ABC Cancels "The Middle" after 9 Seasons
by Keisha Hatchett
Aug 2, 2017


This upcoming season of "The Middle" will be its last. ABC has canceled the single-camera comedy after nine seasons, Entertainment Weekly reports.

The move might seem sudden for fans, but the cast and crew have known about it for a while now. "We sat down with the cast at the end of last year," executive producer Eileen Heisler explained. "It was important to have a year to say goodbye. We want to be able to tell all the stories."



Though executive producer DeAnn Heline said the show could go on for "years and years" if they had the opportunity, she admits they also kicked around the idea of how to end it as early as a few years ago.

"We started having an idea a couple of years ago and honed it more in the last year," she added.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/abc-cancels-the-middle/

Sad, but had to happen sooner or later. After all, nothing is forever.

Hate to hear this. It was a good family comedy but I guess with the older kids growing up & going to college it would have to end. At least we get a final season.

Hate to hear this. It was a good family comedy but I guess with the older kids growing up & going to college it would have to end. At least we get a final season.
I remember a couple years ago when Two and A Half Men ended on CBS.

I'm not surprised. I'm not happy either, but shows aren't good if they run forever.

The Middle started out good, and improved as time went on. Nine seasons is a great run.

It proves you can stay out of the gutter (for the most part) and still have a really funny show.

I'm not surprised. I'm not happy either, but shows aren't good if they run forever.
Except the Simpsons which will have its 30th season. That's too many seasons.
Crazy. That show's old enough to have at least a couple reunions.

Except the Simpsons which will have its 30th season. That's too many seasons.
Crazy. That show's old enough to have at least a couple reunions.

I won't doubt The Simpsons would be on for another 30 years.

I also feel TBBT has been on TOO long!

I'm sure we'll get a good finale for The Middle...

Nine will be just fine.

I kind of wish I caught it when it first came out, but as a few of us have said, it had a good run. Now I'm foolishly expecting the show to go out with a bang. I'm not talking about blowing up Orson, Indiana, or anything like that. Just something decent to happen to the Hecks and some supporting characters.

Hell, maybe even a "Year of Sue," that'd blow the other planned "Years of Sue" out of the water.

The Middle lost me when the two older kids grew up and it was just Brick in the house really and he is a teen now. I watched the show religiously from 2009 to around 2014 and then lost interest, and have not seen an episode of this or Modern Family in about two years, probably will try to catch up or not.

Nine years is a long time for a sitcom. I think only Big Bang Theory has been on longer. Modern Family, which also debuted in 2009 will have to rap it up soon, since most all their kids have grown up too, even Manny. Hard to keep kids as kids forever.

I'm still enjoying this show -- since the kids have been allowed to grow up, there have been new plots.

Hoping some previous co-stars will be brought back this season as a farewell to their characters.

Looking forward to season nine!

I hate Modern Family even more now. It is vastly inferior to The Middle but hogged all the Emmys and ratings. Now it will outlast The Middle by at least one season.

I won't doubt The Simpsons would be on for another 30 years.

I also feel TBBT has been on TOO long!

I'm sure we'll get a good finale for The Middle...

I HATE The Big Bang Theory:angryfire but I do like the early early seasons of The Simpsons when it was at its best.

The Middle is just meh but I hope The Big Bang Theory ends either this year or early next! It's been on WAY too long and it's just crap writing and crap acting! They should cancel it! :angryfire

Truthfully, this is not really a cancellation. It's an ending. It's like being let go, versus being fired.

They aren't being cancelled for monetary disputes or for low ratings. They're ending the show. It's a big difference.

I HATE The Big Bang Theory:angryfire but I do like the early early seasons of The Simpsons when it was at its best.

The Middle is just meh but I hope The Big Bang Theory ends either this year or early next! It's been on WAY too long and it's just crap writing and crap acting! They should cancel it! :angryfire

I think I read somewhere that CBS inked a deal to extend BBT for several more seasons (no comment...).

Truthfully, this is not really a cancellation. It's an ending. It's like being let go, versus being fired.

They aren't being cancelled for monetary disputes or for low ratings. They're ending the show. It's a big difference.
Yea I agree. By this definition all shows get cancelled even when they decide to end it themselves.

Truthfully, this is not really a cancellation. It's an ending. It's like being let go, versus being fired.

They aren't being cancelled for monetary disputes or for low ratings. They're ending the show. It's a big difference.
Yeah, I get it. That show's been on ABC too long anyways, so it's about time it ends. Time to retire it.

