You're under 25, right?
Malcolm was popular during its run.
78
Royal_Body9732Apr 22, 2026
+4
nah i'm 28 and malcom was huge when i was kid. everyone at school was quoting it and doing the weird dance moves from opening credits. breaking bad definitely made people go back and rewatch but the show was already legendary before that
4
matt1267Apr 22, 2026
+1
Yea I remember being in elementary school when it first started airing and we were definitely talking about it. He'll I remember talking to the lunch lady about the show, haha
1
SythrinApr 22, 2026
-12
I am exactly 25 and not american. While it ran in my country and it was a funny series.
And rewatching now I see the quality of the series. It has some great wirting. Funny plots and surprsingly smart written characters (even if Malcom became my least favourite).
But in terms of popularity, I thought "The office", "Big bang theory" "two and half man" "scrubs" are more popular. And they all ran during similar time?
-12
TheSecondEikonOfFireApr 22, 2026
+20
Who ever said Malcolm in the Middle was more popular than those series? I don’t think anyone’s arguing that. But a show doesn’t go for 151 episodes unless it’s doing well
20
SythrinApr 22, 2026
+2
fair
2
Bone_Breaker0Apr 22, 2026
+9
There can be multiple popular shows on at the same time on different networks.
9
Joey-WilcoXXXApr 22, 2026
+4
No th- that doesn’t sound right….
4
Ripper1337Apr 22, 2026
+1
I think they mean the same time period rather than at the same time s***.
1
Joey-WilcoXXXApr 22, 2026
+1
It’s a joke.
1
Ripper1337Apr 22, 2026
+1
My bad
1
HarkoncitoApr 22, 2026
+1
Malcolm had multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Nominations/Wins for their actors, and the main theme even won a Grammy.
1
Ripper1337Apr 22, 2026
+29
Yes
29
smurf_digglerApr 22, 2026
+4
For the longest time I wouldn't watch BB because I couldn't picture Cranston playing a bad guy. And I live in ABQ too. Obviously I was wrong.
4
twstdbydsnApr 22, 2026
+21
Hell yeah. He was beloved when the show originally aired. BB was a shocking change of pace for him.
21
ChristianAlexxxanderApr 22, 2026
+5
Yeah I would wager a lot of people gave breaking bad a shot because of Bryan Cranston, that’s why I tuned in.
5
twstdbydsnApr 22, 2026
+1
Exactly, I really wanted to see his dramatic chops after MitM.
1
glaive1976Apr 22, 2026
+25
If anything, you might ask if Breaking Bad benefited from Cranston's fame from Malcolm in the Middle.
25
KevinmldApr 22, 2026
+2
It 100 pct did. Hal in a serious role???
2
glaive1976Apr 22, 2026
+4
Oh, I know this, I'm old and lived it all. I was flipping it on OP.
4
DeadpooIApr 22, 2026
+16
Malcolm the middle was huge before breaking bad and Cranston won 2 or 3 Emmy's from the show.
16
ForsakenTurnip4895Apr 22, 2026
+4
He was nominated three times but he didn't win any Emmys for Malcolm in the Middle.
4
DeadpooIApr 22, 2026
+1
My bad, I misremembered i guess. Been a long ass time since I thought of the show.
1
SythrinApr 22, 2026
oh cool. Did not know.
0
Bamford38Apr 22, 2026
+9
Yes
9
yesrushgenesis2112Apr 22, 2026
+9
Lmao if anything the question should be inverted, but it would still be a resounding yes.
9
egnardsApr 22, 2026
+5
Malcolm in the Middle was extremely popular - so much so that Bryan Cranston was almost not considered for Breaking Bad because of how strongly he was associated with that sitcom dad role, and the belief that he couldn’t possibly be believed in the role.
I’ve never really watched Malcom in the Middle, outside of a few random episodes while scrolling through channels, but it was a pretty strong phenomenon - I wouldn’t say as big as FRIENDS when airing, but it was big.
5
Open_SeekerApr 22, 2026
+4
People loved Hal long before BB. He was a highlight of the show.
4
Any_Astronomer_2840Apr 22, 2026
+3
I remember people being very skeptical of breaking bad because it had the guy from Malcolm in the Middle playing a serious dude.
Malcolm in the middle was an award winning show, honestly I can’t agree with the way you’re phrasing your question because I consider Malcolm in the middle to be criminally underrated today and deserves to be mentioned alongside the office, parks and rec, etc.
3
Senators_1992Apr 22, 2026
+3
>Would "Malcom in the middle" be still this popular and beloved, if Bryan Cranston did not become such an iconic actor through "Breaking Bad"
Did you watch WandaVision, and how they paid homage to classic sitcoms throughout the years? Did you notice one of those sitcoms was “Malcolm In The Middle”?
Breaking Bad has nothing to do with this…
3
bbb26782Apr 22, 2026
+2
I convinced everyone to watch Breaking Bad back in the day by telling them that the dad from Malcolm in the Middle was a secret meth cook.
2
anewname4444Apr 22, 2026
+3
I guess technically no it wouldnt be AS big because there are younger people getting into MitM through Breaking Bad I guess.... but that number is probably negligible.
Malcolm in the Middle was must watch for me and my siblings.
3
seanisdownApr 22, 2026
+1
His success definitely helps.
1
PreferenceAnxious449Apr 22, 2026
+1
This is backwards.
Would Breaking Bad have as much of the Bryan Cranston hype if it wasn't a breakout from the role he was well known for in the popular Malcolm In The Middle?
(The answer is No)
1
Frequent_Rhubarb_36Apr 23, 2026
+1
Bryan Cranston was already iconic after performing his role as Snizzard.
1
mike10dudeApr 22, 2026
beloved seems to be true but malcom in the middle never really seemed all that popular to me after it ended
was plenty of shows from that time that seemed to be all over tv in syndicated reruns for a long time but never really noticed that with malcom
also was apparently wasnt really doing that great with viewership near the end which is why fox moved it to Fridays for the last season
0
Fuzzy62Apr 22, 2026
-8
But then he came out as a woke retard, so now 'normies' won't watch anything he was in. 🤷♂️
37 Comments