The series, set in the fictional town of Orson in Indiana, follows a lower-middle-class family living and facing the day-to-day struggles of home life, work, and raising children.
Starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn,[1] the show was created by former Roseanne and Murphy Brown writers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, and produced by Warner Bros. Television and Blackie and Blondie Productions.
Her stoic husband Mike manages a local quarry and serves as a stabilizing influence in the family, though Frankie complains about his lack of affection at times.
The children are quite different from one another: oldest son Axl, a stereotypical jock, is outgoing and popular at school but is quite rude and self-centered; daughter Sue is an enthusiastic and perky young girl but is chronically unsuccessful and awkward; and youngest son Brick is an intelligent, compulsive reader with odd behavioral traits loosely hinted to derive from Asperger's syndrome.
[5] The series was created by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline (who is from Muncie, Indiana)[6] and the pilot was directed by Julie Anne Robinson.
Set director Julie Fanton shops at stores that families are familiar with, such as Target and Kohl's, so the show appears to have a realistic middle-class look.
[23][24] In Bulgaria the series premiered in late 2019 alongside Young Sheldon on the Bulgarian pay television channel bTV Comedy.
On March 6, 2012, it was announced that ABC Family (now Freeform) obtained the rights to The Middle, which began airing the series on September 9, 2013, until August 22, 2022.
The Middle received positive reviews from critics, citing its unique and original characters, and praising the show's consistent standard and realistic portrayal of lower-middle-class families.
The website's consensus reads: "The Middle is a smart and engaging sitcom, able to exaggerate everyday situations to great comedic effect.
"[32] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
[33] Critics also praised the show's timing, writing, and acting; e.g., Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote, "...This series seems to more assuredly offer a first-class version of what so many viewers say they want: a humorous, heartfelt, realistic look at middle-class, middle-America family life.
"[34] Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker observed in season 2 that The Middle continues to be "a rock-solid show, the saga of a family struggling to keep their heads above the choppy economic waters.
[102] Almost two months later, on July 20, 2018, in an interview with TVLine's Michael Ausiello, Sher revealed that ABC had ordered a pilot for the potential series.
[103] The spin-off was officially ordered on August 13, 2018, and will follow "the twentysomething adventures of eternal optimist Sue Heck as she leaves the small town of Orson to navigate the ups and downs of a career and young adulthood in the big city of Chicago".
[107] On November 21, 2018, TVLine and Deadline reported that the spin-off would not be moving forward at ABC; it was shopped to other networks,[108][109] but ultimately was never picked up.
On October 5, 2018, it was announced that major recurring character Brad Bottig, played by Brock Ciarlelli, had joined the cast as a series regular.
[106] A few days later on October 8, 2018, it was reported that Kimberley Crossman would join the cast as Remi, a hotel chef still recovering from a messy breakup that ended with her boyfriend driving away with their food truck and taking all of her dreams with it.