Is it karmic retribution or just a weakened immune system? "My Name Is Earl" star Jason Lee has fallen victim to chicken pox.

His condition was confirmed on Sunday, Jan. 22 at the Television Critics Association's semi-annual press tour. Production on the "Must See TV" sitcom will be on hold for a couple weeks while Lee recovers from his itchy blisters, which are generally more severe in adult cases.

"First of all, we think it's chicken pox," says the show's executive producer and creator Greg Garcia. "I saw him shake Charlie Sheen's hand at the Golden Globes, and the next morning he woke up with bumps all over him, so it could be anything."

In defense of the "Two and a Half Men" star, incubation for the contagious disease usually takes twice as long as the seven days from when Lee schmoozed at the Golden Globes on the 16th.

Although production will be temporarily shut down, there won't be any "Earl"-less episodes being written.

"He'll be in all the episodes," confirms Garcia. "We're just shut down until he is feeling better and is presentable to put on TV again. So, yeah, we are not doing episodes without him."

Luckily, the other major cast members -- including including Jaime Pressly, Ethan Suplee, Nadine Velazquez and Eddie Steeples -- already contracted the disease during childhood and therefore aren't likely to catch the pox. Producer/director Mark Buckland, however, admitted that his mother "couldn't remember" if he ever had the disease.

NBC recently picked up the hit sitcom -- in which Lee plays a man who tries to make amends for past wrongs, thus restoring his good karma -- for an additional 22 episodes for the 2006-07 season. The show and Lee himself were both recently nominated for Golden Globes in the comedy category.