A ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ Spinoff Next? Cast Talks Revival & Future for the Family (VIDEO)

Life may still be unfair, but fans of Malcolm in the Middle have been dealt a good hand this week. As the award-winning single-cam comedy from the 2000s returns with four new episodes, TV Insider sat down with cast members Frankie Muniz (Malcolm), Bryan Cranston (Hal) and Jane Kaczmarek (Lois) to talk about what’s going on with their characters in the present-day.

It’s hard to believe that in the second-ever episode of the series “Red Dress,” Hal and Lois were celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary — and now, in the Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair revival, they’ve hit the incredible milestone of 40 years of marriage. But Cranston and Kaczmarek aren’t surprised. Their characters’ enduring love for each other was always one of the pillars of the series.

“It’s nice to be able to play that, to show that despite the chaos that was going on in the house, that’s the one element, the through-line that you can depend on, is that love,” explains Cranston. “Not only between husband and wife, but also within the family. It was very subtle and nuanced, you didn’t always see it, it wasn’t always very obviously apparent, but you felt it.”

Kaczmarek adds: “Hal’s loyalty to Lois, it’s a beautiful, unusual, well-tempered love — and they have sex all the time!”

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In Life’s Still Unfair, however, Lois demands that it is her turn to shower Hal with affection. He must hold off on his crazy love-bombing schemes, at least until after the big soiree Lois is planning for them. But, as Cranston notes, “it’s hard [for Hal] to abide by that edict.”

Meanwhile, catching up with Malcolm is like seeing a success story play out onscreen — just about. (And no, he isn’t President of the United States in this iteration, and that’s a good thing.) “When you meet Malcolm, he’s in a really good place,” says Muniz. “Malcolm always had this attitude that life was unfair, that his family was holding him back, that his brothers were annoying, that the world was out to get him… and when you see him for the first time, he’s got a great career and business, an amazing girlfriend, amazing relationship with his daughter. [But] the way he’s found to be in that more calm, nice state is a bit of a surprise for the audience.”

For Muniz, now 40, who hadn’t played Malcolm since he was 20 years old, there wasn’t much of an adjustment period, even though it was also the actor’s first time playing a dad. “I slipped right back into being Malcolm and felt so unbelievably comfortable,” says Muniz. “I was a little nervous going into it… but honestly, I remember from the first table read [on the revival], and it was just like, ‘Oh, we got this. This just feels like home.'”

David Bukach / Hulu / Disney

But Malcolm’s family has grown to include, in particular, his sweet, but awkward high schooler daughter named Leah (Keeley Karsten), who gets the same fourth wall-breaking shots as Malcolm. Could Muniz ever see a Leah in the Middle spinoff? “I think that it would be a very great show, and that people should be thinking about it,” Muniz admits. “I think it would be amazing. There’s so many moving pieces, obviously, of making a show happen, but I think there would definitely be an audience for that.”

In the meantime, enjoy the chaotic ride as Malcolm and his crazy family reenter our screens, and check out our full interview with the cast in the video above.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, Streaming Now, Disney+ and Hulu