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Television Q&A: Why isn't 'My Name Is Earl' on syndication short list?

By Rich Heldenfels, Tribune News Service The Tribune Content Agency

May 7, 2026 6:03 AM

Jason Lee stars in "My Name Is Earl." (20th Century Fox/Zuma Press/TNS) 20th Century Fox TNS

You have questions. I have some answers.

Q: We enjoyed "My Name Is Earl" when it was on TV years ago. We've seen many other shows go into syndication, but we've not seen reruns of this show. Did we miss them? Is there hope for them in the future?

A: "My Name Is Earl" originally aired on NBC for four seasons in 2005-09. Jason Lee starred as Earl Hickey, a man who won the lottery and tried to make amends for all the bad things he had done in his life. The cast also included Ethan Suplee as Earl's brother Randy and Jaime Pressly as his ex-wife, Joy. Pressly won an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy; the show also won Emmys for writing and directing.

Repeats did air in broadcast syndication and on cable. And these days you can find it streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

Q: Do you know if "Tracker" will continue? I read a rumor that it's being canceled. It's one of the best series I watch.

A: CBS has ordered a fourth season of the drama starring Justin Hartley and will keep it on Sunday nights in the fall. You are far from the only one watching the series, which is among the most watched broadcast shows on TV. And there may yet be surprises in the third season, which ends on May 24.

Q: Any word on whether there will be a new season of "Silo"?

A: There will be more of the drama based on Hugh Howey's novels. The third, 10-episode season begins on July 3 on Apple TV. (A fourth and final season has also been ordered.) According to the network, the third season "continues the saga of a dystopian society of 10,000 people living underground under mysterious circumstances, while revealing an origin story set centuries earlier. In the present, Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) survives her forced ‘cleaning' but returns with memory loss as the silo recovers from rebellion and faces a dangerous new threat. Meanwhile, in the ‘Before Times,' journalist Helen Drew (Jessica Henwick) and Congressman Daniel Keene (Ashley Zukerman) uncover a conspiracy that pulls them into a chain of events with catastrophic, irreversible consequences."

Q: A show I really enjoyed, and miss, is "Salvage Dawgs," about Black Dog Salvage. I only have basic cable, and I remember it was moved to a channel I don't get. Is it still on somewhere?

A: The reality series about an architectural salvage firm in Roanoke, Virginia, ran from 2012 to 2020, reportedly ending because of problems related to COVID and changes at the old DIY Network, which had carried the show. You can find repeats of the old episodes on Magnolia Network (the successor to DIY), subscription streamers Discovery+ and Philo, and for fees on Apple TV, Prime Video and Fandango at Home.

Q: As I remember it, in the maybe 1952-56 era, there were Westerns almost all day Saturday from 8 in the morning to maybe 5 in the afternoon. It started with "Hopalong Cassidy" and went through "The Range Rider," "Tales of Texas Rangers," "Wild Bill Hickok," "Sky King," "The Lone Ranger," "The Adventures of Kit Carson," "The Cisco Kid" and "Annie Oakley." Surely there were others I have forgotten. Can you help me remember?

A: Good list. But digging into my own childhood memories of watching too much TV, I would add "The Gene Autry Show," "The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show," "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon," "The Adventurs of Rin Tin Tin," "Fury," "The Adventures of Champion" and "My Friend Flicka."

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