The third season of ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

'' premiered on November 11, 2001, on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, and ended on May 12, 2002, with a total of 22 episodes.

Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award n ...

stars as the title character Malcolm, and he is joined by

Jane Kaczmarek Jane Frances Kaczmarek (; born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Malcolm's mother Lois on the Fox television sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned her three Golden Globe nomination ...

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2 ...

, Christopher Kennedy Masterson,

Justin Berfield Justin Tyler Berfield (born February 25, 1986) is an American former actor, writer, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Malcolm's dimwitted older brother, Reese, on the family sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle''. He also played Ross ...

and Erik Per Sullivan.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

as Malcolm *

as Lois *

as Hal * Christopher Kennedy Masterson as Francis *

as Reese * Erik Per Sullivan as Dewey

Notable guests

* Brenda Wehle as Lavernia *

Craig Lamar Traylor Craig Lamar Traylor (born March 19, 1989) is an American actor and artist. He made his acting debut in an episode of '' ER'' in 1996 and portrayed Stevie Kenarban, the asthmatic, one-lunged boy in a wheelchair and the title character's best frie ...

as Stevie Kenarban *

David Anthony Higgins David Anthony Higgins (born December 9, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Craig Feldspar on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', Joe on ''Ellen'', and Reginald Bitters on ''Big Time Rush''. He also had a recurring role as H ...

as Craig Feldspar *

Daniel von Bargen Daniel von Bargen (June 5, 1950 – March 1, 2015) was an American character actor of film, stage and television. He was known for his roles as Mr. Kruger on ''Seinfeld'', Commandant Edwin Spangler on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', and Chief Grady ...

as Edwin Spangler *

Eric Nenninger Eric John Nenninger (born November 19, 1978) is an American actor, best known for playing Scott Braddock in the 2003 horror film, ''Jeepers Creepers II'', he had a recurring role as Cadet Eric Hanson on '' Malcolm in the Middle'' and Scott in '' ...

as Eric Hanson * Evan Matthew Cohen as Lloyd *

Kyle Sullivan Kyle Russell Sullivan (born September 24, 1988) is an American former actor, known for appearing on the TV series ''All That'' and the Fox sitcom '' The War at Home''. Sullivan was born in Los Angeles, California. He played the recurring char ...

as Dabney *

Merrin Dungey Merrin Melissa Dungey (born August 6, 1971) is an American film and television actress, known for her roles on the television series ''The King of Queens'', ''Alias'', '' Malcolm in the Middle'', '' Summerland'', ''Conviction'', '' The Resident'' ...

as Kitty Kenarban *

Tania Raymonde Tania Raymonde Helen Katz, is an American actress and artist. Her career first caught traction when she played the recurring character of Cynthia Sanders on the Fox sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle'' between 2000 and 2002, followed by the role o ...

as Cynthia Sanders *

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...

as Meg *

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he w ...

as Meg's husband

Production

Main cast members

, Christopher Kennedy Masterson,

and Erik Per Sullivan return as Malcolm, Lois, Hal, Francis, Reese and Dewey respectively. The season introduces the recurring character Piama Tananahaakna, with

Emy Coligado Emy Coligado (born June 5, 1971, in Geneva, Ohio) is an American actress known for her role as Piama Tananahaakna on the sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle''. In 2001, Coligado landed a recurring role as Emmy, the medical examiner's assistant, on t ...

cast in the role. It is also the final one to feature Eric Hanson, played by

. The season's parallel plot involving Francis shifts from Marlin Academy to a resort in Alaska. The episode "Clip Show", true to its title, serves as a

clip show A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicte ...

, incorporating footage from previous episodes presented as flashbacks.

Release

Broadcast history

The season premiered on November 11, 2001 on Fox, and ended on May 12, 2002 with a total of 22 episodes.

Home media

The season was released on

Region 2 DVD DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

on February 4, 2013, and on

Region 4 DVD DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

on September 4, 2013.

Reception

Greg Braxton of Los Angeles Times lauded the season premiere for its comedy, particularly Cranston's performance. For her performance as Meg in the two-parter "Company Picnic",

was nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category, but lost to

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomin ...

. In 2019, Angelo Delos Trinos of ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' criticized the episode "Cynthia's Back" as being outdated. He said, "While not the worst of its kind, ''Cynthia's Back'' suffers from depicting outdated stereotypes about women being too emotional and casual sexual harassment."

References

{{Malcolm in the Middle 2001 American television seasons 2002 American television seasons Malcolm in the Middle