Jeff Heller
Everybody’s favorite dysfunctional family is back. Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair sees the return of the hit series Malcolm in the Middle after 20 years since it left the air.
In the four-part revival series, Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) is living a happy life with his daughter Leah (Keeley Karsten) and girlfriend Tristan (Kiana Madeira), having distanced himself from his family. Moreover, he has lied and told Leah that his parents, Hal (Bryan Cranston) and Lois (Jane Kaczmarek),are deceased, and he never had any siblings, while at the same time keeping her a secret from them. He is forced to re-engage with the family chaos when his parents demand his presence for their 40th wedding anniversary party.
We spoke with Jane Kaczmarek about returning to the role of Lois and reuniting with her TV family after two decades.
Well, first of all, thank you for taking the time. I appreciate it.
Oh, it’s my pleasure.
And congratulations on the Malcolm revival. I thought it was great. It’s a lot of fun. It seemed like a natural progression of where the family would be after all this time.
It does, right? It was like falling off a log, getting back into those characters. We were up in Vancouver, so we were all the way from home, so it was like being at camp. Our families and our usual domiciles weren’t around. And we just had a blast. It was picking up, as you said, where we left off, especially since the first thing we filmed was the shaving of Hal’s undergrowth.
It was nice to see that callback and to see that dynamic between the two of them is still there.
Yeah. I think people who never saw the pilot episode were a little shocked to see what’s going on this show. It was like, “You know what, go back and watch the originals. You’ll see what it’s about.”
When were you first approached for the project?
Rumors had started circulating, but I kept thinking, “No, there are always rumors that things are happening.” And then Brian got in touch with us and said, “Ok, guys, it looks like it might really happen.” And that was so exciting. The thing was just a delight in the first place. Malcolm had been passed on by every network in 1999 when we did the pilot. And finally, Doug Hertzog at Fox picked it up, and wonderful director Todd Holland, who I had worked with on Felicity, was directing it. I liked him and knew he was smart. And the script was just incredible. It was like nothing I’ve ever read. The humor was so fresh. And then we got on the air, and that was a big hit.
I was pregnant during the first season and had my baby right around the time it premiered. And when I was told, “We’ve got to go back. It’s a hit. They want more episodes. I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no. I’m 43 years old. I’m nursing a baby. I’m not going back.” And then they said that the first episode back was in a water park, and I had to be in a swimsuit. Be careful what you wish for.
I remember watching the pilot when it aired. It was pretty clear immediately that it was going to be a hit.
In those days, the only ads were on television or magazines. There wasn’t any social media or anything. But I always remember there was a clip of it of Dewey at the dinner table, and Lois saying, “Drink your milk.” And he said, “I can’t, it’s lumpy.” And Lois says, “Then chew it.” Which I think got audiences like, “Let’s tune into this thing.” So, it’s nice to hear that 25 years later. And Brian, who spearheaded the whole thing. I’d like to say that Brian, who spearheaded the whole thing, was just tired of killing people on those other shows. He wanted to come back and be sweet, goofy Hal. He was a real promoter. He was really the one who got Linwood and everybody to think about revisiting this family. I will say it’s nice.
With Brian’s recent career, it’s nice to see him return to this type of comedy.
Oh my gosh, yeah. He’s an international star. He works over at the National Theater in London with Ivo van Hove on classic American classics and his other television work and films. I mean, it’s just incredible. So, our dear little Brian from Canoga Park has really done well. So having him come back as Hal and do the show with us was just a delight.
How would you describe Lois when the series picks up? Where is she in her life?
Well, you know, they kept talking about how there are fewer children at home, so they don’t have as much conflict or stress. They have a little bit more money coming in. But I know that they would put scarves on me. They wanted me to look like we were a little more affluent. And I guess wearing a scarf was a way of saying I was more affluent. As far as I was concerned, I thought Lois was just shopping at Marshall’s and TJ Maxx, as I do myself.
So maybe the clothes were a step up. But, you know, you can take the girl out of Milwaukee, but you can’t take the Milwaukee out of the girl, as far as I’m concerned. And I’ve actually been back in Milwaukee a lot. You know, I married my high school boyfriend. I went back to my 50th high school reunion, and he and I reconnected and got married last summer. So, life is very good.
