Malcolm in the Middle ended in 2006 after a solid six years on the air, but its effect on TV culture remains to this day. Plenty of shows that ran alongside and after the Fox sitcom have carried the same spirit and share a lot in common with it. They may not seem like it at first glance, but these seven shows are perfect follow-ups to Malcolm in the Middle.
Ed, Edd n Eddy
Debuting on Cartoon Network in 1999, Ed, Edd n Eddy actually preceded Malcolm in the Middle‘s debut, but the shows have a whole lot in common. The shenanigans of Reese, Malcolm and Dewey were much of the fun to the live-action sitcom, and Ed, Edd n Eddy hones in on that aspect as its three young hooligans run amok with little supervision.
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Ed is dumber than Reese, Double D is smarter than Malcolm, and with Eddy’s constant conniving schemes to obtain jawbreakers, the series cranks their preteen misadventures up to 11. Ed, Edd n Eddy has five seasons available to stream on HBO Max.
Community
Though it’s harder to appreciate when looking back, Malcolm in the Middle was actually a groundbreaking show. With its breaching of the fourth wall and occasional episodes that experimented with alternate realities, the show was more than willing to change up its formula, but nowadays, it’s Community that takes the gold when it comes to those qualities.
Intentionally riffing on practically every sitcom trope in the book, Dan Harmon’s series starts with the setup of smooth-talking grifter Jeff Winger attending community college and spirals it out into directions no one could anticipate. Those who enjoyed Malcolm‘s more experimental moments are sure to find the same pleasure in Community, available to stream on Amazon Prime and Hulu.
Shameless
Most sitcoms of its day handwaved the financial concerns that define most Americans’ lives from their reality, but Malcolm in the Middle focused on a working-class family. To that end, Shameless takes the magnifying glass even closer, expanding on the premise by exploring a lower-class family on the South Side of Chicago and the winding paths their lives take. It even features similar characters like the unappreciated genius Lip, the overworked female authority Fiona and the immature shenanigans of the family’s patriarch, Frank.
However, unlike Malcolm, Shameless has plenty of irreverent laughs along the way as it grapples with the drama of its characters’ conditions far more seriously than most any sitcom before it ever had. With 10 seasons available to stream on Netflix, there’s plenty of content to engross viewers in the Gallaghers’ lives.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
There has been such a sheer volume of sitcoms over the years that it’s easy for the formula to get tedious, but there are some shows that break that tedium by defying tropes. One of those tropes is that the focus of a show needs to be good people. Shows like Malcolm in the Middle and Shameless defy that assumption, but It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia takes it even further.
Centered on a group of bar-owning friends in Philadelphia who are belligerently proud of their alcoholism, Always Sunny invests its audience in characters they know are terrible people. As the series goes on, the characters only become more irredeemable, but one can’t help but fall in love with each member of the gang. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has 14 seasons available to stream on Hulu, giving it the most content of any show on the list.
WandaVision
If there has been a renewed interest in sitcoms of late, one can squarely point the blame at WandaVision. In a show that explicitly references Malcolm and draws from it as a source of inspiration, it’s clear to see the connection, WandaVision is a love letter to fans of sitcom history at large.
Expanding on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Disney+ series puts its titular superheroes, Wanda Maximoff and the android Vision, in a suburban setting where magic makes and remakes their reality into a pastiche of TV classics. As the mystery unfolds regarding what exactly is going on in Westview, it’s perfectly normal to work up an appetite for the shows it references.
Everybody Hates Chris
Running from 2005 to 2008, Everybody Hates Chris overlapped with Malcolm just enough to carry the torch where the Fox series left off. The shows have numerous similarities across their structure, setup and format, but what they share in common most is their spirit. Based on the childhood of comedian Chris Rock, the series perfectly conveys the mentality (and humor) of a downtrodden teenager growing up in the world.
Ending after four seasons after Rock felt the timeline of the show caught up to where he wanted it to leave off, the seasons are consistent in quality and feature a well-balanced cast. With an animated reboot on the way, now may be the perfect time to binge Everybody Hates Chris on Hulu.
King of the Hill
Starting in 1997 and ending in 2010, the entirety of Malcolm aired start to finish while King of the Hill was still on the air. The animated Fox series captured the humor and misadventures of a middle-class family, but with so much room to expand on its cast and develop the small-town world, it came alive in a way few sitcoms do.
Much of the humor derives from the violation of patriarch Hank Hill’s conservative sensibilities, but the characters around him, from know-it-all wife Peggy to his conspiracy-theorist neighbor Dale, carry just enough a dose of reality that the biggest laughs come from recognizing the cartoon characters in one’s own life. King of the Hill is available to stream on Hulu.
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