For some reason, America seems to have something against the middle. We talk about the curse of “middle-child syndrome” and generally think of being between a rock and a hard place as a pretty crappy place to be. But if there’s one person who can appreciate the value of being smack-dab in the center, it’s Patricia Heaton, star of ABC’s recently-renewed sitcom THE MIDDLE. And while the show may not yet have blazed its way to the top of the ratings charts — thanks at least in part to HANK, the weak-link in ABC’s Wednesday night laughfest which happens to feature Heaton’s BACK TO YOU co-star, Kelsey Grammer — THE MIDDLE is winning new fans every week.
“Critics have been wonderful and everyone seems to really like it,” said Heaton during a recent chat about the show’s trajectory.”ABC realizes that as soon as people watch the show, they’re going to love it, and I think they’re really putting their support behind it.” Which speaks volumes about the network’s belief in the recession-friendly, lower-middle-class sitcom, espcially given how reluctant modern networks are to allow a show time to find its audience. “Sometimes, all a show needs is to be out there long enough for people to see it.”
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This just in: ABC has officially given MODERN FAMILY, COUGAR TOWN and THE MIDDLE full-season pickups. No word yet on HANK, but having endured night’s highly unfunny episode, Kelsey Grammer probably shouldn’t hold his breath. We’re just sayin’ 
By: Aleks Chan
You’re probably going to hear a lot about how this fall is the year of the comedy: of all the fall pilots, comedies are heading the pack in terms of buzz and praise. And ABC, who’s been a stranger to a hit sitcom for quite awhile now, is betting on a full-on Wednesday night blitzkrieg, scheduling five new shows back to back without any ratings support from an established hit. It’s the kind of high risk, big rewards gambling that seems so relevant given the…state of broadcast sitcoms.
Too bad the Alphabet Network’s opening salvo threatens to ruin the whole thing: HANK (debuting next Wednesday September 30 at 8PM), where Kelsey Grammer plays his umpteenth iteration of a blow-hard, seems so out of touch (with the national sentiment, what’s funny, what’s stupid, you name it), you’d be tempted to give up with it and just call the whole thing off.
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After eight years of successfully avoiding any actual janitorial duties, SCRUBS’ ubiquitous Janitor is packing up his cleaning supplies. But thankfully for fans of the man behind the mop, actor Neil Flynn isn’t moving far.
In fact, this fall (Wednesday September 30 at 8:30PM to be exact) Flynn will trade in his mop for a minivan, joining Patricia Heaton on the new half-hour laugher THE MIDDLE, where he’ll tackle his most challenging role to date; That of hapless husband and father to three not so-typical TV children. (Or as Flynn describes his TV brood, “heads of state compared to [SCRUBS co-stars] Zach Braff and Donald Faison!”)
Same night (Wednesday), same network (ABC), just far less work.
“With SCRUBS there were so many different setups, sometimes 40 or 50 different shots,” explained Flynn when asked to compare the difference between the two shows. “Cut away to this, cutaway to that, shooting SCRUBS took a lot of time!”
Not that you’ll hear Flynn complaining.
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When your parents name you after a character in To a Kill a Mockingbird, odds are that a flair for the dramatic comes with the territory. Which is why it probably should come as no surprise that Atticus Shaffer, the pint-sized star of ABC’s new family comedy THE MIDDLE is this TV Addict’s first in what we hope will become a series of ‘Fall Faces to Watch.’ Just how talented is this kid? Not only is he the lone survivor of the original pilot — which featured chatfest host Ricki Lake in the Patricia Heaton role — but he manages to completely steal the new version from his on-screen parents, which is no small feat seeing as they’re played by Patricia Heaton (EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND) and Neil Flynn (SCRUBS). Said Eileen Heisler, THE MIDDLE creator/executive producer, “Atticus walked in the door and we were done, you know, we’ve got that one.” But don’t take our word for it, judge for yourself when THE MIDDLE premieres this September 30 at 8:30PM on ABC.
By: Aleks Chan
In an effort to fill the news void between May’s season finales and September’s fall premieres comes even more filler post-Upfront analysis courtesy of our very own Ken Tucker in-training Aleks Chan, who shares his take on this fall’s most promising new shows.
COUGAR TOWN (ABC)
Sure, the whole women-of-a-certain-age bit is a bit played-out, but this one, about a recent divorcé getting back into the dating game in her 40s, is helmed by SCRUBS creator Bill Lawrence and stars an especially game Courteney Cox, who is much better served by slapstick than being icy and bitchy on her short-lived FX series DIRT.
COMMUNITY (NBC)
THE SOUP’S Joel McHale plays a smoothly operating lawyer who’s busted for having a fake degree, and is forced to attend a junior college to save his career. McHale looks like he’s breezing through another episode of his E! show, and from the looks of the trailer, the material’s just as funny as him.
GLEE (FOX)
FOX has already aired the pilot last week, and it’s leading the pack right now. Crossing my fingers that it’s not a huge case of pilotitus.
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