Malcolm In The Middle alum Erik Per Sullivan turned down a huge amount of money to star in the reboot series, says co-star Jane Kaczmarek

Erik Per Sullivan the actor who played the fan favorite Dewey Wilkerson on Malcolm in the Middle has denied a substantial amount of money that was offered to him for the show's reboot, choosing his academia career instead. He is currently studying for his master's degree at Harvard University, and has not been active in Hollywood since 2010.

Jane Kaczmarek, who played his mom Lois, talked about this in an interview with The Guardian where she stated,

“He’s studying Dickens and is an incredible student – they offered him buckets of money to come back, and he just said: ‘No thank you’.”

However, everyone else is coming back. Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, Christopher Kennedy Masterson and Justin Berfield as Francis and Reese, Bryan Cranston as Hal, Jane as Lois; the whole family's reassembling except for Sullivan, and his presence on the show will be absolutely missed. Now Caleb Ellsworth-Clark is stepping into shoes that a lot of people have actual nostalgia attached to, as Dewey was the breakout character for a lot of fans.

More details about Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair

It's been twenty years since Malcolm Wilkerson and his insane family went off air, and they're finally coming back. Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair drops April 10 on Hulu and Disney+, and it's a blast of nostalgia for fans of the show.

The setup follow Malcolm who is living a happy life now with his daughter Leah and girlfriend Tristan as he has escaped the family chaos. Then Hal and Lois demand his presence at their 40th wedding anniversary party, and suddenly he's dragged back into the absolute insanity.

Talking about the reboot and how much it means to be back as Malcol, Muniz stated,

"It was the first time in my career as an actor that I was happy to have the label 'actor.' When I was a kid, I just showed up and said the words and it all worked out. Now, I'm making a plan going into the scene. Doing the prep makes the process really, really fun."

The four episodes were filmed in Vancouver between April and May 2025, with Ken Kwapis returning to direct every single episode. He originally directed 19 episodes of the original series, so he's experienced in the chaos of the Wilkerson world.

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Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair will be available to stream on Hulu.

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