The seventh and final season of '' Malcolm in the Middle'' premiered on September 30, 2005, 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 14, 2006, 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 ...

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 nominat ...

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'' (2000–20 ...

, 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

Recurring

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 *

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 *

Gary Anthony Williams Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He voiced the character of Uncle Ruckus on '' The Boondocks'', and a number of video game characters. He also appeared on the television series '' Weeds'' ...

as Abe Kenarban *

Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere (; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is best known for her lead roles as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series '' Heroes'' and Juliette Barnes in the ABC/ CMT musical drama serie ...

as Jessica *

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 nomina ...

as Ida *

Rheagan Wallace Courtney Rheagan Wallace (born June 9, 1987) is an American actress who had a brief recurring role as Georgia Huffington on the television series '' 7th Heaven''. Her other television credits include ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', ''Devious Maids'' ...

as Raduca *

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 ...

as Piama

Production

In March–April 2005,

renewed ''Malcolm in the Middle'' for a seventh season. The following month, it was reported that series creator

Linwood Boomer Linwood Boomer (born October 9, 1955) is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and former actor. He is known for playing the role of Adam Kendall on the drama '' Little House on the Prairie'', and for creating the Fox sitcom ''Malc ...

would not continue as showrunner, instead retaining an "executive consultant credit" while

Matthew Carlson Matthew Carlson (birth name Matt James Carlson; born February 10, 1951) is an American television producer and writer. He is best known for his work on the series ''Malcolm in the Middle'' and ''The Wonder Years''. He was nominated for two Pri ...

, would replace Boomer as showrunner. In January 2006, it was announced that it would be the final season; the decision behind this was widely attributed to declining viewership. Main cast members

, Christopher Kennedy Masterson,

and Erik Per Sullivan return as Malcolm, Lois, Hal, Francis, Reese and Dewey respectively. As with the sixth season, Masterson made fewer appearances than the rest of the main cast.

Release

Broadcast history

The season premiered on September 30, 2005 on Fox, and ended on May 14, 2006 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 October 7, 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

In his review of the series finale, Matthew Gilbert of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' said it "sails by, with none of the grandstanding and schmaltz many finales rely on to make an ending profound." Alan Pergament of ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

'' said, "Since it isn't exactly a warm and fuzzy comedy, you shouldn't expect ''Malcolm'' to get sappy at the end. Fortunately, it strikes a nice balance between maintaining its insanity (there's a messy explosion), having a few sweet moments and a suitably nightmarish ending." Rob Owen of ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

'' said, "At a half-hour, it's not a bloated finale, nor is it particularly memorable, but this last "Malcolm" does send the show out in a style that's familiar to the show's fans." At the

58th Primetime Emmy Awards The 58th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, August 27, 2006, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on NBC at 8:00 p.m. ET (00:00 UTC) with Conan O'Brien hosting the show. The ceremony attracted 16.2 million viewers, 2. ...

, the season received four nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Kaczmarek, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Cranston, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Cloris Leachman and Outstanding Choreography for Fred Tallaksen for the episode "Bomb Shelter"; Leachman was the only winner.

References

2005 American television seasons 2006 American television seasons Malcolm in the Middle {{Malcolm in the Middle