• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, April 9, 2026

Just like the original show, a new, four-part revival of “Malcolm in the Middle” is a searing, extreme depiction of a dysfunctional family.

Sounds dreary? Maybe everywhere else, but not on “Malcolm in the Middle.” In its six-season original run on Fox from 2000 to 2006, this family comedy series was one of the finest on TV anywhere.

Premiering on Hulu on Friday, “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” still brings the funny at the same breakneck speed as in days of old.

The success of the original series and the new limited-series are both based on the high quality of their scriptwriting, acting and physicality.

In “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair,” the lives of Malcolm and his family are seen 10 years after we last saw them (although it has been 20 years since we last saw the old show).

Malcolm is still the center of attention and Frankie Muniz, now 40 (photo above), is still the star of the show.

That’s no mean feat, given the quality of the show’s principal players, most of whom are back.

Most notable perhaps is Bryan Cranston, now 70, who played dad Hal on “Malcolm in the Middle,” and later achieved superstardom as Walter White, the lead character on “Breaking Bad.”

Jane Kaczmarek, also 70, is back as mom Lois, along with Christopher Kennedy Masterson, 46, and Justin Berfield, 40, as older brothers Francis and Reese, respectively.

Missing is Erik Per Sullivan, 34, who played the role of younger brother Dewey. He is replaced in “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.

In the new, four-part series, Malcolm is still in the middle, and managing his relationships with his family in adulthood.

He has a teenage daughter (played by Keeley Karsten), who is just like her father when he was her age -- angst-ridden, hypersensitive, highly intelligent and socially fearful.

In the new show, Malcolm is enjoying a successful career as the director of a well-meaning nonprofit involved in organizing food banks for the hungry.

Early into the show’s first half-hour episode, which the TV Blog previewed on Wednesday, Malcolm outlines for us how he deals with his family at this point in his life. 

Basically, he keeps them at arm’s length with a strategy based on subterfuge. Applying these tactics, he has for the most part been able to avoid ever seeing them in person.

Among other things, he has told his daughter and his current girlfriend that his parents are dead.

But now, he may not be able to avoid a visit because his parents are coming up on their 40th anniversary and planning a celebration that they expect every family member to attend. And they are in no mood to take no for an answer from Malcolm.

“Malcom in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” was created and produced for Hulu by Linwood Boomer, who created the original series for Fox. Also returning is director Ken Kwapis.

The six-season history of “Malcolm in the Middle” was similar to the experience of so many shows of its era.

The show drew an average of 15.2 million viewers in its first season, when such numbers were still possible in prime-time network television.

Viewership declined every season until the show was averaging a total audience of 3.8 million in its final season, 2005-06.

Now “Malcolm” is back in an era when 3.8 million viewers is considered highly respectable. 

Is life still unfair for Malcolm? You be the judge. “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” starts streaming Friday (April 10) on Hulu.