Hulu and Disney have helped to bring back some major shows from the past to the present, seeing serious success as a result. In recent years, franchises like Futurama, King of the Hill, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Animaniacs were just a few examples of shows given new leases on life. To continue this trend, Hulu released a mini-series earlier this month that many didn’t expect would ever happen. Luckily, by taking a risk on the return of one of America’s favorite sitcom families, the streaming service is seeing some major ratings thanks to revisiting the Fox universe.
In a new report from the outlet Deadline, Macolm In The Middle: Life’s Still Unfair netted 8.1 million viewers in the first three days since its arrival on Hulu. With the mini-series housing four episodes that bring us back to the world of Malcolm, Reese, Dewey, Francis, Lois, and Hal bringing back most of the original cast, the revival has become the biggest hit for the streaming service in 2026 so far. Last year, the Gumball and Hank Hill revivals were some of the biggest shows on the Disney-backed streaming service, but King of the Hill and The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball will have to hit big numbers to overtake Malcolm’s recent comeback.
Following the first four episodes dropping on Hulu, many Malcolm in the Middle fans have wondered if the revival might be opening the door for new stories in this universe. As of the writing of this article, neither Hulu nor Disney has confirmed that Malcolm and his family will return to the small screen, though there are certainly avenues for future stories to take place. In the final episode of the mini-series, we see Malcolm’s younger sibling, Kelly, interacting with his daughter, Leah, along with the genetically created son of the star’s nerdy friends. Should a new series eventually arrive, it would make sense to focus on this new trio, even if most of the original cast doesn’t return.
Of all the sitcoms that aired on Fox, Malcolm in the Middle is still one of the biggest, especially considering the fact that it isn’t animated. First debuting in 2000, the series ran for over six years with over one hundred and fifty episodes to its name. While the recent revival was quite successful in the ratings department, Life’s Still Unfair was also a critical success as it sits on Rotten Tomatoes with a fresh rating of “80%.”
In a recent interview with TVLine, Malcolm in the Middle creator Linwood Boomer discussed the possibility of the mini-series returning for a second season, “I’m an old man. I’m very tired, but it was such a great experience, and I think creatively, it really worked. So, you never know. I don’t think it would have happened the way it happened if the idea was to do an entire series again.”
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