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Frankie Muniz didn't watch all of Malcolm in the Middle until 2017, and when he did, he made a startling realization: he wasn't acting

Ahead of the Malcolm in the Middle reboot, Muniz revealed that his watch-through of the 2000's series made him realize that his character... kind of sucked?

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Tue Feb 11 2025

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Frankie Muniz is once again playing his titular role of Malcolm in the Middle after the series, which ran from 2000-2006, was recently confirmed to be getting a four-episode reboot that will air on Disney+. You'd think that, in preparation for filming, Muniz might be rewatching some of his old episodes, but there's reason to believe he's actually avoiding them. Namely, that the last time he watched the series all the way through, he was surprised to learn that Malcolm "sucked."

In a recent interview with People, Muniz broke down his revelation about the character, which came some time around 2017, eight years ago and a full eleven years after the final episode of the last season aired. Muniz, who made a recent successful turn to NASCAR racing, chose to watch through the entirety of Malcolm in the Middle with his wife, Paige Price.

"She looked at me at the very end," Muniz says, "And she goes, ‘You weren't acting at all. You are literally Malcolm.' [...] And I'm like, 'I don't know how to take that because Malcolm sucked.' He was the worst character on that show!"

That's maybe a little bit harsh toward poor Malcolm, who was understandably neurotic growing up in the dysfunctional family he was born into. In any case, as People pointed out, Muniz is "so thrilled" to be taking on the character again for the reboot, which will find him working once more with onscreen mom Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) and Hal (Bryan Cranston).

Maybe this older, wiser Malcolm will be a little bit easier to rewatch for Muniz.

Disney+'s Malcolm in the Middle is, as of this writing, without a release date.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.