Nine years is a long time for a sitcom. I think only Big Bang Theory has been on longer. Modern Family, which also debuted in 2009 will have to rap it up soon, since most all their kids have grown up too, even Manny. Hard to keep kids as kids forever.
I believe Modern Family is supposed to have about two more seasons left.

It decided to go out on it's own.

To catsrule: I guess this is a win for the elitist snobs who run all these stupid awards shows, huh?

A couple of factors that influenced the decision to end The Middle: The cancellation of Last Man Standing and 2 Broke Girls, two long-running outside studio shows, last May; and Black-Ish becoming the new Tuesday-night anchor after airing in the post-Modern Family slot since its 2014 debut.

To catsrule: I guess this is a win for the elitist snobs who run all these stupid awards shows, huh?

A couple of factors that influenced the decision to end The Middle: The cancellation of Last Man Standing and 2 Broke Girls, two long-running outside studio shows, last May; and Black-Ish becoming the new Tuesday-night anchor after airing in the post-Modern Family slot since its 2014 debut.

Or it could also be an independent decision that you overlooked.

The Middle jumped the shark and started going downhill the season Axl went to college. He'd always been presented as a big dummy who never took academics seriously, and suddenly he's transformed into a B+ student in college? That was just too ridiculous to accept, based on what came before. And because the writers didn't know what to do with him as a college student, they de-emphasized college life and had him pretty much at home most of the time. Didn't work. And it didn't work with Sue, either.

Aside from all that, the character of Frankie Heck has changed considerably since the first season. She was introduced as a harried mom and housewife, someone who had to work and struggled day to day to make ends meet. Eventually, though, she grew into a narcissistic opportunist who took advantage of people and situations (how she's treated the Donahues is especially heinous) and wasn't above cheating and lying to get her own way. She's completely neglected her children, going so far as to tell young Brick he was "on his own" as far as meals were concerned, once Sue had gone to college. I found nothing funny or charming in that scenario.

The Middle ran out of steam a loooong time ago. Supposedly the writers and producers have decided on their "own" to cancel the show, but truth of the matter is, the ratings had dipped precariously in the last few seasons, and it was headed for the cancellation boneyard anyway. Better to make great hoopla about it leaving before ABC showed it the door.

No its ratings hadn't "dipped precariously". The Middle kept a lot more of its audience year-to-year than Modern Family, that show's ratings had sharp declines the last few years. Its first year on Tuesdays The Middle easily had higher ratings than the 9-11 shows. American Housewife started higher but The Middle ended up ahead of it by the end of the year as well.

To lighten up the mood a bit, ABC's twitter page of the show had a picture taken by Patricia Heaton of Charlie McDermott, Atticus Shaffer, and Eden Sher behind the scenes of the Season 9 premiere.

https://twitter.com/TheMiddle_ABC/status/907719569908924416

Love this one, especially with Eden.

Or it could also be an independent decision that you overlooked.

I don't know what that decision you were talking about was. But some other factors in The Middle ending its run include: Declining viewership; Unwillingness to be a total Simpson (referring to The Simpsons and its almost three-decades run length); and strong development on ABC Network's comedy division. This could lead to the opening-up of a new anchor slot on the network for the 2018-19 TV season.

It had a good run.

I wasn't really a fan of "The Middle" when I first started watching it with my husband but I've seen so many episodes that it's kind of grown on me. I love Sue and I am so sad that it's ending, but I'm glad they're ending it on a high note instead of letting it drag on and on. This season has been great so far.

I don't know what that decision you were talking about was. But some other factors in The Middle ending its run include: Declining viewership; Unwillingness to be a total Simpson (referring to The Simpsons and its almost three-decades run length); and strong development on ABC Network's comedy division. This could lead to the opening-up of a new anchor slot on the network for the 2018-19 TV season.The ratings have not declined much since it moved to Tuesday. The Middle has been ABC's highest rated Tuesday show in the demo most weeks, besides a few times American Housewife built on it last year. It has beat the Blackish you prefer every week so far and will certainly be higher rated than it at season's end. Compare The Middle to Modern Family, which has dropped a lot sharper the last few seasons despite getting to stay in its slot and not moving nights. And no scripted comedy will get to run as long as The Simpsons. Ozzie and Harriet holds the scripted comedy record with 14 seasons, which The Simpsons has more than doubled so far. strong development, I doubt it. The Mayor was their prize new comedy this year and it flopped despite a ton of promotion.

