Malcolm in the Middle Is Coming Back... for Four Episodes?

In yet more proof that no popular TV show ever truly ends anymore, Malcolm in the Middle will be the latest former hit to get a modern streaming revival. The sitcom, which originally ran on Fox from 2000 to 2006, will be making a surprisingly short return engagement of four episodes, this time on Disney+, Deadline reports. Original stars Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston, and Jane Kaczmarek are all on board, as are series creator Linwood Boomer and director Ken Kwapis. No word yet on if They Might Be Giants will be back for the theme song (or if the credits will once again include a quick clip of wrestling legend Bret “The Hitman” Hart).

According to Deadline, the revival will focus on Malcolm (played by Muniz) and his family returning home to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of parents Hal and Lois (Cranston and Kaczmarek). It’s not yet clear if any of the original show’s other cast will be returning, but considering Malcolm had, like, four brothers, or something, it’d be weird if they didn’t show up to their parents’ big party. Youngest brother Dewey might take a raincheck, though, or at least need to be recast; as Deadline notes, the role’s original actor, Erik Per Sullivan, retired from acting in 2010, at the ripe old age of 18.

Malcolm in the Middle was a perennial Emmy nominee during its run, with a handful of wins for directing and writing, and seemingly annual nominations for Cranston and Kaczmarek. Muniz scored a nomination, too, in 2001, when he was only 15. The sadly departed Cloris Leachman won two Emmys for best guest star as one of Malcolm’s grandparents. Based on the time period I’m going to guess Kaczmarek kept losing to Patricia Heaton and any combination of Friends and/or Sex and the City actors, give or take a Desperate Housewife or two.

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Disney+ only makes sense as the revival’s home due to corporate buyouts. Disney didn’t get Fox the TV station when it bought 20th Century Fox, but it did get almost everything else owned by the media company, including its television studios and all the shows it owned. It’s like how The Simpsons are now a Disney thing despite being on Fox since TV was invented. The fact that the revival is only four episodes is baffling—you’d think they’d at least spring for six—but Cranston’s always working somewhere so perhaps his schedule’s to blame. (Also, kudos to that guy for wanting to revisit the sitcom that first brought him fame after entering that class of actor who’ll basically have constant work as long as he wants it; he didn’t need to play Hal again after Breaking Bad but without his legitimate interest in doing a reunion this thing would never happen.)

There’s no word on when Malcolm in the Middle (which landed on Paste‘s list of the best sitcoms of its decade) will actually return to the airwaves, but given 2025 is its 25th anniversary, that seems like a good bet. Meanwhile all 151 of the original episodes can be watched right now on Hulu, or on Disney+ if you bundle it with your Hulu subscription.

Malcolm in the Middle Is Coming Back… for Four Episodes?