Oh, how my heart has been warmed by watching Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (international). I feel eight years old again in the best possible way.
If we overlook the recasting of Dewey — though this couldn't have been avoided — I'd say that the sequel series is nigh-on perfect. While everything has changed on a practical level, it feels as if no time has passed at all.
As Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) reunites with his unhinged family after years of avoiding them, the gang quickly gets back into the groove of their old hijinks. But this time, Malcolm has a family of his own, including daughter Leah (Keeley Karsten) and girlfriend Tristan (Kiana Madeira).
Unsurprisingly, the series has soared to the top of Hulu's most-watched TV shows list for the week after waiting for what felt like a lifetime for new episodes to debut. A second season hasn't been confirmed, but I'm worried by the idea the creators are most keen to run with.
Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair season 2 focusing on Leah defeats the purpose
Show creator Linwood Boomer told Collider about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair season 2: “Well, it depends on how it does. There’s a certain number, and I don’t even know what it is, and I don’t even know what it’s measuring, but some piece of data has to hit a certain number, and if it’s one shy, they won’t ask, and if it’s one over, they will ask, but not until then."
That's more than fair enough. But between Boomer and executive producer Tracy Katsky, a second season would likely focus on Leah instead.
Boomer continued, "Keeley is an undiscovered star. As a performer, she has this crazy potential that would be silly for show business not to use.”
"She could absolutely hold a show,” Katsky Boomer told Entertainment Weekly.
Take a deep breath with me before I state the obvious: anything that doesn't center Malcolm is therefore not Malcolm in the Middle. Not only that, but Hulu is kidding itself if it thinks we care at all about these new faces.
The reason why views are skyrocketing up the charts is that after almost two decades, we're finally reuniting one of the best fictional families in television history. Finding out what happens in the future is the stuff fandoms dream of discovering, even if the result isn't exactly what they imagined.
The minute the formula changes and the family becomes decentred, views will tank. Why waste all that precious time and energy rebuilding foundations if you're immediately going to throw them away again?
If you want to give Leah her own show, be my guest — but don't make it part of Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair season 2.
