By Zach Johnson
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair — a four-episode revival series based on the seminal sitcom Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006) — premieres Friday, April 10, on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally, reuniting the cast and creative team behind one of the most popular sitcoms of all time.
Created by Linwood Boomer, Malcolm in the Middle pioneered the single-camera format, with young genius Malcolm trying to navigate life with his chaotic but loving family. Over the course of its seven seasons, the popular comedy received widespread critical acclaim, winning seven Emmy® Awards, in addition to a GRAMMY® Award and a Peabody Award.
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair reconnects writer and executive producer Boomer with original cast members Bryan Cranston (Hal), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm), Jane Kaczmarek (Lois), Christopher Kennedy Masterson (Francis), Justin Berfield (Reese), and Emy Coligado (Piama). New to the cast are Keeley Karsten, who plays Leah, Malcolm’s daughter; Vaughan Murrae, who plays Kelly, Malcolm’s youngest sibling; Kiana Madeira, who plays Tristan, Malcolm’s girlfriend; and Caleb Ellsworth-Clark, who plays Dewey. In the revival, Malcolm — who distanced himself from his family for over a decade — is pulled back into their orbit when he gets invited to his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary party.
Below, Cranston, Muniz, and Kaczmarek discuss the highly anticipated series:
How did it feel to be back on set and reunited with your TV family after 25 years?
Frankie Muniz: It was surreal. It’s so rare to experience what I experienced 20 years ago — being on a show for seven years, getting to work with everybody, making something that people genuinely loved. I didn’t realize how much people loved it until I’d stepped away from it. It’s been 20 years of people telling me stories of how much the show meant to them, how it got them out of bad times, how it brought their families closer together. To go back and work with the same actors and the same writers, to be on set again in that house… the amount of memories that flooded back in, I’ve never experienced anything like it. Getting to do that was absolutely incredible. I didn’t want it to end, because it was magical.
Bryan Cranston: It’s a gift, really. It’s as if you went up into your attic, and said, ‘I’m gonna clean this out.’ Then you saw a chest, and you opened that chest up, and you saw all these very memorable items… Our reunion was like that, offstage. When we walked in and saw the set, we were having déjà vu. It felt like we didn’t leave — but we did leave, didn’t we?
Jane Kaczmarek: Because the set was a reproduction — it was as close as they could make it, because they never had plans [to preserve] the original— you’d be doing a scene and suddenly say, ‘There used to be a window there.‘ It was familiar, but you would remember these things. I saw a pencil sharpener, and I said, ‘Remember the episode where you kept…’
Bryan Cranston: …sharpening that pencil down to the nub!
Jane Kaczmarek: Yeah! There were so many things that sparked so many memories.
How does this revival depict Malcolm’s evolution into an adulthood?
Frankie Muniz: When you meet Malcolm again, he is in a completely different place. He’s positive. Everything is clicking in his life; everything is aligned. He feels really good. The old Malcolm was always kind of frustrated. He thought, ‘Life is unfair.’ He thought his family was holding him back — that they were putting pressure on him. But, in real life, not everything is always happy-go-lucky. There are ups and downs that need to be worked out.
How has the family’s dynamic evolved since audiences first met them?
Bryan Cranston: When your children are teenagers, you have hopes and dreams and plans for them. Some turn out unexpectedly well. Some don’t. And that’s exactly what happens in this family. Something Lois says in the show is, ‘Malcolm, those were just plans. Plans change. Sometimes they get diverted. Sometimes you end up doing something else. That’s all it is. Don’t take it to heart.’ In real life, you have plans and you change plans. You adjust.
Jane Kaczmarek: With every kid, you can bring out the best in them — or you can bring out the worst in them. I think [Hal and Lois] brought the best out in all of them, but there was a different amount of “best.” To be their “best” meant different things for each of them.
Bryan Cranston: In Malcolm’s family, the DNA is a big pot of soup, and we ladle it out. You never know who’s going to get what — the best or the worst— but here it is. Don’t spill it!
Frankie Muniz: Malcolm puts a lot of pressure on himself, but that’s because of the [upbringing] he had. When he was around his brothers, they brought out the worst in him. He [eventually] realized, ‘If I separate myself and focus on my daughter, my girlfriend, and my organization, things go pretty smoothly.’ When his family comes back into his life, he quickly reverts. But what I love about these four episodes is that there is closure in all that. He gets to let it all out and have a conversation with Lois. She helps him realize that, in the end, they all had his best interests in mind. That pressure allowed him to become a good father — a hardworking go-getter who has an amazing girlfriend who truly loves him for him. It’s kind of a full-circle moment. I think the audience might be able to relate with that.
From Disney Branded Television, Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios, and New Regency. Stream all 151 episodes of Malcolm in the Middle on Hulu or via Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers.