<Tr> <Th> Audio format </Th> <Td> Dolby Digital 5.1 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Original release </Th> <Td> January 9, 2000 (2000 - 01 - 09)--May 14, 2006 (2006 - 05 - 14) </Td> </Tr> <P> Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company . The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six - year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes . The series received critical acclaim and won a Peabody Award, seven Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award, and seven Golden Globe nominations . </P> <P> The series follows a family of six, and later seven, and stars Frankie Muniz in the lead role of Malcolm Wilkerson, a somewhat normal boy who tests at genius level . While he enjoys his intelligence, he despises having to take classes for gifted children, who are mocked by the other students who call them "Krelboynes". Jane Kaczmarek is Malcolm's overbearing, authoritarian mother, Lois, and Bryan Cranston plays his immature but loving father, Hal . Christopher Kennedy Masterson plays eldest brother Francis, a former rebel who, in earlier episodes, was in military school, but eventually marries and settles into a steady job . Justin Berfield is Malcolm's dimwitted older brother Reese, a cruel bully who tortures Malcolm at home, even while he defends him at school . Younger brother Dewey, bitter about his ruined childhood, smart, and musically talented, is portrayed by Erik Per Sullivan . At first, the show's focus was on Malcolm, but as the series progressed, it began to explore all six members of the family . A fifth son, Jamie, was introduced as a baby at the end of Season 4 . </P>

When did the first episode of malcolm in the middle air