‘Malcolm in the Middle’ explores mid-life with a Hulu reboot

Meg James
| Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles — For “Malcolm in the Middle” fans and the Walt Disney Co., 151 episodes weren’t enough.

The beloved sitcom, which ran seven seasons on Fox in the early aughts, is returning for a four-episode arc on Hulu April 10. The reunion brings back such viewer favorites as Bryan Cranston as Hal, Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, Jane Kaczmarek as Lois, and a couple of Malcolm’s TV siblings.

The limited series — “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” — is set nearly 20 years after the original went off the air. Muniz’s character, Malcolm, is beckoned back to his dysfunctional family to help celebrate Hal and Lois’ 40th wedding anniversary.

Disney teased the trailer Monday.

Disney acquired the rights to 20th Century Fox studio programs after buying much of Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment assets in 2019. The deal gave Disney such blockbusters as “The Simpsons” and “Avatar.” Recently, the Burbank entertainment giant has dipped into the Fox vault to mine the trend of comfort food TV for millennials, boomers and Gen Z. Executives have watched nostalgic programming take off on streaming services, including Disney+ and Hulu.

The return of “Malcolm in the Middle” should draw viewers who have followed Cranston’s career even before his standout performance in AMC’s crime drama, “Breaking Bad.” Muniz also has remained popular in pop culture; he’s also a race car driver affiliated with Ford.

A recent study from National Research Group found that about 60% of all TV consumed is library content.

The NRG study found that, among Gen Z, 40% of respondents said they gravitated to older shows because they are comforting and nostalgic. Disney’s own research has shown that a quarter of the shows young people list as their favorites were produced before 2010.

Disney’s ABC is also bringing back the quirky hospital sitcom, “Scrubs,” on Feb. 25. That comedy, set in the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, will reprise the bromance between Zach Braff and Donald Faison’s characters, which the pair have recreated recently in T-Mobile TV commercials.

The show, which ran from October 2001 to March 2010, was also produced by 20th Television along with Bill Lawrence’s Doozer Productions.

Sarah Chalke will return, and John C. McGinley will guest star. The show will run on ABC, and a day later on Disney’s Hulu.

Most of the original “Malcolm” cast returns for the limited series except notably Erik Per Sullivan, who played Dewey. He’s no longer an actor so the part now is played by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.

In the show, Malcolm has a daughter, played by Keeley Karsten, and a girlfriend, played by Kiana Madeira.

The Wilkerson’s classic mid-century house in Studio City, which served as an exterior for the show, reportedly was renovated years ago.

The original series ran on Fox from January 2000 to May 2006. Those episodes stream on Hulu.

Los Angeles Times’ former television critic, Howard Rosenberg, in 2000 called “Malcolm in the Middle” the “smartest, sharpest-written, most original comedy of the season.”

The reboot is produced by Disney Television Studios and New Regency. Linwood Boomer, who created the original series, also returned as writer and executive producer. Ken Kwapis directs the four episodes and also serves as an executive producer.

Beyond reviving the shows, Disney has also collaborated with advertisers to make throwback commercials to run in classic films on its streaming platforms and TV networks.

Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.