Characters of Malcolm in The Middle - Main Characters

Main Characters

Originally there were four brothers (although Malcolm's oldest brother attended a military school away from home, so Malcolm was still the middle sibling left at home). A fifth son was introduced in the show's fourth season, a boy named Jamie. The boys are, from eldest to youngest: Francis, Reese, Malcolm, Dewey, and Jamie. In the final episode, Lois discovered she was pregnant with a sixth child who's names is Kyle. In the third season, Francis travels home (to celebrate his father's birthday) with an Alaskan girl named Piama, and reveals that they are married. It is implied in "Hal's Christmas Gift" that the popularity order with the brothers is: Francis, Dewey, Reese, Jamie, then Malcolm. Throughout many of the series' episodes, the family is shown to be extremely loathed and despised by their neighbors.

During the first season, the writers decided to keep the family's last name a mystery. However, a last name had already been revealed on the show. In the pilot episode, as Francis speaks to his mother on the phone, his name tag says 'Wilkerson.' There was also a joke in the original pilot script that was cut – Malcolm, walking to school, is confronted by a boy who says "Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm. I was talking to my parents last night – I was listening to them talk, and what's your last name?" "Wilkerson, why?" Malcolm replied. "Oh. Who are the Pariahs?" said the boy. In the fifth season episode "Reese Joins the Army (1)", Reese uses a fake ID by the name of "Jetson" to lie about his age. In the series finale, "Graduation", Francis' employee ID reads "Nolastname" (or "No Last Name", a joke referring to the fact that the family name was never spoken aloud). In the same episode when Malcolm was introduced to give the graduation speech, the speaker announces Malcolm's name, but microphone feedback makes his surname inaudible.

It should also be noted that the only characters to appear in every single episode are Hal and Dewey. Lois was absent in "Clip Show" (except for flashbacks), as well as for several episodes in the fourth season, Francis appeared infrequently during the sixth and seventh seasons, and both Malcolm and Reese did not appear at all during "Clip Show II" (save for flashbacks).