Frankie Muniz has revealed that his TV show dad Bryan Cranston is still keeping tabs on him, and fans are going to love how.
Gone are the days when we could all sit around the TV, switch on Malcolm in the Middle, and enjoy the dysfunctional dynamics between the main cast.
The show that has racked up a significant following, even though the series has long been and gone.
Fans love it so much that they were devastated when the real-life home it was filmed in was sold.
But now, they’ll get to enjoy a heartwarming admission from Muniz, who played Malcolm in the 2000s show.
According to the actor, his fake family are still close, particularly he and Cranston.
Frankie Muniz and Bryan Cranston are still close (Fox)
He shared that the Breaking Bad star still checks up on him every now and then.
It was when the former actor, now a race car driver, visited the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast that he spilled the beans.
He revealed his TV dad reaches out and sends him texts often to make sure he’s doing well.
Muniz shared that Cranston, despite not actually being his dad, was a father figure to him because of how young he was when they began filming.
He said: “He still reaches out to me every couple of weeks, checks in on me. He really cares about what I’m doing, comes to the races, if my band was playing, came to shows.”
Calling him an inspiration, as he’s now a ‘Hollywood God’, Muniz shared that he wants to be that type of person to someone else one day.
In the show, Muniz’s Malcolm was joined by Cranston’s Hal, along with his ‘brothers’, Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), Francis (Christopher Masterson), and Reese (Justin Berfield).
His onscreen mum, Lois, was also played by Jane Kaczmarek.
The series went on for seven series, which 151 episodes long.
Cranston still checks up on him (Fox)
So, that was a lot of time to spend together.
While Muniz left the acting world behind him to drive cars, Cranston made a name for himself after turning into the meth-making mad man, Walter White, as well as being in several flicks that were nominated for Oscars.
But it appears that they’ll always be family, no matter how much time has passed.
Whilst on the podcast, he also shared who was his favourite character on the show, and the one he ‘hated’ the most.
Speaking about characters that he ‘didn’t necessarily like while filming’, who ended up being his ‘favourite’ when reflecting on the show, he said: “Hal, (played by) Bryan, was the show to me, he made the show so good, because he was hilarious! Just an amazing character.”
However, he didn’t like one character.
He said: “The character of Reese (Justin Berfield), when we filmed the show, I HATED Reese, maybe because Malcolm had to hate Reese, but I hated him!
“Now I watch the show, and the funniest parts of the whole show are Reese! it’s a weird thought to step back and watch as a viewer, because you’re so far removed from it that I don’t remember what was going to happen in a lot of the episodes.”
Former child actor Frankie Muniz has revealed which show character he ‘hated’ while filming 2000s classic, Malcolm in the Middle.
Whether you were a fan of the Fox show or not, the comedy series had a chokehold on TV ratings in the early 2000s, as fans followed the everyday mishaps of Malcolm (Muniz) at his dysfunctional family, the Wilkersons.
The success of the show at the time was colossal, as the series won a Peabody Award, seven Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award and seven Golden Globe nominations during its five-season run.
Even now, 24 years on from the first episode premiering, fans are still curious to learn more about the cast behind Malcolm in the Middle.
Obviously, we all know that Bryan Cranston, who plays Dad Hal, would go on to achieve success in Breaking Bad, but the likes of Justin Berfield and Erik Per Sullivan, who play Malcolm’s older and younger brothers, have since moved away from the industry.
Meanwhile, fans have wondered what the latter has been doing, keeping a low profile, but Jane Kaczmarek, who played the boys’ stubborn mother, Lois, revealed that he’s currently studying Victorian Literature.
Talk about a career change.
But out of the younger cast, Muniz has remained one of the most involved in acting, despite starting a Nascar career – as you do.
Frankie Muniz starred as the title character (Fox)
The star has spoken out on his time filming the show as well as his time as a child actor, which he opened up about on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here Australia!
Now, Muniz has spoken about who annoyed him the most while filming, to the point where he ‘hated’ them, while on the Inside of You podcast with Michael Rosenbaum and YouTube.
Speaking about characters that he ‘didn’t necessarily like while filming’, who ended up being his ‘favourite’ when looking back, admitting: “Hal, (played by) Bryan, was the show to me, he made the show so good, because he was hilarious! Just an amazing character.”
He went on to reveal which character he didn’t like though, explaining: “The character of Reese (Justin Berfield), when we filmed the show, I HATED Reese, maybe because Malcolm had to hate Reese, but I hated him!
“Now I watch the show, and the funniest parts of the whole show are Reese! it’s a weird thought to step back and watch as a viewer, because you’re so far removed from it that I don’t remember what was going to happen in a lot of the episodes.”
It’s clearly nothing against Berfield himself – if anything, it’s a testament to his acting – but if you watched the show, it’s clear that the character Malcolm had a hatred for his older brother, and understandably so.
If you’re wondering where Muniz is nowadays, he raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Phoenix, Arizona earlier this year as part of the 2025 season.
What a world we live in.
Malcolm in The Middle star Bryan Cranston has revealed the heartbreaking confession that his on-screen sons made to him.
Cranston played Hal in the US sitcom, the dad of five boys – Francis (Christopher Masterson), Reese (Justin Berfield), Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) and Jamie (Lukas Rodriguez).
The show ran for more than 150 episodes between 2000 to 2006 and fans were gutted when it ended.
Fox Television Studios
Speaking about his role on the show, and his relationship with his on-screen sons, Cranston recently revealed how proud he is of his fellow actors.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, he said: “Playing a father on television was easy for me cause I’m a father in real life.