The ratings have not declined much since it moved to Tuesday. The Middle has been ABC's highest rated Tuesday show in the demo most weeks, besides a few times American Housewife built on it last year. It has beat the Blackish you prefer every week so far and will certainly be higher rated than it at season's end. Compare The Middle to Modern Family, which has dropped a lot sharper the last few seasons despite getting to stay in its slot and not moving nights. And no scripted comedy will get to run as long as The Simpsons. Ozzie and Harriet holds the scripted comedy record with 14 seasons, which The Simpsons has more than doubled so far. strong development, I doubt it. The Mayor was their prize new comedy this year and it flopped despite a ton of promotion.

It's not that I prefer Black-Ish over The Middle (I actually don't), it's just the nature of the commercial broadcast TV business. With limited space on the networks' primetime schedules, a reason that older shows end their original runs is to make room for newer and younger shows.

I don't know what that decision you were talking about was. But some other factors in The Middle ending its run include: Declining viewership; Unwillingness to be a total Simpson (referring to The Simpsons and its almost three-decades run length); and strong development on ABC Network's comedy division. This could lead to the opening-up of a new anchor slot on the network for the 2018-19 TV season.

It sounds to me like the creators and writers just decided it was time to end it. Not every cancellation is ratings-related.:lol:

It sounds to me like the creators and writers just decided it was time to end it. Not every cancellation is ratings-related.:lol:
Yeah, the Middle has been on ABC too long anyways.

Nine years is a long time for a sitcom. I think only Big Bang Theory has been on longer. Modern Family, which also debuted in 2009 will have to rap it up soon, since most all their kids have grown up too, even Manny. Hard to keep kids as kids forever.
If you haven't seen this post yet...

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?p=5327305#post5327305

Yeah, the Middle has been on ABC too long anyways.No it hasn't. The Middle and Modern Family are both in season 9. Modern Family will get to return for at least one more season while The Middle won't. Grey's Anatomy is in season 14, and with the lead recently signing a 2 year deal will make it to at least 16 seasons. Way overplayed America's Funniest Home Videos has been on since 1990, almost as long as The Simpsons. Lousy reality shows like The Bachelor franchise and Dancing with the Stars refuse to die. And The Middle still does well in ratings. This week it had a 1.4 demo, while the rest of ABC Tuesday was at 1.0 or less.

This little show has always gotten decent ratings but as shows age so do the cost.

I think this is where the line was drawn in agreement.

Last I remembered, several years ago Patricia Heaton was one of the highest paid performers making $250,000 or so an episode.

And to be honest it hasn't been that good after season 5 nor has it ever been a critical darling (Modern Family).

No it hasn't. The Middle and Modern Family are both in season 9. Modern Family will get to return for at least one more season while The Middle won't. Grey's Anatomy is in season 14, and with the lead recently signing a 2 year deal will make it to at least 16 seasons. Way overplayed America's Funniest Home Videos has been on since 1990, almost as long as The Simpsons. Lousy reality shows like The Bachelor franchise and Dancing with the Stars refuse to die. And The Middle still does well in ratings. This week it had a 1.4 demo, while the rest of ABC Tuesday was at 1.0 or less.
Well, 9 seasons feels like a long time. It's nearly a decade, for crying out loud. I remember 2 1/2 Men lasting 12 seasons on CBS before it finally ended 3 yrs. ago. Maybe compared to the other shows, it's not long, but 9 seasons of the Middle, Modern Family, or any show is long enough.

There are two upcoming episodes in March; "The Crying Game," and "Heck vs. Glossners; The Final Battle, " and there are people who are incorrectly assuming that the latter is going to be the series finale.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/middle/listings/


However, Atticus Shaffer has confirmed otherwise in a tweet yesterday:

https://twitter.com/AtticusShaffer2/status/969705520750710784

As for "Heck vs. Glossners," I keep imagning that the promo for this is going to look excessively dramatic like something for "Scandal" or the more intense promos for "Grey's Anatomy," only for the tone to be broken by one comedic line.

Quick clips from past episodes

ABC Dramatic Announcer: They terrorized Orson, Indiana for more than a decade. But only one family dared to stand up to them! Now, one of them is about to light the fuse that will end things once and for all!

Brick (a bit mad): He called my girlfriend weird.

Sue or Axl; Cindy is weird.

Brick: Well yeah, she is.


ABC Dramatic Announcer: Hecks vs. Glossners; The Final Battle! Tuesday at 8:00 Eastern Time, and 5:00 Pacific Time. Only on ABC.


