Why Malcolm In The Middle Star Jane Kaczmarek Doubted The Sitcom Would Get Greenlit

"Malcolm in the Middle" may be one of the greatest shows to ever air on Fox, but there was a point in time where Jane Kaczmarek — who plays Lois, the eponymous character's mom and wife of Bryan Cranston's Hal — believed that it wouldn't get made.

Reflecting on the experience in a 2020 interview with The Independent, Kaczmarek said the show's pilot script "was so funny and so good, I was sure it'd never get made. It was like something I'd never read before and I just couldn't imagine anything of this caliber going ahead... It was a different time. I didn't even want to audition for it. Finally my agent brought me to the casting director who was so set in knowing this was the part for me, and it was like falling off a log. I don't think I ever did anything as Lois that I couldn't see doing in real life."

The upcoming "Malcolm in the Middle" revival on Disney+ — Kaczmarek is part of the cast, alongside fellow returnees Bryan Cranston, Frankie Muniz, Christopher Masterson, and Justin Berfield — is banking on the idea that that viewers are nostalgic for the 2000s hit. 

The upcoming reboot, titled "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair," will see the children all grown up, and Frankie Muniz's titular character as a parent in his own right. However, it seems that Malcolm's folks are still as dysfunctional as ever.

"What a delight that I get to yell at that kid again," Kaczmarek said in a video shared on Instagram after the revival was announced. "We're very very excited about coming back together and seeing what this family has been up to."

The new series will also see Lois and Hal celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, with the spouses throwing a party for the occasion. An exact release date for "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair" has yet to be confirmed, but the series is slated to debut on Disney+ sometime in 2026.