“On Malcolm for seven years these boys were my boys. I’m very, very proud they made it through the gauntlet of child actor-dom. Which is not easy.”
Cranston also revealed one heartbreaking confession that the boys had made to him about their time on the show.
“That’s my job too, to talk to them about how to grow up, how to behave. And especially to appreciate the moment they’re in,” he said.
“I talk to them all the time and they’re saying, ‘I wish I had remembered the fun that we had’ and I go, ‘You do, in your way as a child’.”
Cranston also spoke about the possibility of a revival – and it sure sounds promising.
He said: “It would be fun to explore now… there’s been some conversations but nothing definitive yet.”
Entertainment Tonight
Back in December, Frankie Muniz confirmed the show would be rebooted if a specific condition is met.
Apparently, after talks first began about a reboot, the show’s creator Linwood Boomer said: “I think it would be amazing but I don’t want to do it.”
Explaining he didn’t have the time, he said he’d give his blessing if the team got two specific writers on board.
While Muniz didn’t disclose who they are, he explained Cranston is leading it and has been working with the writers ‘for the last two years’.
“I would love it, especially as I have a greater appreciation of what the show is and was and would love to dive in with all those people again to do it,” the star added.
But he did also say: “So many shows have been rebooted and so many shows shouldn’t have been rebooted.
“So, I don’t wanna be just like one of those shows, it has to make sense. It has to be good.”
This *has* to happen.
Malcolm in the Middle fans rejoiced as there was a wonderful reunion between Frankie Muniz and Bryan Cranston.
It’s been years since the show ended, and the two have seen their careers go off in very different directions since starring as father and son in the sitcom.
Cranston, as you probably know, ended up getting cast as Walter White in Breaking Bad, and while the show has come to an end he’s made a smattering of other appearances as the character.
He showed up briefly in Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, had a cameo in sequel movie El Camino and oddly enough his final turn as the chemistry teacher turned meth chef was for a Super Bowl commercial for crisps.
While he easily overcame some concerns that the dad from Malcolm in the Middle wasn’t the right guy to lead a series about drugs and crime, the actor may be winding things down a bit after a glittering career.
Instagram/@frankiemuniz4
He might be retiring a bit to spend more time with his wife Robin, announcing earlier this year that he was going to be putting things on ‘pause’ and not taking calls from agents.
As for Muniz, he ended up becoming a racing driver and is doing pretty well in NASCAR which he’ll be returning to next year.
He’s also been tackling some comments about his memory, checking in with the parents of Erik Per Sullivan (Dewey in Malcolm in the Middle) and explaining why he didn’t stick around in Hollywood when he had the world at his feet.
Muniz still speaks fondly of Cranston, once describing him as ‘the greatest human being alive’, and revealed that his co-star still reaches out every couple of weeks to keep in touch and check in on how he’s doing.
Recently the pair had the chance to reunite in person, with Muniz posting a video to Instagram of him and Cranston hugging.
Instagram/@frankiemuniz4
In the video, Muniz approaches a table where Bryan Cranston is sitting, while his Breaking Bad co-star Aaron Paul shouts: “Yo, yo, oh my god!”
Muniz and Cranston lean across the table and share an emotional hug while Paul reacts as pretty much any Malcolm in the Middle fan would at seeing their favourites together again.
Plenty of fans took to the comments to share their joy at seeing the reunion, with one saying that Cranston ‘has got to be the most caring person I have ever seen’.
Another thanked Muniz for sharing the video and said they’d become emotional after seeing the pair ‘greeting each other like father and son’.
Plenty of others joked that this was just ‘Malcolm sneaking Hal some drinks while Lois isn’t looking’.
Hundreds of 90s babies have been left heartbroken after seeing what the beloved Malcolm in the Middle home looks like now.
If you were sat in front of the TV like the rest of us in the 2000s, you’ll remember a much-lived American sitcom called Malcolm in the Middle.
This series provided fans with many laughs, tears, and everything in between as it followed the dysfunctional family of Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), a child prodigy.
The iconic sitcom also stars Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston as Malcolm’s parents, Lois and Hal, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Justin Berfield, and Erik Per Sullivan as his brothers, Francis, Reese, and Dewey.
The sitcom was a staple for many kids. (Disney)
Being a child with an IQ of 165 in a family of total idiots created a hilarious plot for us all to laugh at, especially with Lois and Hal’s dynamic of good-cop, bad-cop.
However, you’ll be sad to know (and many are already) that the famous family house was put up for sale, and now it’s totally unrecognisable.
Now, even though the show only ran for six years from 2000 until 2006, the series was nominated for 33 Emmy Awards, and given a nod at the Golden Globes on multiple occasions.
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Here’s the house shown in the series. (Disney)
If you thought 20 years on fans would forget the house, you’d be wrong.
Everyone remembers the home on 12334 Maple Boulevard.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the owner of the California home earned between $3,000 (£2,400) and $4,000 a day when the crew was filming on location but decided to put it on the market.
The cast and crew were able to continue filming until the show’s end, but it looks totally different to what you’ll remember and it’s breaking hearts.
The house as undergone a huge transformation. (Google Maps)
The house appears to have been completely rebuilt and is now a two-storey home with concrete and a lavish lawn.
It’s a far-cry from the little bungalow we all know and love.
On Reddit, people had a lot to say.
One person wrote: “I’m disgusted how dare they get rid of a Malcolm in the Middle house?! Especially replacing it with that ugly thing, how dare they!”
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