Something like that.

I also gave up on The Middle starting when Axl went to college. Basically the kids grew up and lost that dynamic. I used to watch the show religiously every week and haven't watched an episode in about two or three seasons. I watched a few minutes of a new episode and it was Sue drunk in a bar with her mother (21st birthday?). Uh, ok.

Patricia Heaton is a really good actress though, because Frankie is much different than Debra Barone, and this is a sign of a talented actress. A lot of actors basically play the same person with different names in different series. She is also very attractive.

Remember what I said about my fantasy promo for "Hecks. vs. Glossners; The Final Battle?" I take it back. I haven't seen too many promos for the show lately.

The Middle stars prepare to say goodbye after nine seasons (https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/04/30/abc-middle-family-comedy-series-finale/561456002/)
“It’s saying goodbye to an old pal," says Neill Flynn. "The nice green walls of the Heck house … I don’t know if it was always the same, but it was always messy. I guess that’s it. It’s nothing to cry about, right?” He adds: "We’re definitely going to cry.”

At least it'll go off in style.

I also gave up on The Middle starting when Axl went to college. Basically the kids grew up and lost that dynamic.

Kids growing up is the bane of all family comedies. What is cute and funny when they are young doesn't play as well when they are older, and the "add a kid" syndrome usually just makes things worse. Better to go out with some dignity than to run it into the ground like some shows (somebody mentioned Two and a Half Men, that went on for way too long).

I think The Middle has handled the kids growing up better than most. That said, 9 years is a long time for a sitcom, and it’s time to wrap it up before it overstays its welcome (like The Simpsons).

It sounds like it’s going to end with Axl moving away, which makes me a little sad. I’d like to think of the Hecks all together as the show ends. But it’s probably realistic to see one of the kids fly the coop.

The shows this season have been very funny -- I especially liked Brick going to the prom.

I do wish The Middle was getting a tenth season but will enjoy the couple shows remaining.

Best wishes to a very talented cast!!

Yes! Best of luck to the cast!

They got some good scripts out of Axl going to college. And they had some pretty funny recurring elements, like the kid who sat at the computer and rarely spoke. Good for that actor--he didn't have to memorize lines (although he might have been paid less).

Maybe Patricia Heaton will retire. Two nine season sitcoms--quite an accomplishment. In any case, good luck to all!

Anyone have any clue when the Season 9 DVD will be out? The VideoETA website doesn't have drop-down menus that feature potential titles anymore.

This final episode (so far) is REALLY good!

Remember this thread?

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=362857

After the whole West Coast gets to see this, I'm going to reveal what I originally thought might happen based on the original Season 9 promo.

Gosh, I started that thread, and I forgot all about it.

Probably a better place to discuss the final episode, once it can be done.

The Middle will cap off nine seasons tonight with a "satisfying" series finale (https://nypost.com/2018/05/21/the-middle-creator-preps-a-satisfying-finale-after-9-seasons/)
“The finale (http://forums.previously.tv/topic/70443-s09e23-a-heck-of-a-ride/?do=getLastComment) really is a very satisfying ending for people who’ve loved the show for all these years. We’re not going to cut to black at the end like The Sopranos," says co-creator Eileen Heisler with a laugh. The Middle premiered one week after Modern Family in 2009, and has always stood in the shadow of its fellow ABC sitcom. “We were always riding their wind,” says Heisler. “Not being as splashy as Modern Family just became part of our narrative. We’re like the kid who is staying up late and the parents don’t know they’re up.” ALSO: Patricia Heaton: ABC wanted to continue The Middle, but we felt nine seasons was enough. (http://people.com/tv/patricia-heaton-middle-final-season/)

The Middle co-creator: We wanted to go out on top even though we never ran out of stories (http://deadline.com/2018/05/the-middle-series-finale-eileen-heisler-showrunner-reboot-abc-1202395580/)
"We had a whole board of stories we never got to," Eileen Heisler says of the series finale. "We felt it was a good time to end because we were all still loving it, loving each other, and enjoying ourselves. We never wanted to get to the point where we were retreading old stories, or anyone was feeling restless and wishing they were somewhere else. We wanted to go out while we’re still at the top — (the middle?) — of our game, and to have a year of knowing we were wrapping up so we could write to an ending. We feel very grateful we’ve gotten to do that, and hope we are leaving fans wanting more." ALSO: The Middle was given a dignified send-off. (http://www.tvguide.com/news/the-middle-series-finale-review/)

The whole episode was good, but I don't think they needed that flash to the future.

