The Malcolm in the Middle reboot series is, in fact, happening with the entire original cast returning — that is, with the exception of our favorite TV little brother Dewey. Erik Per Sullivan, who originally played the character, will not be returning to the show, with Caleb Ellsworth-Clark taking over the role for the revival.
The show’s patriarch, Bryan Cranston, recently revealed the news in a conversation on Dana Carvey and David Spade’s Fly on the Wall podcast. “I talked to Erik and I said, ‘Hey, we got the show! It’s going to come back,’” he explained. “He goes, ‘Oh, that’s fantastic!’ And I go, ‘Yeah, so we’re looking forward to having you back.’ He goes, ‘Oh, no, no, I don’t want to do it. But it’s fantastic.'”
The former actor, who is now 33-years-old, has a pretty good reason for sitting this one out. “He’s actually going to Harvard,” Cranston gushed during the podcast. “He’s really, really smart, and he’s getting his master’s at Harvard right now. He said, ‘Oh God, no, I haven’t acted since I was nine or something. So I’m not into it.'”
Following the show’s original run from 2002 through 2006, Sullivan stepped back from acting just four years later at age 19 to pursue other interests — and clearly, that led him down a pretty cool path even if it didn't include performing. As for the returning cast, Cranston will be joined by Malcolm himself, Frankie Muinz, as well as Jane Kaczmarek, Justin Berfield, and Christopher Masterson.
Production wrapped on the project last month, and a release date has yet to be announced — but hopefully we’ll see the revival, which will consist of four half-hour episodes, on Disney+ soon.
Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
