Why American Sitcom “The Middle” is One of the Best Family Comedies Ever

Sometimes it’s good to be underrated I believe.

When we talk about American sitcom or popular TV shows, I don’t see or hear people talking much about the long-running family sitcom “The Middle.”

People talk about “How I met your mother,” “Friends” or “Modern Family” but not surprisingly “The Middle.”

With so many new series popping up each week, we tend to forget the classic it seems.

I have started watching “The Middle” for a few weeks now, and I won’t lie a bit. I love the show.

It’s a simple story of an odd family.  There is nothing complicated about the characters of the show. With the completion of each episode, I sometimes go back to my childhood. I miss my mother. I think of my olden days when I used to do pranks on my brother and sister.

It’s all about family.

According to me, it is a masterpiece and one of the finest American sitcoms on TV.

How many TV series are there that we could sit and watch with our kids and family?

Not many, that I have known so far.

ABC’s 2009 “The Middle” has given us a realistic story of a dysfunctional working-class family, whose life we can relate to.

Along the same time, there was another TV series “Modern Family” which has garnered much positive reviews and awards with its glamorous and extravagance.

But do you recall “The Middle?”

The Heck family

The Heck family is a lot like yours and mine. You can relate yourself with them some way or the other.

The ups and downs of the Heck family, their Christmas celebration, Thanksgiving celebration, they celebrate everything as we all do with our family.

Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn are the two notable actors that played Frankie and Mike Heck. But what surprised me more was the casting of the three kids.

Axl, the oldest son, Sue, the only daughter, and the youngest Brick, were so amazing.

From the beginning of the show Season 1, the storylines around the Heck family and their everyday events of a lower-middle-class American household.

Frankie and Mike tackle the first day of school madness, Frankie’s annoying job, and their days ending with packets of burgers and fries.

To bring a twist in the story, the creators kept the plot intact only changed situational behavior of the Heck family.

Like, introducing episodes of Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s day or Mother’s Day and how each special day had been a nightmare for them but still at the end of each day ‘there is a happy Heck family who are always together despite being odds.’

The small-town Orson, where neighbors love each other’s, and they are like family. Frankie and Mike Heck’s believe in the small-town virtues. They know that Orson can’t provide them that a big city can but still they are happy spending their days sitting on the couch and watching TV.

Mike doesn’t have any big dreams or wishes for himself neither for his family. He is happy with whatever he earns and loves watching the Colts playing with his son AXL.

Mike is the most practical, realistic and calm person in the whole Heck family. He is responsible but sometimes weird. Nothing excites him more than seeing AXL playing football for his school.

Mike is a typical American dad.

Frankie, on the other hand, is erratic, tempered but love her family the most. She is the mother, doing multiple jobs, she is everywhere. Her story defines every mother of this earth.

They do so much for their family but receives less appreciation for what they do. The character Frankie is a reminder to us that how much our mother means to us and we the kids mean to her.

We sometimes forget their position in our life.

How much do we acknowledge our mother? Think.

…

Humor is the element that brings the spark in the series

If you have watched “The Middle,” you will notice there is a refreshing factor in each episode. You won’t feel repetitive, and there is a strong sense of humor in the Heck family.

You will get the humor in every situational behavior of each member of the house.

Humor in The Middle is like a breath of fresh air. Sue Heck, the most innocent and purest member of the family.

If you study the character of Sue, you will find there is a life-changing thing about her. Sue being Sue never gives up trying.

Her failure doesn’t matter to you. She kept participating in sports and cultural activities in school despite trying so much she couldn’t accomplish much. It never brought her down; rather she pushed herself more to do better, and when she won something it was her achievement.

Sue tells us to keep smiling even through the hardships of high school or college or in real life.

As we are talking about humor, Sue defines humor.

The Middle is a fantastic American sitcom about parenting

“The Middle” doesn’t cover political and social issues but it did very precisely feature parenting talks.

Frankie and Mike Heck might not be able to fulfill the materialistic desires of their kids, but they did teach them how to be nice, how to be responsible, how much family is important and how to take care of each other.

All parents aren’t 100% perfect in their parenting job, so do Frankie and Mike.

Frankie and Mike had tons of pros and cons in the role of parenting too. But the show centered the parenting role of Frankie and Mike on the three kids, and as the show progresses so their age, you will see how the focus shifted to AXL, SUE, and BRICK.

If you notice, in around season 7, Frankie tells Mike how she misses AXL and Sue when they both graduated from high school and gone to college. Frankie delivers the dialogue quite a few times in the show, how the kids are growing so fast, and she feels like they are slipping away from her grip.

We must have noticed the same thing being said by our parents too. Even now, I am married still my mother doesn’t stop being caring, and she still thinks I am still her little princess.

All moms are the same. They are the best in the universe.

Conclusion:

Maybe the show doesn’t have a high profile unlike others, but it did have solid moral values. Not all shows are meant for drama and glamour. Some are different yet more effective.

“The Middle” continues to deliver heartily laugh, more about family and real-world problems. It has a consistent flow, with each season providing something new. It’s like watching a show where each character grows into a meaningful role.

“The Middle” could be your next binge-watching.

You can watch the TV show on Amazon Prime Videos.