Warning: Major spoilers ahead

Picking up years after the end of Malcolm in the Middle, Malcolm reveals he now works at Feed US – installing computer systems that helps distribute unused food to food banks across the US.

He says he’s happy and successful – and credits that to staying as far away from his family as possible. He’s only seen them a handful of times over the past decade, but whether it be dinner, funeral or a simple catch-up, it’s always resulted with him spiraling and having an argument.

To combat this, he’s come up with a system to avoid his family without hurting their feelings, often blaming work.

Lois gives the ever-hirsute Hal a trim while on a video call to son Dewey, who is now a musician and on tour in Europe. While he asks them to maybe not do this while talking to him, Hal finally covers up when youngest child Kelly enters the kitchen.

Kelly is non-binary – something Hal is still trying to get his head around. They also aren’t scared of Lois the way the other siblings are.

It’s two weeks until their 40th wedding anniversary, and they want to celebrate it with a party. Heading to the supermarket, Hal surprises Lois with an in-store performance of Bruno Mars’ Locked Out of Heaven with his singing troupe. While it starts sweet, it gets weird when he sings about their sex life.

But Lois doesn’t mind. She’s told him he can do anything before and after the anniversary, but the actual day is hers. He admits to his singing pals that she makes him feel like his declarations of love are too much – but he has plenty of plans to prove her wrong.

This includes dumping a tractor full of roses on her and getting a giant tattoo in her honour.

After a hook-up at a keg party while in college, Malcolm is now a dad to a teenage daughter. Her name is Leah, and her mother Dreamer ran off three days after she was born. Like her father, she regularly breaks the fourth wall.

Malcolm comes home to find her crying in her room after school. When he asks why, it turns out she has been invited to a party, but believes it’s been done by schoolmates as part of a cruel trick. After trying too hard to not be like his parents, Malcolm’s gentle parenting style has backfired, and now Leah is overly sheltered and every bit as neurotic as her father.

She notices him panicking over a phone call but he dismisses it, though he later shares it’s from Lois. Running a charity means he has a plausible reason not to attend the party at the last minute. He tells her he’ll be there but plans to cancel when “something comes up”.

Back at the family home, Hal is helping Reese with some DIY home projects. While he enjoys spending time with his son, he tells him he doesn’t need to “rotate floor tiles every six months”. Reese knows but says he enjoys doing DIY things with him anyway. Hal suggests they do something else, like maybe a puzzle, but it freaks Reese out, who confesses he needs to be building or fixing something. After having a “sucky life” involving multiple failed marriages and no friends, it’s helping him be more successful – his dad is a tool helping him do that. Hal is touched and cries.

At school, Leah is highly intelligent but painfully awkward and doesn’t have many friends. She reads into things too much and has a habit of saying the wrong thing. She makes a careless comment to a classmate and the more she tries to fix it, the more she digs a hole for herself, leading to a trip to the counsellor.

Tristan, Malcolm’s girlfriend, is staying over. In bed, they talk about their day, and what they like about each other. They share a sweet moment, but it’s disrupted by a call, which Malcolm declines. Malcolm is looking forward to finally introducing her to Leah. Tristan nervously asks if she is going to like her, because if she doesn’t it could collapse their relationship. Malcolm insists it will be fine because he’s come up with multiple contingency plans in order to make it work.

At breakfast, Malcolm tests Leah about everything Tristan likes and dislikes but Leah tells him to calm down. He gets a call from youngest sibling Kelly, who tells him he needs to come to Lois and Hal’s party because they can’t stop talking about it, calling him out for avoiding them even with six months notice. He panics and hangs up.

Lois is in full business mode organising the party, and has recruited her available family members to make party favours. Eldest son Francis and his wife Piama are still together and have moved into their renovated garage. Kelly spills the news that Malcolm’s not coming.

Tristan and Leah meet. Tristan is extremely nervous and things are a bit awkward to begin with, but they bond when they share how much Malcolm has over-prepared them. Soon they’re laughing at Malcolm and his quirks, and he’s delighted that they’re getting on.

However, it’s ruined when Lois and Hal barge in demanding his attendance at their anniversary party – and discover he has a teenage daughter he’s never told them about. He told Leah that they were dead.

Malcolm immediately freaks out, says they made him do it and screams at them, blaming them for everything. Hal’s hurt that Malcolm’s biggest problem is their existence and begins to have a panic attack. When Malcolm asks for a minute to explain himself, he instead makes a run for it, speeding out the house on foot, pegging it down the street, and disappearing into the distance.