The Middle: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Forget about athletes, movie stars and politicians. Parents are the real heroes - but we think Frankie Heck, must be some kind of superhero. A loving wife and mother of three, she's middle class in the middle of the country and is rapidly approaching middle age.

Frankie and her husband, Mike, have lived in Orson, Indiana, their whole lives. A man of few words (every one a zinger), Mike is a manager at the town quarry and Frankie is the third-best used car salesman (out of the three) at the local dealership. She may not be a high-powered career woman, but when it comes to her family, she'll go to just about any length. And with kids like these, she had better. There's Axl, her semi-nudist teenage son conceived while under the influence of Guns N' Roses; Sue, the awkward teenage daughter who fails at everything... but with the utmost of gusto; and their seven-year-old son Brick, whose best friend is his backpack.

Sometimes it seems like everyone is trying to get to the top, or struggling not to hit bottom, but we think Frankie and her family will find a lot of love, and a lot of laughs, somewhere in The Middle.

Series details

• Title: The Middle
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy, Family
• Premiere date: 2009-09-30
• Final broadcast date listed: 2018-05-22
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ABC
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 8.1/10
• TVMaze ID: 77

Cast and credited roles

• Patricia Heaton — Frankie Heck
• Charlie McDermott — Axl Heck
• Eden Sher — Sue Heck
• Atticus Shaffer — Brick Heck
• Neil Flynn — Mike Heck
• Chris Kattan — Bob Weaver

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2009-09-30; final listed air date 2010-05-19; episode order: 24.
• Season 2: premiered 2010-09-22; final listed air date 2011-05-25; episode order: 24.
• Season 3: premiered 2011-09-21; final listed air date 2012-05-23; episode order: 24.
• Season 4: premiered 2012-09-26; final listed air date 2013-05-22; episode order: 24.
• Season 5: premiered 2013-09-25; final listed air date 2014-05-21; episode order: 24.
• Season 6: premiered 2014-09-24; final listed air date 2015-05-13; episode order: 24.
• Season 7: premiered 2015-09-23; final listed air date 2016-05-18; episode order: 24.
• Season 8: premiered 2016-10-11; final listed air date 2017-05-16; episode order: 23.
• Season 9: premiered 2017-10-03; final listed air date 2018-05-22; episode order: 24.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Middle on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.