Posted in: Disney+, Fox, TV | Tagged: malcolm in the middle

Malcolm in the Middle: Bryan Cranston on Sullivan Passing on Revival

Bryan Cranston (The Studio) discusses Disney+'s Malcolm in the Middle revival and why Erik Per Sullivan passed on the limited series.

To say revivals, reboots, and remakes have become all the rage would be an understatement, especially in the age of streaming. Fans, for the most part, are interested in tapping into that nostalgia, even when at times, not all the performers are back on board, as was the case with Netflix's Fuller House and now, Disney+'s Malcolm in the Middle with all the major core cast members back on board to reprise their roles from the original Fox series, except for Erik Per Sullivan, who played Dewey, Malcolm's (Frankie Muniz's) younger brother. Caleb Ellsworth-Clark will replace him for the 2025 revival. Star Bryan Cranston, who played Wilkerson family patriarch Hal, appeared on the Fly on the Wall podcast to talk about the revival series, which expands the original Fox series from Linwood Boomer that ran from 2000-2006.

Malcolm in the Middle Star Bryan Cranston on Series Revival Pitch to Erik Per Sullivan, Passing on Reprising Dewey, and Bright Future

During the original Fox series, Malcolm in the Middle centered on young prodigy Malcom, who is the middle child of a blue-collar family with parents, the bumbling Hal, and overbearing and overprotective Lois (Jane Kaczmarek). Malcom is the younger brother of Francis (Christopher Masterson), who regularly gets in trouble with his parents before, at one point, gets sent to military school; Reese (Justin Berfield) is the next oldest, who doesn't share any of the brains of Malcolm or charms of Francis, but embraces being a bully while constantly wearing a chip on his shoulder over how much Malcolm is leapfrogging him academically in school; and the younger, Dewey, who's struggles the most for attention, and shows signs of genius like his brother, Malcolm.

While Cranston, Kaczmarek, Muniz, Masterson, and Berfield were back on board, the Oscar-nominated actor and The Studio star revealed Sullivan's response to the revival offer. "I talked to Erik and I said, 'Hey, we got the show! It's going to come back.' He goes, 'Oh, that's fantastic!' And I go, 'Yeah, so we're looking forward to having you back.' He goes, 'Oh, no, no, I don't want to do it. But it's fantastic,'" he told hosts Dana Carvey and David Spade. "He's actually going to Harvard. He's really, really smart, and he's getting his master's at Harvard right now. He said, 'Oh God, no, I haven't acted since I was 9 or something. So I'm not into it.'"

When it comes to Cranston's return to the megahit sitcom for a new generation, "It's amazing how these boys who were my boys on that show are now around the same age I was when we first started, and they've got children of their own," he said before revealing he's been working on the getting the revival off the ground for 10 years. The new show will also feature Malcolm's even younger siblings, with Jamie (who was introduced late in the Fox series, originally played by James and Lukas Rodriguez), now played by Anthony Timpano, and new sibling Kelly, played by Vaughan Murrae. Also new to the cast are Kiana Madeira as Malcolm's girlfriend, Tristan, and Keeley Karsten as his daughter, Leah. Filming wrapped on season one in May 2025. There's no word if Craig Lamar Traylor (Stevie), David Anthony Higgins (Craig), or Emy Coligado (Piama) will reprise their roles. For more, you can check out Cranston's full interview.

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