectual father; Francis, his eldest brother waging his own private war at military school; middle brother Reese, a delinquent savant; and Dewey, the put-upon youngest. As Malcolm observes at one point, "This family may be rude, loud and gross, and have no shame whatsoever, but with them you know where you stand."

3. Arrested Development

   2003 · Comedy, Family · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile, highly rated (8.2).

   After being passed over as partner at The Bluth Co., widower Michael resolves to quit the family business and move away to spend more quality time with his 13-year-old son, George Michael. But when his father George Bluth Sr. is arrested for shifty accounting practices and the family assets are frozen, Michael is forced to stay in Orange County to help his wildly eccentric family pick up the pieces.

4. Samantha Who?

   2007 · Comedy, Romance · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile.

   Samantha "Sam" Newly is a corporate executive and hit-and-run victim who awakens after being in a coma for eight days, only to find she has amnesia. With no memories of the past, she must rediscover everything about her life and herself by looking for clues from her past.

5. Scrubs

   2001 · Drama, Comedy, Medical · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile, highly rated (8.4).

   Fresh out of medical school, new doctors John "J.D." Dorian, his best friend Christopher Turk, and Elliot Reid start their internship at Sacred Heart Hospital. There, they meet the harsh Chief of Medicine Dr. Bob Kelso, J.D.'s reluctant mentor Dr. Perry Cox, nurse Carla Espinosa, and the deceitful and prankish Janitor. Also at the hospital are the wide range of personalities of Sacred Heart's staff, including the religious nurse Laverne Roberts, incompetent lawyer Ted Buckland, and spiteful board member Jordan Sullivan who also happens to be Cox's ex-wife. Other interns make the cut, such as the high-fiving Todd Quinlan and nervous Doug Murphy. Over the next 9 years they face personal and professional highs and lows, realizing that they can't make it through life - much less a hectic job as a doctor - on their own.

6. Raising Hope

   2010 · Comedy, Family · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile.

   At 23 years old, Jimmy Chance is going nowhere in life. He skims pools for a living, parties every night and still lives at home with his family, including his parents and his cousin, Mike. Jimmy's life takes a drastic turn when a chance romantic encounter with Lucy goes awry once he discovers she is a wanted felon. Months later, when Jimmy pays a visit to the local prison, he discovers Lucy gave birth to their baby, who he is now charged with raising.

7. The Office

   2005 · Comedy · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile, highly rated (8.5), also on NBC.

   Steve Carell stars in The Office, a fresh and funny mockumentary-style glimpse into the daily interactions of the eccentric workers at the Dunder Mifflin paper supply company. Based on the smash-hit British series of the same name and adapted for American Television by Greg Daniels, this fast-paced comedy parodies contemporary American water-cooler culture. Earnest but clueless regional manager Michael Scott believes himself to be an exceptional boss and mentor, but actually receives more eye-rolls than respect from his oddball staff.

8. Nathan Barley

   2005 · Comedy · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile, highly rated (8), hidden gem.

   Nathan Barley is 26. He is a webmaster, guerrilla filmmaker, screenwriter, DJ and in his own words, a "self-facilitating media node". He is convinced he is the epitome of urban cool and therefore secretly terrified he might not be, which is why he reads Sugar Ape Magazine - his bible of cool. Dan Ashcroft writes searing columns for Sugar Ape. He's considered astonishingly cool, but only by those he despises. He is surrounded by idiots and practically worshipped by Nathan (whom he considers to be their king). He is 34. Why has he failed to move on? Claire Ashcroft, 27, is Dan's sister. Like Dan she despises "cool". Unlike Nathan she despises novelty, trash, irony and gadgets. She is furious that no one will fund her hard-hitting documentary about a choir of reformed junkies.

9. Outsourced

   2010 · Comedy · ended

   Recommended for similar Comedy profile, hidden gem, also on NBC.

   When manager Todd Dempsy returns to work after management training, he learns that the Mid America Novelties call center has been outsourced to Mumbai, India. In order to keep his job, Todd is left no choice but to relocate to India. There he meets his eclectic group of employees, and soon realizes that teaching them to understand America will be the first of many hurdles that he needs to overcome. Todd also discovers other foreign transplants working in his office building, including American expatriate Charlie Davies who runs the All American Hunter call center, and Tonya a beautiful Australian who runs the call center for Koala Air.

10. Best Friends Forever

    2012 · Comedy · ended

    Recommended for similar Comedy profile, hidden gem, also on NBC.

    Jessica St. Clair ("Bridesmaids") and Lennon Parham ("Accidentally on Purpose") star as Jessica and Lennon, best friends who live on opposite sides of the country with the men in their lives. When Jessica is overnighted divorce papers, Lennon convinces her to return home to Brooklyn and back into the apartment they used to share. It doesn't take long for the girls to fall into old habits: movie marathons and late night girl talk sessions - none of which is good news for Lennon's live-in boyfriend, Joe (Luka Jones, Upright Citizens Brigade). Joe tries to be understanding but begins to feel like a stranger in his own home. Meanwhile, Jessica is trying to get used to her new single life. Will she have to start buying matching sets of underwear again? Also, reconnecting with old friends like Rav (Stephen Schneider, "Happy Endings"), who may or may not have feelings for her, is more complicated than she thought. All of Jessica's new efforts are met with the critique of the friends' precocious nine-year-old neighbor, Queenetta (Daija Owens), who is not shy about doling out advice on their life choices.