The Middle’s end is about to begin
ABC’s sitcom about blue-collar life has been quietly grabbing big ratings
A throwback to a simpler era of family sitcoms, “The Middle” on ABC plowed the heartland long before it was fashionable.
The family comedy about life in the middle of the United States has toiled in the shadows of flashier shows set in big cities, such as “Modern Family.” But now, just as red states have gained cultural and political cachet, the oh-so-ordinary (and apolitical) Heck family of the fictional small town of Orson, Ind., is stepping off the stage.
ABC and City will air the ninth and final season of “The Middle” beginning in October, giving viewers the opportunity to say a leisurely goodbye to Frankie, Mike, Sue, Axl and Brick Heck.
At the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, the show’s creators and its five stars — Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Eden Sher, Charlie McDermott and Atticus Shaffer — reflected on the ingredients that made the show about life in a flyover state special.
“Even in the pilot, we talked about planes flying from one coast to another, and people looking down, and how you should really check it out,” said DeAnn Heline, one of the show’s two executive producers.
“People in the middle of the country have been touched by the honouring of their everyday life and that’s what we hoped,” added Eileen Heisler, who created the show with Heline, her roommate at Indiana University.
Plans for the final season began last fall — before the November elections — because producers wanted to plot the final season and exit while the show was still loved.
“We wait until it was a hot topic, then we leave,” Heisler said. Heline added: “We just felt like the timing was right.”
In the most recent season, the show averaged seven million viewers an episode, according to Nielsen ratings. It was one of ABC’s top shows for attracting a multi-generational audience.
“When Eileen and I first sat down to develop this show, we said, ‘There are no shows set in the Midwest; there are no shows with a blue-collar family that is struggling,’” Heline said.