You have some really nice moments with Frankie. Some tender and some manic, as per usual. And you obviously still have great chemistry with Brian. Can you just talk about picking up after 20 years? Was there any kind of reassessing each other and getting to know each other’s acting styles again, or was it there right out of the gate?
You know, I think the reason we got these parts in the first place was we just clicked, and it was like falling off a log. It just picked up. The thing that did surprise us though, was when Frankie was doing one of the speeches at the party. Brian and I looked at each other. We’re like, “This kid’s pretty good.” I mean, he was good as a young actor, but that doesn’t always parlay into being a good actor as an adult.
I mean, he really has chops. And we were like, “Frankie, you know, if you ever considered acting…Don’t give up your day job of racing cars, but you might want to dabble in this.” We were really impressed with what a mature, good actor he’s grown into.
Had you had any thoughts about where Lois and the family would be before going into this?
No, no. I think I always relied so much on those writers. Whatever you tell me to do, I’m going to do. And you know, some people would think, “Oh, she’s so horrible.” I honestly, I never did anything on that show that I couldn’t see myself doing in real life, which is frightening. There was only one incident. It was an episode where Lois had to ride her bike in some kind of like a marathon or something. And she doesn’t know how to ride a bike, so Reese teaches her. She’s warning Reese not to tell anybody that she doesn’t know how to ride a bike. And she takes Reese’s head and holds it down over some broken glass in an alley and says, “If you tell anybody…” The camera shot is the broken glass and Reese’s face, and me. I would not have held my child’s head to broken glass. I would have held it over dog poop, but not broken glass. So, I want to make that clear.
The revival debuted to great numbers and received great reviews. What do you think resonates with the audience after all this time?
You know, really good old-fashioned comedy. When we did that pilot in 1999, Clinton was still president and John John Kennedy was still alive. For those of us who even know who John John Kennedy was. That was a long time ago.
When you think about what’s happened in this country since, and the cynicism and greed and the boom of technology, that is terrifying to people. And I think watching something like this is just funny. It’s the way people slipping on a banana peel is funny. People falling down is funny. Not that we fall down on banana peels, but it’s a bunch of kids who are just naughty. The originals had to be really, really clever to get away with something because they’ve got this eagle eye mom looking out. So, the hijinks are very well thought out and Lois catching them is very thought out and surprising.
And then you’ve got Hal, this wonderful guy who just has a love for his kids and love for his wife. He’s the glue that holds us all together. I think it’s just comforting to see these characters that are so familiar to so many people. I think people want to welcome them into their lives because it just kind of reminds them of a simpler time, if that’s possible.
The anniversary party episode lent itself to a lot of familiar faces, which was really nice, but one new face was Finn Wolfhard. Do you know how that came about?
He loved the show. He called, or he called his agent or somebody, and said, “Call them and see if there’s something I can do on the show,” and they were like, “Okay.” I couldn’t believe it. They’ve always put up the pictures of the actors in the room, and we were going into rehearsal, and I saw his, and I was like, “That kid from Stranger Things is going to be on our show?” You’re always surprised that anybody knows who you are, that they know who your show is. I must admit, I watched Stranger Things, and I had to have help from my daughter because it got a little confusing as to what was happening. I was very grateful to have her hold my hand and guide me through what was happening. But what a romp that was. And it was just wonderful that he was such a fan of the show.
Speaking of Stranger Things, you got to work with the Duffer brothers on The Boroughs What was that experience like for you?
Well, it was funny when my agent called me and said they just wanted to do a Zoom call, and the character’s name was Lily. I play people named Barb. I’ve never been cast as anyone named Lily. And I wore a pink linen blouse. I wanted to look beloved. And the kick was that I was working with Alfred Molina. This was our fifth time working together. We know each other from the theater. We did our first play together in 2016 and have done four or five other things. This was our fifth time working together, and he and I are on the board together at the Pasadena Playhouse and know each other socially. He lives right around here, so that was just wonderful to be working with him again and feel so comfortable. And it was a wonderful handful of scenes, and also just having to act with Thunder Road in the background, you know, probably the greatest song ever written, was very romantic.
It was just a wonderful experience.
Well, I don’t want to take up too much more of your time. I want to thank you again and congratulations. I’m really happy for the success of this revival.
Thank you.
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
You can watch our interview with Jane Kaczmarek below.
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