If you want to understand why Bryan Cranston got such recognition and praise for his performance in Breaking Bad, watch him in Malcolm in the Middle and wonder no more. The contrast and differences between Hal and Walter White are mind blowing.
Malcolm in the middle is about a young boy named Malcolm {Frankie Munez} that has an IQ of 160. He's a genius. His family is dysfunctional and disrespectful and off colored and the series is about Malcolm trying to just live through the dynamics of all the factors in his life. From his goofy, somewhat oblivious father, to his over bearing and controlling mother, (Jane Kaczmarek). To his older brother Francis (Christopher Masterson) who has been sent away to Military school for bad behavior, his brother Reese (Justin Berfield) who is totally dim witted and a bit of a bully to his space case of a brother, Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) who lives in his own fantasy world. The series is very Funny and light hearted. As dissconnected and dysfunctional as they are the family still loves each other and I found it was quite heart warming and enjoyable.
I think it kind of lost it's mojo after the third season or maybe the fourth season but the series did last for seven delightful season.
It has a rating of 8.0 on the IMDB