Malcolm in the Middlewill be back on our screens later this year, for a four-episode revival streaming on Disney+ with most of the original show’s main characters returning. The revival of thislandmark sitcomhas understandably widespread excitement among a generation of fans who grew up watching the show, and you’d be forgiven for counting down the months until the prospective release window for the new episodes. In the meantime, though, it’s worth seeing what other series are out there that could substitute for the antics of theMalcolm in the Middlecharacters.
Much of what setMalcolm in the Middleapart when it first arrived on Fox in the year 2000, including its single-camera setup, lack of canned laughter, offbeat realism, and breaking of the fourth wall, has since become the blueprint for the contemporary family sitcom. There are plenty of brilliant shows from the past two decades that have a little bit ofMalcolmin them.
Fromwhat we know about theMalcolm in the Middlerevival, it will focus on the internal dynamics across three generations of Malcolm’s family, as they gather to celebrate Lois and Hal’s 40th wedding anniversary. But another important aspect of the original show was the school life of Malcolm and his brothers, which was presented in unglamorous but highly relatable terms, and helped introduce the word Krelboyne fromThe Little Shop of Horrorsinto popular parlance. Much ofMalcolm in the Middle’s approach to high school was cribbed from seminal teen sitcomFreaks and Geeks.
Apart from alerting Hollywood to the talents of its creator Paul Feig, producer Judd Apatow, and a host of actors from Seth Rogen to Jason Segel,Freaks and Geekschanged the game for teen-themed TV comedy. The show was a failure at the time of its release, although its single season before cancellation has since gained a huge cult following. In addition,its single-camera format, slacker aesthetic, and unfiltered depiction of the disappointments and embarrassments afflicting our teenage yearspaved the way for shows likeMalcolm in the Middleto take off over the next decade.
Grounded for Lifefollows the life and times of an ordinary Irish-Catholic family living in Staten Island, New York. LikeMalcolm in the Middle, each episode of the show typically presents parallel storylines involving different members of the family. UnlikeMalcolm, however,Grounded for Lifehas a single standout source of comedy, in Edwin “Eddie” Finnerty, who’s played byDeli Boyscast memberKevin Corrigan.
The dynamic between the Finnerty brothers is kind of like Frasier and Niles Crane turned upside down.
Eddie is the Finnerty family’s live-in uncle. The younger brother of Sean Finnerty, he comes to stay with the family indefinitely, providing endless entertainment through his chaotic and careless attitude to life.Eddie is how Malcolm’s brother Francis might have turned out if he’d never moved out and grown up, but then moved in with Malcolm’s own family 15 years after leaving high school. The dynamic between the Finnerty brothers is kind of likeFrasier and Niles Craneturned upside down. As much as Sean has to put up with, though, it’s hard not to love Eddie as a character.
IfArrested Developmenttook some of its cues for a wall-breaking sitcom about a dysfunctional family fromMalcolm in the Middle, it then ran with them to a whole new dimension of TV comedy.The Bluth family is utterly preposterous in almost every way, but they’re simply impossible not to watch.
Even in the case of the show’s linchpin, Michael Bluth, and his naive son, George Michael, the Bluths aren’t anywhere near as likable or relatable as Malcolm’s family. But that’s precisely the point ofArrested Development,a show designed to make us laugh as hard as we can at the family caught in the center of its riches-to-rags talefor the modern age.
Fans ofMalcolm in the Middle’s sharpest and most satirical comic moments won’t be able to get enough of the innumerable catastrophes of their own making that befall the Bluth family. As if the family themselves weren’t enough, unexpectedly brilliant bonuses pop up throughoutArrested Development. There’s Ron Howard as the show’s hilariously deadpan narrator, Liza Minelli as Buster Bluth’s forbidden love interest Lucille “Two”, and Henry Winkler as ashark-jumpingsolicitor who takes incompetence to a whole new level.
It isn’t clear exactly when Chris Rock decided to make the opposite ofEverybody Loves Raymond, but it was an inspired decision nonetheless, which showed just how grounded and relevant period sitcoms could be.Everybody Hates Christells the true story of Rock’s early teenage yearsgrowing up in Brooklyn, New York, in a family where he appears to be the odd one out, and in a school where he certifiably is.
Unlike the titular character ofMalcolm in the Middle, Chris’ sensitivity as a child isn’t counterbalanced by genius-level academic performance. Instead, he simply has to keep his wits about him and survive, while his sporty, popular younger brother and spoilt-rotten baby sister get all the attention. On the other hand,Chris’ friendship with weedy schoolmate Greg Wuliger is very reminiscent of Malcolm’s bond with Stevie Kenarban.
Just likeMalcolm in the Middle, as good as the adult stars ofgreat British sitcomOutnumberedare, the show’s real stars are its children. It’s impossible not to fall for the precocious antics and profoundly existential queries of primary school children Ben and Karen Brockman, in particular, who continually test the parents of their parents, played by Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner. Teenager Jake Brockman, meanwhile, is arguablythe closest thing on British television to Malcolm himself, without the mathematical prowess but with an extra dollop of adolescent apathy.
The magic ofOutnumberedarguably fades as its child actors grow up, butthe first three seasons provide a wry but irresistibly charming take on family lifethat not even Dewey could match. There might only be three Brockman children to the five Hal and Lois have to handle between them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not one heck of a handful to manage.
Modern Familywas arguably the heir toMalcolm in the Middleas the most beloved live-action family sitcomon network television. It took what it could from Malcolm’s single-camera format, blended elements from bothArrested DevelopmentandThe Office, and spread them out across three disparate but closely connected households.
There are times, especially inModern Family’s later seasons, when it drifts into formulaic territory and shows too much of its hand. But at its best, this series is possibly the most ambitious and consistently funny family sitcom of its generation, and a must-watch for pretty much any sitcom fan it happens to have passed by.
As its name suggests,The Middleis the spiritual successor toMalcolm in the Middle. Their titles ostensibly refer to different things, with Malcolm being the middle child in a working-class West-Coast American family, whileThe Middleis an allusion to the fact that its central characters are middle-class, Midwestern, and potentially facing a midlife crisis. Still, the similarities between the shows are obvious, from the shenanigans of Frankie and Mike Heck’s children to the dead-end jobs they keep up to make ends meet.
The Middleis like the version of Malcolm’s story that Lois always deserved the chance to tell.
If anything,The Middledeliberately takes afterMalcolm in the Middleto present a similar family from a different perspective. The show is the brainchild of female creators and executive producers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, and it’s made from the perspective of its female lead character, Frankie, who’splayed by Patricia Heaton. In this sense,The Middleis like the version of Malcolm’s story that Lois always deserved the chance to tell.
Aside from featuringMalcolm in the Middleguest starCloris Leachman,Raising Hopeis perhaps the show on this list that shares the most in common withMalcolmin terms of its tone.Much of its humor stems from the bleak situation in which an unconventional family finds itself, as they try their best to raise a child regardless of the obstacles they face.
Raising Hope’s lead performers achieve the delicate balance between hearty warmth and laugh-out-loud stupidity
Raising Hope’s lead performers, Lucas Neff and Martha Plimpton, are superb in their roles as Hope’s single father and grandmother, respectively, achieving a delicate balance between hearty warmth and laugh-out-loud stupidity. For anyone looking for something that feels likeMalcolm in the Middlebut with a different premise, this undervalued series is the place to start.
