60 Fun Facts About The Middle

In which US state is the fictional town of Orson, home of the Heck family?

Orson is based on the real town of Jasper; the setting was renamed on the advice of the show's lawyers.

Which network aired The Middle for its entire run?

It ran nine seasons, from September 2009 to May 2018, and was picked up for a full first season after only two episodes had aired.

Who plays Frankie Heck, the mother who narrates every episode?

Before The Middle she won two Emmys on Everybody Loves Raymond.

Neil Flynn, who plays Mike Heck, was previously best known as which Scrubs character?

He auditioned for Dr. Cox and was only supposed to appear in the Scrubs pilot; he ended up in eight seasons.

What is Mike Heck's job?

He hits his 25-year anniversary at the quarry in season 9's 'The Crying Game' and is promoted to regional manager.

Where does Frankie work when the series begins?

She loses the job in season 4 and retrains as a dental assistant, the job she keeps for the rest of the show.

What is the name of the Hecks' oldest child, the lazy, popular jock?

He is presumed to be named after Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose and plays electric guitar.

Why are Sue Heck's first and middle names both 'Sue'?

Her tell when lying is ending sentences with 'and so on, and so forth, and what have you'.

What is Brick Heck's middle name?

A fitting name for the family's compulsive reader, who once called Diary of a Wimpy Kid 'the book that changed my life'.

Brick's habit of repeating words from his own sentences in a whisper is a form of what?

He also whispers 'I'm lying' after a fib, though by season 6 he claims he farts instead.

Which fictional book series is Brick obsessed with?

It exists only in the show, unlike his other favourite, the very real Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

What happened to Brick shortly after he was born?

Mike was watching a football game and took home the wrong baby; the Hecks meet the other child, Blake Ferguson, in season 8.

Which of the Heck kids was born on Leap Day?

The season 3 episode 'Leap Year' reveals it, which fits a girl who is perpetually overlooked.

What is the name of the school cheer squad Sue joins in season 3?

Her fellow squad members include ultra-religious Ruth and troublemaker Becky.

What is Sue's tell when she is lying?

That whispered 'I'm lying' belongs to her little brother Brick.

Which website does Sue constantly consult for life advice?

Once she is at college, she graduates to kickingitcollegestyle.com.

What is Mike Heck's favourite film, the one Frankie pretended to like on their second date?

His other great passion is watching the Indianapolis Colts, ideally in a Super Bowl.

What does the Heck family always forget when they set off on a trip?

They leave it on the roadside one last time in the series finale as they head for Denver.

Which comedian played Mike's unreliable brother Rusty Heck?

The season 3 finale reveals Rusty's real first name is Orville.

Chris Kattan played Frankie's lonely co-worker at the car dealership. What was his name?

He was a main-credit character for the first two seasons before Frankie lost her job and his role shrank.

Which 30 Rock actor plays Dr. Ted Goodwin, the dentist who hires Frankie?

His practice is bought out by the chain Smile Sensations in season 7, to Frankie's annoyance.

Which supermodel and actress plays the Hecks' rough neighbour Rita Glossner?

Rita once calls Frankie a 'one-percenter'; the Glossners are the only family on the block worse off than the Hecks.

Nancy Donahue's son Sean, Axl's best friend, marries which character in the finale flash-forward?

Reverend Tim-Tom officiates after the couple break up and reunite a couple of times.

Who does Axl end up marrying, according to the series-finale flash-forward?

They have three sons who behave exactly as he did, which Frankie clearly regards as justice.

In season 8, Axl secretly marries a sweet but dim girlfriend, mainly to defy his parents. What is her name?

Mike calls her 'dumb as a box of hammers'; the marriage is annulled once both sets of parents find out.

Which pair of Axl's girlfriends were inseparable cheerleaders who dated him 'as one'?

He guessed Courtney was the real girlfriend and kissed her; both slapped him and dumped him.

Which actor played Sue's friend Brad Bottig on The Middle and later co-hosted a rewatch podcast with Eden Sher?

The podcast, Middling, launched in July 2024 and works through the show episode by episode.

What is the name of the baked-potato fast-food restaurant where Sue works from season 5?

Axl briefly works there too in season 9, along with a stint as a school bus driver.

Brick's girlfriend Cindy always wears what?

She finds Brick's missing shoe when she first appears, a heavy hint that her name nods to Cinderella. Her favourite food is shrimp.

Which youth minister at the Hecks' church, adored by Sue, turns everything into a song?

He gets a girlfriend, Reverend Tammy (Casey Wilson), in season 5, and Sue takes a while to warm to her.

Which sitcom legend played Frankie's father, Tag Spence?

His real-life brother Dick Van Dyke later played Tag's estranged brother Dutch in season 6.

