Malcolm in the Middle | |
---|---|
Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Linwood Boomer |
Developed by | Linwood Boomer Michael Glouberman Andy Bobrow Gary Murphy |
Starring |
Frankie Muniz Jane Kaczmarek Bryan Cranston Christopher Masterson Justin Berfield Erik Per Sullivan Catherine Lloyd Burns James and Lukas Rodriguez |
Opening theme | "Boss of Me" by They Might Be Giants |
Ending theme | "Boss of Me" (instrumental) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 7 |
No. of episodes | 151 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Linwood Boomer Co-executive producers: Michael Glouberman Alex Reid Neil Thompson Andrew Orenstein Matthew Carlson Eric Kaplan |
Camera setup | Panavision; Single-camera |
Running time | 21–23 minutes |
Production company(s) |
Satin City Regency Television Fox Television Studios |
Distributor | 20th Television |
Release | |
Original network | Fox |
Picture format |
480p 4:3 (SDTV) 1080p 16:9 (HDTV) |
Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
Original release | January 9, 2000 | – May 14, 2006
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series received critical acclaim and won a Peabody Award, seven Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award, and seven Golden Globe nominations.
The series follows a family of six, and later seven, and stars Frankie Muniz in the lead role of Malcolm, a somewhat normal boy who tests at genius level. While he enjoys his intelligence, he despises having to take classes for gifted children, who are mocked by the other students who call them "Krelboynes". Jane Kaczmarek is Malcolm's overbearing, authoritarian mother, Lois, and Bryan Cranston plays his immature but loving father, Hal. Christopher Masterson plays eldest brother Francis, a former rebel who, in earlier episodes, was in military school, but eventually marries and settles into a steady job. Justin Berfield is Malcolm's dimwitted older brother Reese, a cruel bully who tortures Malcolm at home, even while he defends him at school. Younger brother Dewey, bitter about his ruined childhood, smart, and musically talented, is portrayed by Erik Per Sullivan. At first, the show's focus was on Malcolm, but as the series progressed, it began to explore all six members of the family. A fifth son, Jamie, was introduced as a baby at the end of Season 4.
Malcolm in the Middle was produced by Satin City and Regency Television in association with Fox Television Studios (syndicated by Fox corporate sibling 20th Television). The show has proven popular worldwide and has been syndicated in 57 countries. In the United States, it had been syndicated during the day on FX and at night on Nickelodeon's sister channel TeenNick, as well as local stations. It's also currently being syndicated by IFC every Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday mornings at 8:00am EST. In the United Kingdom, it originally aired on Sky 1 then eventually began on BBC Two on 6 April 2001, its HD counterpart and Sky 2, however after Sky stopped airing repeats of the show, the rights were bought by Channel 5 and the show was shown on 5Star. Since 2016, the show airs on Comedy Central. In Ireland it aired on TV3's sister channel 3e. It was also syndicated on Network Ten from 2009 to 2010 and on Eleven from February 2011 in Australia (originally airing on the Nine Network, 2001–2009) and on Comedy Central in India. In Canada, episodes were shown on the Global Television Network.