Everything is so deep, dark, gory, and depressing these days. I scroll through Netflix only to be met with shows and movies that are either super stupid, or super serious.

There’s also the concept of an 8-10 episode arc, which is basically Netflix’s signature. And obviously it was created to have the watcher breeze by the series, finish it, and move onto the next. Netflix was made for binge watching. It is the essence of their entire brand.

So to come across Malcom in the Middle again on Hulu, was indeed refreshing. These days, I find myself gravitating towards many of the shows I grew up with, or shows pre-2010, pre-Netflix era in general, because once upon a time, shows were aired on a network. Shows had more than 10 episodes a season. A show took you on a day by day journey. I click on shows like Malcolm in the Middle and think to myself: what is my favorite family up to today?

Shows on Netflix progress quickly. It is the sign of the times. So you never really get to go on a journey with the characters like how you would in older shows. But, that is a spiel for another post.

Malcolm in the Middle is set in suburbia. It’s the story of a bunch of overly rambunctious brothers and their parents. Though, don’t let the bland description fool you. The main character is Malcolm, who is unusually smart out of his family, and the show goes on to account he and his family’s shenanigans.

The fact about this show is that it’s hilarious. It’s so funny! I can hardly describe the humor in words, you must watch it yourself to see. The characters are extremely well-defined and the acting is incredible. It’s charming, really.

This show is also set in suburbia (yes, that is indeed a theme on this blog). But what’s interesting is that it amps up suburbia a bit. It takes seemingly mundane events, such as a block party, a picnic, or a parent-teacher conference, and amplifies it to account for the rambunctiousness of this family. It’s been a lifesaver for me during this pandemic.

It’s also nice to watch a show where materialism doesn’t really matter, though I would argue that the clothes the brothers wear in this show are what inspired the whole Brandy Melville collection. The characters on this show wear what kids and adults actually wear in a suburb. Who knew that would be so difficult to see in this day and age?

This is a show that didn’t try so hard to fit with the times or trends. It was effortless, well-written, and you can jump to any episode and watch it with a laugh and a can of coke. The brothers actually look like brothers (shocker) and Frankie Muniz was wonderful as a kid.

This show was also pretty ahead of its time. Lois is the mother raising her four (and later five) sons and she is one hell of a strong woman. As a kid watching this show, I was a big fan of the brothers. My favorite? Probably Reese. But now watching it as an adult, Lois has become one of my favorite characters. Did you know the show almost didn’t make it on TV because test audiences found that Lois was portrayed as a “bad mother”? And at the time, “bad mothers” weren’t desired on television? Oh how times have changed.

Though they were obviously wrong. Lois is a fantastic mother in her own way, or at least in my opinion. The beauty in great story-telling is all in the subtlety.