TMC
09-04-2020, 04:31 AM
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/malcolm-middle-interview-anniversary-bryan-cranston-frankie-muniz-a9701266.html?fbclid=IwAR101_xztgdzYIGraL5j2wjeSKB-8lSZjNrKWZrX2B37Pbv_jHYOQLbmE8s&utm_source=reddit.com
Back in the late Nineties, family sitcoms were dominated by laugh tracks and niceties – but all that changed with the arrival of Malcolm in the Middle. Created by former actor Linwood Boomer, the show followed the trials and tribulations of Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), an average kid with a higher than average IQ – which didn’t seem to help him much when it came to dealing with his riotous family and constant high school woes. Inspired by Boomer’s own experiences as a childhood misfit, it featured a pre-Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston tickling funny bones as hapless dad Hal, alongside perhaps the most accurate telly representation of modern matriarchy in Jane Kaczmarek’s fearless mum Lois.
Despite 20 years having passed since its 2000 debut, its cast – which also featured Christopher Masterson as Hal and Lois’s rebellious eldest Frances, Justin Berfield as Malcolm’s troublemaking older brother Reece, and Erik Per Sullivan as wide-eyed youngster Dewey – remain remarkably close. To celebrate the show’s two-decade anniversary, we caught up with stars Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek and Frankie Muniz and series mastermind Linwood Boomer to discuss the creation, long-standing legacy and possible future of Malcolm in the Middle – the modern-family comedy that changed the way audiences viewed modern families.
Back in the late Nineties, family sitcoms were dominated by laugh tracks and niceties – but all that changed with the arrival of Malcolm in the Middle. Created by former actor Linwood Boomer, the show followed the trials and tribulations of Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), an average kid with a higher than average IQ – which didn’t seem to help him much when it came to dealing with his riotous family and constant high school woes. Inspired by Boomer’s own experiences as a childhood misfit, it featured a pre-Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston tickling funny bones as hapless dad Hal, alongside perhaps the most accurate telly representation of modern matriarchy in Jane Kaczmarek’s fearless mum Lois.
Despite 20 years having passed since its 2000 debut, its cast – which also featured Christopher Masterson as Hal and Lois’s rebellious eldest Frances, Justin Berfield as Malcolm’s troublemaking older brother Reece, and Erik Per Sullivan as wide-eyed youngster Dewey – remain remarkably close. To celebrate the show’s two-decade anniversary, we caught up with stars Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek and Frankie Muniz and series mastermind Linwood Boomer to discuss the creation, long-standing legacy and possible future of Malcolm in the Middle – the modern-family comedy that changed the way audiences viewed modern families.