{"id":2996,"date":"2025-03-26T10:09:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T11:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/?p=2996"},"modified":"2025-03-26T18:44:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T18:44:05","slug":"malcolm-in-the-middle-praised-for-recasting-one-of-its-best-characters-for-tv-reboot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/26\/malcolm-in-the-middle-praised-for-recasting-one-of-its-best-characters-for-tv-reboot\/","title":{"rendered":"Malcolm in the Middle praised for recasting one of its best characters for TV reboot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
It’s been 19 years since the beloved sitcom Malcolm in the Middle ended (Picture: 20thC.Fox\/Everett\/Rex Features\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Malcolm in the Middle <\/a>fans have been treated to some major news about the upcoming TV reboot<\/a>, including one beloved character who\u2019s been recast.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been 19 years since the final episode of the TV sitcom aired, starring Frankie Muniz<\/a> as the titular character \u2013 a highly intelligent kid who has to deal with the daily chaos of his family.<\/p>\n

Considering the legacy it\u2019s left over the past two decades, it\u2019s astonishing to think that it only aired for six years and seven seasons from 2000 until 2006.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s set to make a highly-anticipated return after years of rumours, with iconic cast members including Bryan Cranston<\/a> as Malcolm\u2019s dad Hal making a return.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019ll be several familiar faces alongside Frankie, 39, and Bryan, 69, one actor from the original cast won\u2019t be joining them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been reported by Variety <\/a>that Erik Per Sullivan<\/a>, 33, who originally played Malcolm\u2019s younger brother Dewey in Malcolm in the Middle, has been replaced for the revival.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
Dewey is a fan-favourite character (Picture: Deborah Feingold\/20th Century Fox Tv\/Kobal\/Rex Features\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Caleb Ellsworth-Clark \u2013 who\u2019s previously starred in TV shows including Fargo and The Expanse and bears a striking resemblance to the former Dewey star \u2013 will instead take his place.<\/p>\n

While some fans might have initially been disappointed that Erik won\u2019t be returning, several pointed out that his absence isn\u2019t too surprising considering his final professional acting role was in 2010.<\/p>\n

Jane Kaczmarek<\/a>, who plays the matriarch Lois in Malcolm in the Middle, previously spoke about her co-star\u2019s decision to step away from the limelight.<\/p>\n

\n
Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">How do you feel about the Malcolm in the Middle reboot?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s well, he\u2019s very, very well\u2026He did Malcolm for seven years, he started at seven, he ended at 14. He wasn\u2019t interested in acting, at all,\u2019 she said in a 2024 interview with the YouTube channel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=B_0eEAPHQ1M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Malcolm France<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He goes to school at a very prestigious American university that he\u2019s asked us all to be quiet about and he loves Charles Dickens. He\u2019s doing graduate work in Victorian literature. I admire it because so many people think being in show business is the greatest thing in the world, it\u2019s not for everyone.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Given Erik decided to move away from acting 15 years ago, several Malcolm in the Middle fans have praised the decision to have a new actor play Dewey in the reboot, rather than removing the character completely.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"895\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SEI_214057658-da80.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22576105\" alt=\"Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Deborah Feingold\/20th Century Fox Tv\/Kobal\/REX\/Shutterstock (5881960n) Erik Per Sullivan, Jane Kaczmarek, Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Ke Masterson Malcolm In The Middle - 1999 20th Century Fox Television USA Television\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>How is Malcolm going to cope with the chaos of his family as an adult in the reboot? (Picture: Deborah Feingold\/20th Century Fox TV\/Kobal\/Rex Features\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018That’s pretty cool actually.he wanted out of that crazy life and it sounds like people respected it,\u2019 a Reddit user called Oreo_ wrote in response to the news.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It’s a surprisingly well-cast recast,\u2019 CollinsCouldveDucked said, while thizface,\u2019 remarked: \u2018The new dude looks just like him.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Bobthetomatovibes said that while it\u2019s \u2018sad\u2019 that Erik isn\u2019t returning, \u2018it makes sense if he really wants nothing to do with acting anymore\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019m glad they\u2019re not just pretending the character doesn\u2019t exist!\u2019 they stated.<\/p>\n<p>One Reddit user called ElGranQuesoRojo suggested that as a running gag in the revival, Malcolm\u2019s older brother Reese \u2013 who is being reprised by Justin Berfield from the original series \u2013 should be the only one to notice that Dewey has changed, \u2018and no matter how much he tries to prove it nobody will believe him\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Christopher Masterson will also be coming back as Francis, while further cast members including Anthony Timpano, Vaughan Murae and Keeley Karsten as Malcolm\u2019s daughter, Leah.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Malcolm in the Middle is available to stream on Disney Plus.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It’s been 19 years since the beloved sitcom Malcolm in the Middle ended (Picture: 20thC.Fox\/Everett\/Rex Features\/Shutterstock) Malcolm in the Middle fans have been treated to some major news about the<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/26\/malcolm-in-the-middle-praised-for-recasting-one-of-its-best-characters-for-tv-reboot\/\" class=\"readmore\">Continue reading<svg class=\"icon icon-arrow-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\"> <use href=\"#icon-arrow-right\" xlink:href=\"#icon-arrow-right\"><\/use> <\/svg><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Malcolm in the Middle praised for recasting one of its best characters for TV reboot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2996"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3002,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996\/revisions\/3002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}