'The Middle' wraps its run as TV’s most perpetually underrated comedy https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/5/27/17387074/the-middle-series-finale-recap-a-heck-of-a-ride

A couple of questions about the closing credits:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8084732/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv

The credits at the end of the episode feature a different Blackie and Blondie Productions logo in which the paper gets crumbled and throw away, rather than the typical still logo animation.

The credits at the end of the episode feature a different Black and Blondie Productions logo in which the paper gets burned and zooms into Warner Bros. Television logo rather than still animation.
I saw neither of these variants. Was this something that only existed on the iTunes version, or some other live-streaming version?

I just found the potential cover for Season 9:

https://www.wbshop.com/products/middle-the-the-complete-ninth-season-mod


Amazon.com finally has a link, but no cover or other details yet.

SPECIAL COMMENTARY: An Appreciation of The Middle (https://benjamonsterstv.blogspot.com/2018/05/special-commentary-appreciation-of.html)

The Middle ends tonight after nine seasons and 215 episodes.

This unassuming comedy premiered just one week after the heralded debut of Modern Family and as part of ABC's heavily hyped entirely new comedy block that also included Cougar Town and the quickly cancelled Kelsey Grammar comedy Hank. All eyes were on Modern Family at first and for many years with its five straight Emmy wins (at least two of those were very deserving) and huge popularity. But I firmly believe it is The Middle that had the better run. While Family's best days are years ago and it is a shell of what it was once, The Middle has continued in quality with remarkable consistency since day one and its ratings reflect that. It never reached the highs of a show like Modern Family but also didn't suffer a huge erosion of audience over the years comparatively.

What is the reason for that? First of all, the show managed what very few family sitcoms in history have been able to do. The kids actually aged well. Axl, Sue, and Brick are just as enjoyable as they were in season one it not moreso. That feat is something that even classics like Leave it to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, The Cosby Show, and The Brady Bunch struggled to do. It is a testament to the writing and the performances of Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher, and Atticus Shaffer. They grew up in a way that real families do: the relationships evolved, but the personalities didn't dramatically change. Axl may have gone from barely out of middle school to out of college, but he's still cocky, still sarcastic, and still a softie deep down. Brick is the same lovable weirdo as a high schooler as he was as in elementary school. And Sue, perhaps the show's MVP, has always been a sunny optimist who sees the best in everything even when almost anyone else wouldn't. The kids have been through relationships, school troubles, triumphs, and failures, but they have always remained true to their well defined characters.

The kids are just part of the equation though. As parents Frankie and Mike, Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn brought their sitcom expertise to a new level. Patricia Heaton played frazzled well on Everybody Loves Raymond, but she brought it to a new level as Frankie Heck, a mom who always had the best intentions but frequently didn't know how to reach her goals. She was funny and provided a great narration throughout the entire series (I don't always like that used in a sitcom, but it worked great here). As dad Mike Heck, Neil Flynn offered some of the show's sweetest moments because he was so often buttoned up and unwilling or unable to show much emotion. But when he did, it really packed a punch. The relationship between Mike and Frankie was very authentic and felt natural.

Perhaps that's one of the greatest strengths of the show as a whole: everything felt so real. Even with Brick's eccentricities or some supporting characters (Brad, Edie & Ginny, Reverend Tim Tom, Rita Glossner, Weird Ashley, the think alike cheerleaders Courtney and Debbie to name a few) that seemed straight out of a modern day Mayberry, the show amazingly never lost its authenticity. There has been a lot of talk about how shows like Roseanne and Last Man Standing are appealing to middle America but The Middle is really a love letter to the midwest, to small towns everywhere, and to the middle class. I don't know that I could name 10 singular episodes off the top of my head right now because it just felt like we were watching life and not plots. That was the beauty of The Middle. Maybe it never soared as high as certain shows, but it certainly didn't sink as low as some of those same shows. It just sweetly plugged along for nine seasons always sure of itself and always entertaining. It's rather fitting that a show called The Middle was one of my favorite middle of the road comfort shows since 2009. And it sure is sad to see The Middle reach the end. As tonight's episode implies, it's been one Heck of a ride.

This upcoming season of "The Middle" will be its last. ABC has canceled the single-camera comedy after nine seasons
I loved watching The Middle for years. But I never noticed that it only used one camera. Guess I don't pay that much attention to such things. Still, I'm surprised I didn't notice.