By John Corrado
Two decades after Malcolm in the Middle ended its seven season run in 2006, the sitcom about a family of boys – named for the genius middle child, Malcolm – gets a four-episode revival in the form of Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair.
This limited streaming mini-series brings back (nearly) all of the original cast members, and successfully captures the spirit of the original show. It’s chaotic, often funny, and showcases a weirdly heartfelt family bond at the centre of it, as messy and messed up as that central family unit may be.
Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) has found a way to move on from his family, finding success working in the not-for-profit sector. This allows him to support his daughter Leah (Keeley Karsten), a whip-smart and sardonic but socially awkward teenager who is very much like her dad was at that age (complete with fourth-wall-breaking asides to the camera, a trait that her and Malcolm now share).
Parents Hal (Bryan Cranston) and Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) are about to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, and insist that Malcolm attend the party. The preparations for this family reunion provide the backbone of this revival series, which also of course brings back Malcolm’s older brothers Francis (Christopher Masterson) and Reese (Justin Berfield), and younger brothers Dewey (Caleb Ellsworth-Clark, replacing Erik Per Sullivan from the original run) and Jamie (Anthony Timpano).
If Dewey and Jamie – who was just a baby in the original series – have less to do here, the crazy antics and characterizations of Francis and Reese will be very familiar to fans. There’s also newest sibling Kelly (Vaughan Murrae), who very much fits in with the rest of the gang.
Since Cranston was the driving force behind getting this reunion made, it’s fitting that the series becomes a tribute to Hal. Cranston himself went from showcasing his comedic brilliance on Malcolm in the Middle to defining himself again as a dramatic actor on Breaking Bad, and he’s able to use this persona to revisit the character. It’s a delight to watch him back in this role, including some wonderful bits of physical comedy.
A lot of this reunion is for fans of the show, including a number of callbacks to the original series and some fun surprise appearances. As someone who grew up watching Malcolm in the Middle during its original run (I still remember watching the series finale live when it aired in 2006), Life’s Still Unfair does capture a lot of what worked about the show, even if some things have changed. Despite the characters being two decades older, these episodes and storylines very much would’ve fit in with the original series, which allows it to feel like a natural continuation.
What remains very much the same is the style of absurdist comedy that allows for something like an extended, perfectly timed bathroom gag behind an otherwise heartfelt scene. If Life’s Still Unfair feels more like a mini-series reunion than a full revival, it does leave itself open for more episodes. We can hope, because it’s really a lot of fun getting to revisit these characters.
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