‘Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair’: Director Ken Kwapis on Revisiting the Show, Favorite Scenes, and More [INTERVIEW]
20 years ago, director Ken Kwapis was working on Malcolm in the Middle, ultimately directing some of the best fan-favorite episodes. So when the call came to work on the sequel, Life’s Still Unfair, it was hardly a question of if. To him, it was a matter of when.
We were able to sit down and chat with Kwapis recently for the revival, and we talked its lasting legacy, along with the power stories like theirs still holds even in today’s society. Read our interview below.
The Mary Sue: I just finished the four episodes today, and I adored it. It was so much fun. It still had that spirit. I grew up watching this show, my family and I. We adored it, and I love that you all were able to capture what made Malcolm in the Middle. So coming back to direct these episodes, was that a really quick yes for you to rejoin this cast?
Ken Kwapis: Oh, I didn’t give it a moment’s thought, of course I said yes! The real issue was, would it actually happen? Because it’s been gestating forever. But Linwood [Boomer] invited me to be part of this. I was part of the original Malcolm family. I directed a lot of episodes of the original show, and so I jumped on board immediately.
TMS: What was it like getting to rejoin this rejoin the sets, rejoin the characters, get to see this family where they’re at 20 years from when the show ended?
Kwapis: Well, the great news is that the scripts, like the original show, are both hilarious, but also painfully honest. And I feel that’s the secret weapon of Malcolm in the Middle. There’s this wonderful ‘in your face comedy,’ but it really wouldn’t be that impactful if it weren’t for the fact that the stories are so emotionally grounded. So I feel like the reason this revival happened at all is that Linwood Boomer had something to say about being a parent, and so I feel like this revival is coming from the best place. It’s really a personal thing. It’s a personal expression on Linwood’s part. And so it was obviously very weird to walk back into Malcolm’s family’s house, recreated after how many decades. What was also not weird, but sort of amazing, was how quickly the main cast members slipped back into those roles … There was no like, ‘Oh, how did Malcolm do this?’ What was great is how quickly the the new characters, Kelly (Vaughan Murrae), Leah (Keely Karsten), and Tristan (Kiana Madeira), how the main cast embraced them immediately, and how and almost immediately, they felt like a team that had been doing this forever.
TMS: Honestly, I love Leah as a character. I love that she is, quite honestly, just an extension of Malcolm. There is no doubt in the world that she’s his kid, because they’re the exact same cutaways, the exact same way.
Kwapis: I agree. It’s like ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ is an understatement when talking about Leah and and Malcolm’s relationship, and what’s great is that she can go toe to toe with Malcolm, because she’s just as smart as he is.
TMS: It reminds me of me and my dad, in a way, because we are both incredibly similar, and that’s why we fight, is because neither of us know how to back down that we’re in the right so I was like, I see so much of myself in her and Malcolm. And that’s something that I love about the show, is that it’s still able to capture this familial relationship the way that it is, without it feeling played up for screen. It is a painfully honest portrayal of middle America now.
Kwapis: And it’s funny, because if you talk about the emotional content of the show, Malcolm is completely estranged from his family. Hal undergoes a severe depression because of how how alienated Malcolm is from his parents. And, of course, the way Hal tries to remedy the situation could not be more insane and cockeyed and silly, but everything works because of how emotionally grounded it is. And at the heart of this whole revival is Hal and Lois’s 40th wedding anniversary. So it’s like, who can’t relate to wanting to have this event be perfect? And it’s sort of like, if you know you don’t need to be in a relationship, or you might be celebrating your 10th wedding anniversary or your first, but Lois’s determination to do something incredibly special with it–that’s the heart and soul of the show.
TMS: I never had any doubt that these two would stay together over the years, but I loved coming back and seeing them just as obsessed with each other as they’ve always been, because it’s not something you get to see very often. There is a love that they have for each other, and there’s a love that they have for these kids that ultimately is going to trump all of the bad stuff in a day to day.
Kwapis: It’s also fun to see them after the kids have left, for the most part. So the house gets a little bit of a makeover. The kitchen is not a disaster the way it used to be. And and at the same time what I love, is that they are still crazy about each other. And, you know, Bryan’s character is like, maybe the greatest romantic in the in the universe. That he showers her with affection is kind of an understatement.
