Claim: Bryan Cranston acts.

Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company . The series was first broadcast on January 9 , 2000 , and ended its six-year run on May 14 , 2006 , after seven seasons and 151 episodes . The series received critical acclaim and won a Peabody Award , seven Emmy Awards , one Grammy Award , and seven Golden Globe nominations .   The series follows a family of six , and later seven , and stars Frankie Muniz in the lead role of Malcolm , a somewhat normal boy who tests at genius level . While he enjoys his intelligence , he despises having to take classes for gifted children , who are mocked by the other students who call them `` Krelboynes '' . Jane Kaczmarek is Malcolm 's overbearing , authoritarian mother , Lois , and Bryan Cranston plays his immature but loving father , Hal . Christopher Masterson plays eldest brother Francis , a former rebel who , in earlier episodes , was in military school , but eventually marries and settles into a steady job . Justin Berfield is Malcolm 's dimwitted older brother Reese , a cruel bully who tortures Malcolm at home , even while he defends him at school . Younger brother Dewey , bitter about his ruined childhood , smart , and musically talented , is portrayed by Erik Per Sullivan . At first , the show 's focus was on Malcolm , but as the series progressed , it began to explore all six members of the family . A fifth son , Jamie , was introduced as a baby at the end of Season 4 .   Malcolm in the Middle was produced by Satin City and Regency Television in association with Fox Television Studios -LRB- syndicated by Fox corporate sibling 20th Television -RRB- . The show has proven popular worldwide and has been syndicated in 57 countries . In the United States , it had been syndicated during the day on FX and at night on Nickelodeon 's sister channel TeenNick , as well as local stations . It 's also currently being syndicated by IFC every Saturday , Sunday , Monday and Tuesday mornings at 8:00 am EST. . In the United Kingdom , it originally aired on Sky 1 then eventually began on BBC Two on 6 April 2001 , its HD counterpart and Sky 2 , however after Sky stopped airing repeats of the show , the rights were bought by Channel 5 and the show was shown on 5Star . Since 2015 , the show airs on Comedy Central . In Ireland it aired on TV3 's sister channel 3e . It was also syndicated on Network Ten from 2009 to 2010 and on Eleven from February 2011 in Australia -LRB- originally airing on the Nine Network , 2001 -- 2009 -RRB- and on Comedy Central in India . In Canada , episodes were shown on the Global Television Network .   The show received universal acclaim from critics and proved an extremely popular draw for the network . It was placed No. 88 on Entertainment Weekly `` New TV Classics '' list , and was named by Alan Sepinwall of HitFix as one of the 10 best shows in Fox network history .