Steven Prusakowski
When watching Malcolm in the Middle, you expect to laugh and that’s exactly what happens, over and over again, in Hulu’s revival. What you might not expect is to also be moved to tears.
The new four-episode miniseries, cleverly titled Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, reunites most of the original cast, including Frankie Muniz (Malcolm), Bryan Cranston (Hal), Jane Kaczmarek (Lois), Christopher Masterson (Francis), Justin Berfield (Reese), and the youngest son, Dewey, now played by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.
All the chaos and dysfunctional family comedy picks up right where it left off almost two decades ago. While the revival delivers the laughs you’d expect from the series, it also offers a surprising dose of genuine heart and emotion that may catch fans off guard.
One of the most moving scenes in recent memory (not just from Malcolm but TV as a whole) comes from a new addition to the cast and the Wilkerson household: Kelly, played by the talented relative newcomer Vaughan Murrae. Alert fans may remember Kelly as the baby hinted at in the original series finale via Lois’s positive pregnancy test. Now, decades later, as a full-fledged young adult, they add a sharp dose of dry humor and wise, deadpan perspective to the family.
Murrae, who is nonbinary, has often auditioned for non-binary roles, but says good ones are rare or insufficiently written. Luckily, that was not the case for Life’s Still Unfair. The actor shared some of the challenges in finding a part that feels like appropriate representation.
“I love playing non-binary characters,” shared Murrae. “Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of them out there. But I have seen both ends of the spectrum… where it feels very stereotypical or misinformed or even just like they’re there to check a box… And then on the other end of the spectrum where the character is well-written, but their entire story revolves around them being non-binary or queer… So I think Kelly does a really good job of being well-written, and a well-written queer character, but also just a good character in general. They feel very natural. And I just love the way that it’s not like the center or the core of their character. They get to be their own person outside.”
Throughout the four episodes Murrae gets to play Kelly as much more fleshed out beyond a single characteristic, no matter how important that characteristic is to them. On the screen Kelly is funny, clever, slightly odd, and opinionated – a perfect addition to the Wilkersons, even if Hal still struggles with proper pronouns and Lois still wants a daughter. Instead of avoiding the uniqueness of the family makeup, the Malcolm writers dive into it, removing some of the awkwardness that those who may not have a nonbinary person in their lives might feel by taking it on head-on with the series’ trademark humor.
“I love their dry humor… One of my favorite lines is like a really small one in the banquet episode, where like Leah (Keeley Karsten) hugs Lois and Lois is like, ‘Oh my God, someone who finally likes hugging. And Kelly’s like, I said I would try it for your birthday,” recalled Murrae. “They’re the kind of person that will show that they love you through their actions, but never through their words or physical contact, which is a lot of fun to play.”
The scene that brought me to tears happens in the finale. I won’t spoil it, but Murrae shared how deeply it echoed their own life. (I would highly recommend you watch the scope of Kelly’s fantastic work across all four episodes of the revival.)
“That was actually one of my audition scenes. It sort of almost shifted my perception of the character just a little bit. It allowed me to really connect with them on a more personal level because I have a very similar relationship with my dad. And when I came out, it was very much the same. He was just sort of like, ‘OK, if that’s who you are, that’s who you are.’ And I remember being very touched by it as well.”
The moving scene comes out of nowhere and is delivered to perfection. Murrae ties the bow on the gift that Kelly adds to the series in the form of a character I initially worried would be the Cousin Oliver of The Brady Bunch or Sam from Diff’rent Strokes – they were late in the show run additions that felt forced and unnecessary, just ways to prolong the series. Instead, Murrae makes Kelly an irreplaceable part of the show by planting honest and sincere seeds in our hearts – all while making us laugh.
“I think that that’s also why it’s so important to have things like Malcolm, especially now… we can still laugh at ourselves… And I’m hoping that people are able to look at Kelly and have hope that things might get better,” expressed Murrae.
Watch my full interview with Vaughan Murrae (below) and be sure to watch their incredibly moving performance on Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair.
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