Malcolm in the Middle is back via a TV revival that sees Bryan Cranston truly committing to the bit, but it’s likely nothing will compare to the time his character was covered in 10,000 bees.
The Malcolm in the Middle revival is subtitled Life’s Still Unfair, and all four episodes drop on Hulu this Friday, April 10.
The original Dewey – Erik Per Sullivan – isn’t involved, even though he was reportedly offered “buckets of money” to reprise the role.
Article continues after ad
But Frankie Munoz is back as the title character, while Bryan Cranston returns as his eccentric father Hal, who once did a truly wild bee stunt.
How Malcolm in the Middle writers convinced Bryan Cranston to do crazy bee stunt
Bryan Cranston’s Hal was frequently nude in the original Malcolm in the Middle run, and at the start of Life’s Still Unfair, he’s naked once again.
Indeed, with Cranston seemingly up for anything, it got the writers speculating over whether there was anything he’d say no to. Which is how he ended up covered in bees during Season 1 of the original series, as creator Linwood Boomer explains to Collider:
Article continues after ad
Article continues after ad
“At the very beginning of the show, after two episodes, we were like ‘Bryan is so goddamn game.’ The writers started, not really seriously, going, ‘I wonder what he wouldn’t do.’
Fox
“Somebody said ‘I saw this thing where this guy was covered in 10,000 bees. I bet he wouldn’t do that,’ and we’re going, ‘Goddamn, that would be amazing.’ So, we just asked him, ‘What if we could concoct a reason to have you covered with 10,000 bees?’
Article continues after ad
He was like, ‘That sounds cool.’ We’re like, ‘Okay, well, we’ll get back to you,’ and we found something to do. That became a thing that was sort of a creative inspiration – could we get something that Bryan wouldn’t agree to do? And we never did.”
Malcolm in the Middle returns on April 10, while here’s how Life’s Still Unfair will solve a long-running mystery from the show.
Article continues after ad
