Malcolm in the Middle

 is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes.

The series follows a dysfunctional lower-middle-class family and stars Frankie Muniz in the lead role as Malcolm, an adolescent who tests at a genius level. While he enjoys his intelligence, he doesn’t like having to take special classes for gifted children, which are made fun of by the rest of the kids at school and called "Krelboynes", referring to the clumsy and nerdy lead character Seymour Krelboyne from Little Shop of Horrors. Jane Kaczmarek plays Malcolm's overbearing, hotheaded and stubborn mother, Lois, and Bryan Cranston plays his immature, manic, but loving father, Hal. Christopher Kennedy Masterson plays eldest brother Francis, the trouble-making son who, in earlier episodes, is in military school, but eventually marries and settles into a steady job. Justin Berfield is Malcolm's dimwitted older brother, Reese, a cruel junior-high bully who tortures Malcolm at home despite defending him at school. Erik Per Sullivan plays younger brother Dewey, who develops to be people-smart, musically talented, and concerned about his well-being. In earlier episodes, the show's focus was on Malcolm, but as the series progressed, it explored all six members of the family more. Another character, Jamie (James and Lukas Rodriguez), was introduced as the fifth son of Hal and Lois at the end of season four.

Malcolm in the Middle was produced by Satin City and Regency Television in association with Fox Television Studios (now known as Touchstone Television). The show has been syndicated worldwide.

The show received widespread acclaim from critics and proved a popular draw for the network. It has been placed on several lists of the greatest TV and sitcom series of all time. It won a Peabody Award, seven Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award and seven Golden Globe nominations.

International versions

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Localized adaptations

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