Earl Hickey is about to meet the (socia)lite of his life.
Paris Hilton will make an appearance as herself when My Name Is Earl returns to NBC with new episodes next month for the first time since the writers' strike shut down production on dozens of scripted series.
According to NBC, the former Simple Life star will show up in a fevered dream Jason Lee's Earl has while unconscious during an hourlong episode titled "I Won't Die with a Little Help from My Friends," slated to air Apr. 3.
"When we wrote the role of Paris Hilton in the script, we weren't exactly sure who to go with for the role," series creator and executive producer Greg Garcia said. "But after an exhausting search, we finally settled on a relatively unknown actress by the name of Paris Hilton.
"I can't wait to see what she does with the role and I can't wait for America to discover her."
Ha, ha.
Hilton probably wouldn't mind being rediscovered, however, especially considering the dismal response to her last onscreen foray, the Razzie-ready The Hottie and the Nottie, which attracted (if that is the correct word) $28,000 worth of business at the box office last month.
The hotel heiress successfully parlayed her persona into five seasons of The Simple Life, but her fictional turns haven't done much for her acting cred.
Her film and TV roles playing someone other than Paris Hilton include the horror remake House of Wax, The O.C., Las Vegas, George Lopez, Veronica Mars and American Dreams. She'll have yet another chance to prove herself in the upcoming feature Repo! The Genetic Opera, a musical sci-fi flick that recently wrapped production.