Plot summary
Earl J. Hickey ( Jason Lee ) is a small-time thief with a messed-up life. His "scratch-and-win" lottery ticket proves to be worth $100,000, but he is immediately hit by a car and watches the ticket blow away. While Earl recovers in hospital, his wife Joy ( Jaime Pressly ) divorces him, but Earl is introduced to the concept of karma while watching an interview with singer Trace Adkins on Last Call with Carson Daly. He resolves to try to make up for all the bad things he has done and writes a list of 259 items.
After leaving the hospital he starts on his list by picking up litter, and right away finds his lost $100,000 ticket. Figuring karma works pretty well, he continues with the list, going next to #64: "Picked on Kenny James." Earl figures he needs to help Kenny to have friends. To Earl's shock, he learns that Kenny is gay and wants to skip this list item. After wrestling with what to do, he decides karma makes the rules to be kept, not he. Finally, he and his brother Randy ( Ethan Suplee ) resolve to take Kenny to a gay bar where he can find friends. Meanwhile Earl and Randy meet Catalina ( Nadine Velazquez ), the motel's beautiful maid, and Randy finds that he has feelings for her.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, My Name Is Earl season 1. HTML formatting and reference markers removed.