The smell of sweet nostalgia is wafting into the air over at Hulu. The streaming service will delight a plethora of fans when Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, a revival miniseries, arrives on April 10. It shows us what life is like for Malcolm, who is all grown up like us. He’s been staying far, far away from his dysfunctional family for over a decade, but now he must return home for his parent’s 40th wedding anniversary. And he’s not coming alone. Malcolm has a loving girlfriend Tristian, played by the fabulous Kiana Madeira, and his teen daughter Leah (Keely Karsten). We caught up with Madeira to chat about what fans can expect in this revival, her nerdy activities, and if she’d ever return for another Fear Street film.
Nerdist: Before we get into Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, let’s talk about your origin story. Tell me about your journey to become an actress.
Kiana Madeira: I wanted to act since I was very small. I was a really shy kid. My parents would always ask my brother and I, “What do you want to do?” My brother was always about hockey, and I was like, “I want to be in movies,” because I was in love with John Travolta from Grease. I think every parent’s idea of what an actor’s supposed to be is usually the loud, outgoing kid. But I was really shy and quiet and reserved.
I did swimming lessons and rhythmic gymnastics. I was notorious for trying something and quitting. And I was still like, “I want to be in movies, I want to be an actor.” So when I was 10, I was a little bit more out of my shell, and [my parents] said okay, I think this is something she might actually want to do. They signed me up with an agency in Toronto, Canada, where I’m from. I started auditioning, and I took a lot of acting classes. When I was 17, I booked my first big role in Canada. It was a sitcom called Really Me, and that’s really when I started to fall in love [with acting].
I love that. You’ve had this long acting journey, and now you’re in Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, which is really exciting. Before joining this series, what did you know about Malcolm in the Middle? Was it a show that you were familiar with as a fan?
Madeira: I was such a fan! I grew up watching Malcolm in the Middle. It was always on at our house. I have this photo of myself in grade 5. Our teacher took a photo of us on the first day of school, and—I only realized this very recently—I was holding the Malcolm in the Middle paperback with Frankie Muniz on it…I am so excited and grateful to be a part of this revival. It’s such a full-circle moment for me.
That’s incredibly cool. Obviously, being a fan was probably one big reason why you signed on to play Tristan. But what was it about that role outside of that made you want to portray her, and what do you think fans will love about this character?
Madeira: I really wanted to play Tristan, because I think she’s a character who is pretty similar to myself energetically. I’ve played a lot of characters who are super tough and kind of confrontational and abrasive and have been through a lot. That’s not to say my character hasn’t been through a lot, because she has. [Viewers will] come to see that when they find out a little bit more about her. I love that she was also this bright light to Malcolm’s kind of chaos and overthinking tendencies.
I love that Tristan is an anchor that keeps him focused and she speaks her mind. I think fans will really love Malcolm and Tristan’s dynamic, because she doesn’t ever want to change him. She loves all the things about him, like all his little nerdy-isms, his way of thinking, his way of being. She just lets Malcolm be Malcolm, but at the same time, she steers him in the right direction. I think that they play really well off of each other in that way.
That’s so lovely. Right now, we’re in a season right now of a bunch of reboots and revivals, right? They feel like they’re popping up almost every day! Why do you think now is the right time to bring Malcolm in the Middle’s universe back to television for a miniseries?
Madeira: I think there’s something so wonderful and comforting about nostalgia, especially when done right. The fact that it’s the original cast, I think, is huge. I don’t know how it would have been if they brought this show back with a different creator. We still have Linwood Boomer, who’s the show’s original creator and executive producer.
Original fans have always wondered what they’ve been up to, and now their questions will be answered in a way that stays true to the original show, but is still new and refreshing and exciting.
Awesome. You came into this established dynamic of people who have worked together before, even though it was many years ago. So they’re having this reunion, but you’re a new face. What was it like to find your place within that dynamic and work with people that you literally grew up watching on television?
Madeira: Thankfully, they’re all so kind and so welcoming. Mentally it was a little intimidating when I was on the plane to Vancouver to film. I was like, “Oh, I don’t know how everyone’s gonna be,” but immediately, everyone was so welcoming and so talented and professional. But they were also just there to have fun, which I really, really liked… There was so much room to just play and be joyful in the work.
But I also really love that Tristan is also meeting them for the first time, too. To me, I could just be present in this experience… It was actually easier for me to be taking it like Tristan is because I also did that as Kiana.
Oh, yeah, I love that! If you can describe the series in 3 words, which ones would you use?
Madeira: Oh, that’s a great question. The series, I would say, is… chaotic. Lovingly chaotic. We’ll count that as one. What else? Heartfelt. There’s a lot of heart in it, which is so true to the original as well. And nostalgic in the best way.
I absolutely love it. You said earlier that Tristan is very different from characters you’ve played before. I think a lot of our audience at Nerdist will recognize you from playing Deena Johnson in Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy. Would you ever reprise that role if there were a chance to be able to do so?
Madeira: 100%. Deena will always have such a special place in my heart. And to this day on TikTok, I’m always talking to fans about Fear Street. Everyone’s like, “Are you guys coming back?” And I’m like, “Well, you never know.”
I’m starting to get into producing now, so if there’s anything that I can do on my end to bring it back, I think there’s so much room to really play off of how the third movie ended off, like who took the book. There’s just so much room to play, especially with the different timelines. So I would 100% love to jump into Deena’s shoes again.
That would be exciting! Now, if there was a one-on-one battle between Tristan and Deena, who would win?
Madeira: It’s more complicated than it seems! I feel like at first glance, people would be like, oh, Deena for sure, but Tristan is a sleeper. I think Deena just went through way too much, she’s gonna fight to a different level. I’m gonna have to say Deena.
I don’t know, it feels a little bit more evenly matched than what it seems. Tristan is kind of a baddie. They are both baddies, really.
Madeira: Both baddies in their own right!
At Nerdist, we celebrate all things nerdy, from obvious things like comics and gaming to other niche interests like gardening. Kiana, what do you nerd out about the most?
Madeira: I definitely nerd out about acting. My husband, Lovell Adams-Gray, and I, we’re both actors, so we’re always nerding out about movies. We have movie journals. So when we go to the movies, we write down the director, starring cast, memorable quotes, favorite scenes, thoughts in general, and then we rate it out of 10.
So I think that’s pretty nerdy. People stop us after the theaters, because we’ll be the ones staying behind to finish our notes, and they’re like, “Are you guys journalists? Are you reviewing the film?” And we’re like, “Yeah, you could say that.”
I’m also a Super Mario fan. I love Mario Kart and Mario Party, and I will go on record and say that I will beat a lot of people on Mario Kart. I’m really good at Mario Kart, especially on the Switch. I play on the hard level, I don’t use the track guide, I can play without the track guide, so those who know, know that’s not easy.
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair hits Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on April 10.