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 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, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Justin Berfield and

Erik Per Sullivan Erik Per Sullivan (born July 12, 1991) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Dewey, the younger brother to middle child Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) on the Fox series ''Malcolm in the Middle''. Early life Sullivan was born on ...

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

* Frankie Muniz as Malcolm *

as Lois * Bryan Cranston as Hal * Christopher Kennedy Masterson as Francis * Justin Berfield as Reese *

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 as Craig Feldspar * Daniel von Bargen 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 as Dabney * Merrin Dungey 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 as Meg * Bradley Whitford as Meg's husband

Production

Main cast members Frankie Muniz,

, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Justin Berfield and

return as Malcolm, Lois, Hal, Francis, Reese and Dewey respectively. The season introduces the recurring character Piama Tananahaakna, with Emy Coligado 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 on February 4, 2013, and on Region 4 DVD 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", Susan Sarandon was nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category, but lost to Cloris Leachman. 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