TMS: He smothers her, affectionately, with affection.
Kwapis: I think that one of the gentlemen callers refers to him as a ‘love bulldozer.’
TMS: I love Hal. Hal’s just such a fun character to get to come back to. And I love how much Bryan Cranston, over the years, has still adored Hal. I know he was partially the reason why we got this revival, because he wanted people to come back too, right?
Kwapis: More than partial. He really lobbied Linwood. And Linwood was not able to do it until he felt ready and felt like he had an idea, something worth expressing about his own life. But Bryan was campaigning relentlessly for many years. Also, Brian has done many series and films and stage work, but he keeps in touch with the Malcolm family. He loves that group, he loves the crew, he loves that cast.
TMS: This is one of the shows where I always called their family my second family, because that’s how they felt. That’s how you can tell that, throughout the years, and even while they were filming, there’s so much love between everybody. They care about each other in ways that clearly transcends from just working together on a TV show, and you can see it in this revival too, that they all just fell back into it, and they all came back in with these characters where they’re at now, and just picked right back up where they were.
Kwapis: Everybody Justin (Berfield)’s character. Chris (Masterson), Emmy, oh my gosh. I mean again, it doesn’t feel like a day’s gone by.
TMS: It doesn’t. I love seeing where everybody was. I didn’t expect Malcolm to be estranged. There’s a part of me that was like, ‘Okay, this makes sense.’ But [for] him to be fully estranged [and] hiding a kid from them. I was like, ‘Man, this kid has some drama that he needs to work through.’ But Reese is exactly where I thought he would be. And the whole thing with him taking the fail videos of Hal and posting them on YouTube, that’s such a Reese thing to do.
Kwapis: Well, I think it’s very I find it very reassuring that some of these characters have not evolved at all. And I don’t know why I find that reassuring. Maybe because I feel that I haven’t evolved as much as I’d like to.
TMS: You directed in the original series, you’re coming back, and it’s kind of reassuring. I get where you’re coming from with that, because it’s like seeing old friends that have never changed. You’re like, ‘Okay, you’re exactly the way that I left you. The world has changed, but you haven’t.’ And I love that. You know, it’s to me, it’s you.
Kwapis: For me, it was an opportunity to come full circle. The very first episode I directed was called ‘Roller Skates,’ and it’s a very Hal and Malcolm focused episode. So for Hal and Malcolm to sort of have this reckoning during this revival is really important. And while I was directing the revival, I was just constantly reminded of scenes and moments from the episodes I directed, gosh, 20 plus years ago.
TMS: What was a favorite scene that you had directed 20 plus years ago, and what’s one from the revival that you’ve enjoyed?
Kwapis: Oh my gosh. Well, I have to say that there are too many to single out, but I’ll just pick one. I directed the episode ‘Water Park,’ and Eric Per Sullivan and Bea Arthur’s whole storyline is one of my favorite things I’ve ever directed.
TMS: So happy to hear that, because that’s one of my, my most referenced scenes from this entire series.
Kwapis: You know what, the sight the sight of Bea Arthur dancing to Abba’s ‘Fernando,’ along with young Eric Per Sullivan dancing on a table, on the kitchen table–
TMS: With the rose.
Kwapis: [Laughs]
TMS: I can’t listen to that song without that exact scene popping in my head. It’s always going to be like that.
Kwapis: Oh my gosh, I can’t single a lot of scenes from the revival because I feel like our batting average–again, all credit to the writers and the cast–but our batting average is quite high with this revival. Scene to scene, it’s pretty strong and and also, as a director, it’s such a pleasure to get to work on material that’s, on one hand, very emotionally honest, but at the same time, like full of absurdist humor. So as a director you get to do physical comedy, sight gags, visual humor of all sorts, and yet it still all serves a story that’s emotionally honest, painfully honest, that’s a that’s a rare treat for a director.
TMS: You did fantastic. These episodes truly are exactly what I wanted, and I know fans are going to be super excited. I know my dad, at least, is very excited to see it. So I just can’t wait to watch them again and to get to get to watch them with my family, and give them to my nephews now, who can grow up with the original series and with this.
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
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