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The Middle

2009–2018 · Ended · 9 seasons

Family Comedy

First aired: Sep 30, 2009
Last aired: May 22, 2018
IMDb rating: 7.7 / 10 59,280 votes
Recall rating: 7.0 / 10 1 rating

Overview

Frankie Heck 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".

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. 14 wins & 37 nominations total

via OMDb

Episodes

Season 4 · 24 episodes

E1 Last Whiff of Summer (1)

Sep 26, 2012 20 min

Mike accidentally reveals that Axl is his favorite child; Brick tries to grow a giant tomato; Sue encourages her father to participate in a variety of activities with her.
E2 Last Whiff of Summer (2)

Sep 26, 2012 19 min
E3 The Second Act

Oct 3, 2012 21 min

After being fired from the car dealership and vowing not to take any job that comes her way, Frankie goes to tech school to get a real career; Axl begins his senior year of high school; sophomore Sue mentors a freshman.
E4 Bunny Therapy

Oct 10, 2012 21 min

Brick is given a bunny to help him with a quirky new tic.
E5 The Hose

Oct 17, 2012 21 min

A neighbor accuses Frankie of stealing her hose; Sue cancels a road trip to Cincinnati after seeing Mike's paycheck; Brick learns about the birds and the bees.
E6 Halloween III: The Driving

Oct 24, 2012 20 min

Sue accidentally runs over Axl's foot while practicing driving; Axl looks forward to voting; Brick binges on Halloween candy.
E7 The Safe

Nov 7, 2012 21 min

Frankie does not make a good impression on the first day of dental assistant school; Mike and Frankie ask Axl to get a tutor and improve his grades; Sue and Brick try to pawn an item they found in an old safe.
E8 Thanksgiving IV

Nov 14, 2012 21 min

Frankie invites a couple of Marines to share Thanksgiving with her family; Axl gets good news; Sue tries to find the person who stole the chicken head from her uniform; Brick is mesmerized by a book.
E9 Christmas Help

Dec 5, 2012 21 min

Mike helps his brother Rusty move some furniture into the Heck family's garage, only to realize the furniture is stolen; Frankie hopes to land a part-time job in a department store so she can get a discount on Christmas presents.
E10 Twenty Years

Dec 12, 2012 21 min

Frankie worries Mike is tiring of her as their 20th anniversary draws close; Sue tries to get Axl and Brick's help planning a party for their parents; Axl spoils the end of a book for Brick.
E11 Life Skills

Jan 9, 2013 21 min

Axl feels embarrassed when he and Sue are asked to work on a school project together; Brick's school therapist (Dave Foley) tries to help him make friends.
E12 One Kid at a Time

Jan 16, 2013 20 min

When Frankie and Mike dedicate a day to each of their children, Axl takes them to a paintball range, Sue has them do 17 separate activities and Brick wants to go to a sci-fi convention.
E13 The Friend

Jan 23, 2013 21 min

Frankie tries to get Mike to spend time with a new neighbor who shares his interests; Sue demands a cheer-off between the Wrestlerettes and the cheerleaders.
E14 The Smile

Feb 6, 2013 21 min

Frankie and Mike worry that Axl may not get a sports scholarship; Sue's school science project involves smiling; Brick wants an iPad.
E15 Valentine's Day IV

Feb 13, 2013 21 min

As Valentine's Day nears, killjoys Axl, Sean and Darrin offer their services to help guys who want to break up with their girlfriends. Mike's romantic text to Frankie erroneously gets sent to a co-worker. Brick has a problem with Frankie's handling of his school artwork collection. Sue gets a surprise when ex-boyfriend Matt invites her to the school's Valentine's Day dance.
E16 Winners and Losers

Feb 20, 2013 20 min

Frankie is worried when Brick decides to go on a three-day school trip to Chicago; Sue wants to know if Darrin, one of Axl's friends, has feelings for her.
E17 Wheel of Pain

Feb 27, 2013 20 min

When Axl, Sue and Brick accidentally break the family room window, they decide to blame the Glossner children -- the bad seeds of the neighborhood; Frankie tries to land a prime dental rotation spot.
E18 The Name

Mar 27, 2013 21 min

Frankie's sister (Molly Shannon) offers to help at the house while Frankie studies for her finals for dental-assistant school; Axl tries not to act jealous when Cassidy's ex-boyfriend visits.
E19 The Bachelor

Apr 3, 2013 21 min

Disappointed with the finale of "The Bachelor," Frankie mopes for days; when Sue joins the school's tennis team, Mike tries to toughen her up by complimenting her opponents during matches; Cassidy and Axl consider the future of their relationship.
E20 Dollar Days

Apr 10, 2013 21 min

Frankie has a difficult time describing herself during a job interview; Sue dispenses unwanted advice to Axl and his band mates; Brick joins the Prairie Scouts.
E21 From Orson with Love

May 1, 2013 21 min

Frankie tries to make Sue appear more popular on Facebook; Frankie's dad (Jerry Van Dyke) makes Mike listen to long-winded life stories; Brick and Axl try to create a viral video.
E22 Hallelujah Hoedown

May 8, 2013 21 min

Frankie tells the kids what she wants for Mother's day so one of them can clue in Mike; after repeatedly failing the driving test, Sue feels resentful when her friends get their licenses; Axl receives stunning news from Cassidy.
E23 The Ditch

May 15, 2013 20 min

While dressed in a lab coat for her dental assisting job, Frankie is mistaken for a doctor and receives special treatment; Axl talks Sue into ditching school for the day; Mike and Axl's fishing trip goes awry.
E24 The Graduation

May 22, 2013 21 min

Tension builds as Frankie tries to plan a graduation party for uncooperative Axl; Sue tries to get her driver's license for a sixth time; Brick must assemble a slide show highlighting the past four years of school.