1 of 5 | Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) is all grown up but still agitated in “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair,” on Hulu Friday. Photo courtesy of Disney
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, premiering Friday on Hulu, is one of the more apt revivals of the nostalgia boom. It may not be that much more chaotic than the original Fox sitcom, but with the young cast now adults it feels much more so.
Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) is a single father to Leah (Keeley Karsten) and works in politics. He feels like he’s well-adjusted as long as he avoids his family.
His parents, Hal (Bryan Cranston) and Lois (Jane Kaczmarek), are still as in love as ever and planning a 40th anniversary party. Their oldest, Francis (Christopher Masterson), is married now.
Reese (Justin Berfield) is still around working on home renovation projects with Hal. Dewey (Caleb Ellsworth-Clark) is a rock star now so often appears on Zoom while on tour, but shows up for some scenes.
Jamie (Anthony Timpano) returns later in the series. Kelly (Vaughan Murrae), the infant born in the series finale, is nonbinary and the only non-male presenting child of the family.
Malcolm is clearly in denial about the root causes of his mania. He is just as anxious about his own fatherhood, and flashes back to sibling and parental conflicts that set him off.
It is funny to see a grown-up freak out over mundane disagreements like he did as a child.
Hal gets into some immature scuffles too. On the other hand, his romantic gestures leading up to the anniversary are endearingly excessive.
Cranston returns to elaborate slapstick, as well as lots of nudity. He really loves it.
Malcolm still addresses the camera to talk to the audience, and now Leah does too. They take turns, offering a nice passing of the torch.
Toxic families are real, but Malcolm blames them to the point of narcissism. He actually kept too much from them and the show calls him out on that.
There are still heartfelt moments in the four episodes, the biggest one perfectly undercut with fart jokes. But each sibling gets to address their relationships with Lois and Hal and make some peace with them.
Making Kelly nonbinary is wonderful just for normalizing that they are an unquestioned member of the family. However, Kelly also reveals some backstory that is a profound moment of familial acceptance.
The siblings engage in new feuds with each other. The petty retaliations are hilariously elaborate for the degree to which they commit to revenge when letting it go would just be less work, let alone healthier.
The anniversary party brings back a lot of supporting characters. Maybe that’s obvious but it is an organic way to incorporate the cameos without shoehorning them in unnaturally.
It also works as a brief limited series. At four episodes, Life’s Still Unfair isn’t trying to relaunch Malcolm for several more seasons, but delivers the right dose of escalated nostalgia.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
