“Malcolm in the Middle” may have been off the air for nearly 20 years before it returned for its “Life’s Still Unfair” revival this month, but the iconic cast still has it. Just ask Keeley Karsten, who joins the franchise as daughter Leah to Frankie Muniz’ titular Malcolm — even if she was born after the original series wrapped.
“I had never seen the show before I got the part of Leah. It came out before I was born. What’s funny is, when I had gotten it and told all my friends, everybody knew about it but me,” she told TheWrap. “But then I binged the whole show before we started filming and I understood, I got the hype.”
Karsten and Muniz are joined by returning castmembers Bryan Cranston, Justin Berfield, Christopher Masterson, Emy Coligado, Craig Lamar Traylor, David Anthony Higgins and Jane Kaczmarek for the four-episode miniseries, alongside new additions Vaughan Murrae, Caleb Ellsworth-Clark and Anthony Timpano.
“They really welcomed me with open arms, it was such a comfortable, relaxing, fun environment on set. And it was crazy, because I had binged the show right before, so to see those characters then come to life in front of me to get to know them and work with them — it was like a physical comedy masterclass,” Karsten said. “Not only are they really funny on screen, they’re also really funny off screen.”
“The returning cast really was inclusive, but [the new castmembers] all kind of shared the crazy experience of walking into something that had gone on for so long way before us. In that way, I think we were all probably a little bit intimidated,” she continued. “I was really close with Vaughan, so I’m very glad that it was not just me and there was a group of people who also understood … we would do things like walking through the original house tour and they were all so excited, but we didn’t have that kind of connection to the house yet.”
Plus, Leah takes after her father in the fact that she also addresses the camera directly, breaking the fourth wall.
“That was just something that I watched him do and kind of eased into as filming started, because it’s all about the timing. It was something that Frankie was so used to, just the minute we got on set. The first time I watched him do it, it was like a reflex for him and it became that later for me,” Karsten explained. “We had one scene that I filmed with Frankie in a car, and he was doing a ton of improv, going off-the-walls insane. We were laughing a lot that day. I had a really hard time keeping myself together, there are probably not too many takes where I don’t burst out laughing, especially at the end. But that was a really fun day, but to be fair, that was most of my scenes with Frankie.”
Plus, after seeing the show’s success in the ratings, the actress couldn’t help but think about the man behind both shows — creator Linwood Boomer.
“I was just happy for Linwood. The show is so personal for him, so I really enjoyed working with him and Tracy [Katsky Boomer]. I was also really happy for the returning cast and that people are getting to see them again, because they know their characters so well,” Karsten shared. “They knew exactly what to do for any scene, because they knew their characters inside and out. To have that kind of connection with a character, I’m glad that people are really enjoying it.”
“Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” is available to stream on Hulu.