Which Oscar-nominated actress played Frankie's mother, Pat Spence?

She turned up at least once in each of the first seven seasons, first in the season 1 episode 'Mother's Day'.

The Middle was created by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, former writers on which two shows?

Heline is from Muncie, Indiana, which helps explain the show's Hoosier setting.

Who was originally cast as Frankie when the show was first developed in 2006-07?

Atticus Shaffer was the only actor to keep his role when the show was redeveloped around Patricia Heaton.

Which real Hoosier town is Orson modelled on?

The show was originally going to be set there outright until the lawyers advised a fictional name.

How many episodes of The Middle aired in total?

The 100th and 200th episodes each got their own celebratory instalment, 'The 100th' and 'The 200th'.

Which season 3 episode was the most-watched of the entire series, with 10.16 million viewers?

The Halloween episodes became an annual tradition, running all the way to 'Halloween VIII: Orson Murder Mystery' in season 9.

What was the title of the one-hour series finale in May 2018?

In its final flash-forwards Axl marries Lexie, Sue marries Sean, and Brick becomes a famous author.

Where is Axl moving to for a job at the end of the series?

Mike hands him Big Mike's engraved watch as a parting gift before the family drives him there.

Why is Sean stopped by airport security in the finale, giving him time to catch the Hecks?

It gives him and Sue the chance to finally confess their mutual love.

Eden Sher won which prize in 2013 for playing Sue Heck?

She has since toured a one-woman show called 'I Was In A Sitcom' about life after the role.

Eden Sher also voiced the lead of which Disney animated series, from 2015 to 2019?

She voiced Star Butterfly from 2015 to 2019, overlapping with the sitcom's final seasons.

Atticus Shaffer, who plays Brick, has which medical condition?

The collagen disorder causes fragile bones and short stature; he stands 4 ft 8 in.

Which Tim Burton film did Atticus Shaffer voice a character in during his Middle years?

He voiced Edgar in the 2012 stop-motion film, and later Ono in Disney Junior's The Lion Guard.

Frankie's actress won two Emmys before The Middle for playing which character?

She was nominated for Lead Actress in a Comedy seven times for Everybody Loves Raymond, winning in 2000 and 2001.

Which of these guest stars did NOT appear on The Middle?

Frankie's Raymond co-star Ray Romano did turn up, as Nicky Kohlbrenner in season 3, and Greer Grammer, Kelsey's daughter, played April.

The cancelled spin-off pilot would have followed which Heck child living in Chicago?

ABC ordered the pilot in 2018 with Brad as a series regular, but it was never picked up.

What was the working title of that scrapped Sue Heck spin-off?

The name was dropped and the project stayed untitled before ABC passed in November 2018.

Which Heck child makes the National Honor Society in season 8 of The Middle, a family first?

Frankie only finds out from a voicemail left by someone at the school.

What business do Mike and Rusty start together in season 7?

Called Li'l Rivals, it is sold off the next season to pay Sue's college tuition.

Frankie's Aunt Edie and Aunt Ginny own a sickly Basset Hound named what?

After Aunt Edie's death in 'Hecks on a Train' the Hecks are left looking after her.

What is Brick's other unusual passion, besides reading, which even gets him a school club?

His friend Troy surprises him by turning up to a Font Club meeting even after joining the football team.

At which college do Axl, and later Sue and Brad, study?

Sean Donahue is the one who goes to Notre Dame, and drives home whenever Nancy summons him.

Where was The Middle filmed?

The house exterior and Ehlert Motors were on the ranch's Blondie Street; the set dresser shopped at Target and Kohl's for realism.

Which short-lived sitcom did The Middle air behind during its low-rated first season?

Once ABC moved the show to the 8 pm slot in 2010, ratings rose sharply and it usually ran second only to CBS's Survivor.

Who was the only actor to keep their role when the show was re-developed after the 2006-07 pilot?

The original version was to star Ricki Lake as Frankie; Patricia Heaton's casting prompted a second pilot for 2008-09.

Why was the setting changed from the real Jasper, Indiana, to the fictional Orson?

Co-creator DeAnn Heline is from Muncie, Indiana, and Orson is presumed to sit near Jasper.

Under what title has The Middle been adapted in Hindi for India's Big Magic channel?

The original premiered in India on Romedy Now in January 2015, and on Sky1 in the UK back in 2010.

Which honour did The Middle receive in 2011 for Outstanding Comedy Series?

That same year the first Critics' Choice Television Awards nominated the show, Patricia Heaton and Eden Sher.

What is the name of the rewatch podcast Eden Sher launched with Brock Ciarlelli in July 2024?

The podcast goes through the series episode by episode and interviews guest stars about their time on the show.