That episode nails how adulthood is just “life’s still unfair,” but with back pain. Rewatching Malcolm now, Hal’s meltdowns feel way more relatable than Malcolm’s angst. Maybe this show needs a sequel about > their kids.
55
BossButterBoobsApr 13, 2026
+13
I think they pitched the next show in that final scene. Malcom, his gf, and his kid with the rest of the family reoccurring/guest starring most likely. I can even see Kelley moving closer to Malcolm for college so she can be part of the main cast as well.
13
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
+15
I got the feeling that if it does get picked up, they'll find a reason to move Malcolm and his family closer to the rest of the family, rather than have Kelley move closer to them. It seemed like they were setting up the next generation as Malcolms daughter, Kelley, and the Krelboyne kid.
15
Kalse1229Apr 13, 2026
+4
That was the vibe I got as well. I think there’s potential there. Like, Leah gets kicked out of her swanky private school after she taps into the chaos in her blood, so Malcolm decides to move back close to his family and enroll her in his old high school. Kelly is with her at first, but eventually graduates and goes to a local community college so they can still live at home. There’s potential there I think.
4
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
+2
>Kelly is with her at first, but eventually graduates and goes to a local community college so they can still live at home. There’s potential there I think.
See this I'm not even sure on, and was wondering about when watching the show. Kelley seemed older than Malcolms daughter in the show, to me at least. But timeline wise, she's at most 6 months older.
2
Kalse1229Apr 13, 2026
+2
It's a bit vague. But they don't have to adhere to a strict timeline on that. Based on the timeline of the original show, Hal and Lois's 40th anniversary ought to have been in 2023, but the revival (presumably) is set in 2026. It's workable.
2
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
+2
I mean, time wise they found out they were pregnant again in the last episode, which was Malcolms graduation. And then this says that his daughter results from a hook up at his first college party. So that's a couple months difference, maybe 6, at best.
I just think Kelley gives older than the daughter/Krelboyne kid vibes.
2
Kalse1229Apr 13, 2026
+1
That might be it too. Eh, either way, it's a fun idea.
1
petroleum-lipstickApr 17, 2026
+2
They're*
2
chefkcApr 13, 2026
+32
Best return of a TV Show i have ever seen… I’m so disappointed that there were only 4 episodes and there doesn’t seem to be any plans currently for more.
This is so the kind of show we need right now.
32
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
-23
Nah, it was decent but didn't quite capture the energy of the original seamlessly, the way Scrubs and King of the Hill did.
-23
BossButterBoobsApr 13, 2026
+10
Why would you expect it to capture the "energy" of the original? The kids were literally kids in the original show. Hal and Lois were older than all the main cast of scrubs outside Kelso and Cox. King of the Hill is a cartoon. There is no way Malcolm in the Middle could match the energy of the original show. It did, however, nail the vibe and atmosphere (outsde that disney/netflix camera).
10
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
-14
Why wouldn't I? Scrubs did. That's kinda the point of bringing it back, no? What's the point of bringing it back if it doesn't feel the same as the original?
-14
OneOfTheOnlyApr 13, 2026
+6
because unlike scrubs, fundamentally most of the characters are totally different people because they were kids in the original and are now grown, so the dynamic is totally different
6
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
-9
Then why bring it back if it's gonna feel like a completely different show.
Which, for the record, I don't think it did felt completely different. It just didn't hit the same place the way Scrubs did, imo. It was still good, it just wasn't as good as scrubs or king of the hill.
It felt like too much set up for a sequel series, and didn't have enough time for what I wanted. Malcolm barely interacted with the family, wasn't even in the same place as them until like into the last episode. Wasted too much time on the Malcolm daughter plot. Especially for a limited 4 episode thing, they didn't give me enough of the family for me to be as happy with it as I was with scrubs.
-9
OneOfTheOnlyApr 13, 2026
+1
because it was fun to see how these characters grew up?? it made sense for things to be different in the way they were, and all the changes went over super well for me
i think as time goes on this will probably stand as the definitive statement of malcolm as a property, it made the show grow up onto the modern world and adult life without losing any of the spirit or bite of the original
1
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
+1
I'm not saying it wasn't, or that the changes didn't go over well.
I just don't think it holds up as as good as the original series, or as good as two of the most well received recent reboots that I can think of.
Personally, while I still quite liked it, I do think it lost a little bit of the spirit and bite of the original.
1
BossButterBoobsApr 13, 2026
+3
I just can't imagine a 35ish year old Malcolm having the same "energy" as his 11-18 year old self lol
3
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
+4
I was more thinking of the shows energy and not any specific character.
Actually, thinking on it, Malcolm does match the energy of his character from the original series. Smart guy who's an idiot and does something extremely stupid that he should have known better than, constantly self sabotaging, etc, that's him in both the original and the revival.
4
BossButterBoobsApr 13, 2026
-1
Yeah, I know. I addressed that in the first reply. I can't imagine the show having the same energy at all because the kids are grown and the parents are now the same age as dr. kelso in scrubs. I don't know why you'd expect the show to be as chaotic and wild as the original was.
Do you mean something different by "energy"?
-1
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
+6
It's possible. 'energy' as a descriptor here is very poorly defined, maybe 'feels' or 'vibes' would be better. Not that those are really any better defined.
But I mean, it's not like this revival lacked the chaos and wildness of the original. It just wasn't the same, for me. Scrubs and King of the Hill felt like it could've just been the next season of the show. Like it was just continuing on, with no gap. Picked right up where they left off in terms of feel. This didn't, to me. It gave off revival that they very obviously want to turn into a full series vibes, but the writing just wasn't as tight as it used to be.
6
BossButterBoobsApr 13, 2026
+1
Idk, I felt it was pretty on par with the rest of the show as far as quality goes. I do think there's something to be said about the length that maybe they spent too much time trying to stuff cameos in 4 episodes. Also, I definitely think Hals shroom trip went on too long. But besides that I thought it was better than expected.
1
RecommendsMalazanApr 13, 2026
+6
Yeah, I agree with all of that. For me it didn't quite feel as good as the original series, but it was close to it.
They definitely did spend too much time on Hals trip, and while I liked Malcolms daughter and enjoyed seeing her meet the family, the her specific stuff in the school, with that boy, etc, felt weak to me. Those are probably my biggest two specific issues with the show they I had.
6
_sassysquatch_Apr 15, 2026
You can always rely on this sub to produce at least one user with a dogshit take on every post.
0
RecommendsMalazanApr 15, 2026
Dogshit take of, good but not as good as the two best revivals I can think of? Okay.
0
yoddleforavalancheApr 13, 2026
-48
you like comedy shows completely devoid of humor?
-48
KeremyJylesApr 13, 2026
+8
Did the earrings upset you?
8
xMdotApr 13, 2026
-7
I found the Flanderization of Hal really hard to take. It was a fun continuation in the name of fan service but they reduced most of the characters to a single personality trait and amped up the slapstick a bit too much for me to want a proper series after this.
-7
thebadsequelApr 13, 2026
+9
Yeah cause Hal was way more nuanced before
9
_sassysquatch_Apr 15, 2026
+1
Moronic take.
1
BakedWizerdApr 13, 2026
-6
This scene made me turn the episode off, made me realize I wasn’t the target demographic for the revival despite loving the show while growing up.
Hal was definitely silly in the original but this felt like it came out of nowhere and for no reason - the original would have Hal make a minor mistake he was scared to admit to, so he’d start sucking up to Lois, only for her to not be upset in the slightest when she found out - unless it was one of the boys.
32 Comments