Huge noughties TV show set for reboot 17 years after it was cancelled, reveals star
IT was essential early evening viewing in the early noughties, providing millions with belly laughs after a hard slog at school or work.
And 17 years after its last episode was screened US sitcom Malcolm In The Middle will be making a comeback.
Star of the show Bryan Cranston has revealed he will be involved in the reboot after being approached by show creator Linwood Boomer.
In a new interview with GQ, Bryan shared his intention to bring the programme back to life once his duties with Wes Anderson’s zany Asteroid City film are complete.
He said: “I’m curious about that family 20 years later, what happened to them? Where are they? What are the kids doing? They’re grown men now.”
The programme followed the exploits of boy genius Malcolm [Frankie Muniz] and his dysfunctional family.
A catastrophe was never far away as Malcolm and brothers Francis [Christopher Kennedy Masterson], Reese [Justin Berfield], and Dewey [Erik Per Sullivan] got up to all manner of mischief, leaving their hapless dad Hal [Cranston] and temperamental mum Lois [Jane Kaczmarek] in despair.
While he was working on the programme, Bryan entered into a lengthy feud with his father.
His dad requested money from him that he never paid back, and when the actor offered to fund a project he and his brother would help write, he declined it, favouring another project he was involved in instead.
Bryan explained: “When he rejected that offer, I realised, ‘Oh, that’s a bigger thing to him than actually being with his sons.’ So I wasn’t resentful, but I was hurt by it. It was like he showed his true colours that day. And I was like, ‘This is where he is. This is his capability. And that’s all that I’m going to get.”
The pair have now reconciled and Bryan’s career continues to flourish.
He famously played terminally ill chemistry teacher-turned-meth cook Walter White, alongside Aaron Paul, in HBO’s Breaking Bad.
The duo formed a great friendship and went into business together in 2019, launching their own tequila brand Dos Hombres.
Bryan now plans to continue acting and making spirits for the next three years before temporarily retiring from the screen to live in a small European village with longtime wife Robin Dearden when he hits 70.