Twenty years after the original series ended, the Wilfords are back — and life, as promised, is still unfair. "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair" premieres April 10 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+, a four-episode limited event reuniting the original cast.[1]

Bryan Cranston returns as Hal. Jane Kaczmarek returns as Lois. Frankie Muniz is Malcolm. Christopher Kennedy Masterson is Francis. Justin Berfield is Reese. Emy Coligado is Piama.[2]

The premise: after shielding himself and his daughter from his family for over a decade, Malcolm is dragged back into their orbit when Hal and Lois demand his presence at their 40th anniversary party.[1]

New cast members include Keeley Karsten as Leah, Malcolm's daughter; Vaughan Murrae as Kelly, Malcolm's youngest sibling; Kiana Madeira as Tristan, Malcolm's girlfriend; and Caleb Ellsworth-Clark as Dewey.[2]

Linwood Boomer, who created the original series, returns as writer and executive producer. Ken Ken Kwapis directs all four episodes.[1]

The revival arrives into a television landscape that has changed dramatically since the original series ran from 2000 to 2006. The single-camera, no-laugh-track format that "Malcolm" pioneered is now the default for comedies. The show that once felt subversive now feels like the blueprint.[2]

All 151 episodes of the original series are available on Hulu, which is either a marketing strategy or an act of generosity.[1]

The original series was about a family that could not escape itself. The revival is about the same thing. Some things do not change. That is the point.

-- CAMILLE BEAUMONT, Los Angeles