It's official: My Name Is Earl is done. The quirky comedy about one man wrestling his karma, which was cancelled by NBC after four seasons, will not be coming back after all.

There was some light at the end of the tunnel for Earl buffs when it was reported that 20th Century Fox TV was negotiating with cable network TBS to pick up the show.

However, the news came in late last week that economics had put paid to those plans.

TBS said in a statement to the media that the production cost of each episode, estimated to be upwards of US$2mil (RM7.2mil), was too high for a cable run to be viable.

The show won five Emmys during its run, while star Jason Lee was twice nominated for a Golden Globe.