The Middle

2009 • ABC
4.8
2.32K reviews
TV-UNRATED
Rating
Eligible
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Season 7 episodes (24)

1 Not Your Brother's Drop Off
9/23/15
Season-only
On the seventh season premiere, Sue cannot contain her excitement over getting ready to move out of the house and into the dorm to start college. But Sue’s excitement starts to give way to dread when she accidentally burns her hair and ends up having to cut it short, Axl doesn’t want to join the family and help his sister move into the dorm, Frankie finds herself not feeling sad about Sue moving out of the house, and Mike overwhelms his daughter with learning financial and safety guidelines to keep her safe at school. Meanwhile, Brick doesn’t know what to do when his girlfriend, Cindy (guest star CASEY BURKE), tells him that she wants to take their relationship to the next level.
2 Cutting The Cord
9/30/15
Season-only
Nervous about starting college and disappointed that her dorm roommate has not arrived yet, Sue begins to drive Frankie and Mike crazy with her multiple texts and calls at all hours. But when her dorm roommate finally arrives, Sue naively thinks that all of her worries are going to go away and that she’ll make a new lifelong friend. Meanwhile, Axl and Hutch (recurring guest star ALPHONSE McAULEY) find their house being overrun by ants, and Brick finds himself being protected by his own mysterious school bodyguard.
3 The Shirt
10/7/15
Season-only
Frankie is speechless when Mike – whose entire wardrobe consists of long-sleeved flannel shirts – decides to wear a short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt when they go out to dinner with some friends. Meanwhile, Sue, excitedly signing up for as many no-cut college clubs as she can, she accidentally tells Devin (recurring guest star GIA MANTEGNA) how much Axl loves her – which scares Devin and leads her to question their relationship; and Brick gets a little too ambitious while tackling his chore of cleaning the bathroom.
4 Risky Business
10/14/15
Season-only
Frankie is completely gobsmacked when Mike's brother Rusty (recurring guest star NORM MACDONALD) pays an unexpected visit and offers him an opportunity to partner on one of his crazy business ideas – and Mike wants in. Meanwhile, Axl goes to extreme measures to prove to Mike that he can handle riding his dad's new motorcycle; and unbeknownst to her parents, Sue tells Brad (recurring guest star BRAD BOTTIG) that her college roommate is so horrible that she's resorted to living in her car.
5 Land of the Lost
10/21/15
Season-only
Frankie becomes worried about Mike, who is being more quiet and distant than usual, and calls on Reverend TimTom (recurring guest star PAUL HIPP) to come over and try to find out what's troubling him. Meanwhile, Sue invites an excited Brick to spend a weekend with her at college, which includes a tour of the library. But when Sue bumps into Logan (guest star DAVID HULL) – the hunky Abercrombie guy who had asked her out to prom – and once again falls under his dreamy spell, she realizes that Brick is no longer with her and is now missing; and when Axl and Hutch decide to take matters into their own hands by complaining to the city when their house is completely overrun with ants, and they discover that they may have even more problems than an insect infestation.
6 Halloween VI: Tick Tock Death
10/28/15
Season-only
Halloween finds the Hecks in their own Twilight Zone-type stories, with Brick providing an introduction to each. Special guest star BROOKE SHIELDS returns as trashy neighbor Rita Glossner.
7 Homecoming II: The Tailgate
11/11/15
Season-only
Frankie is looking forward to taking part in the annual homecoming tailgate. But she begins to feel like the event will become an embarrassing disaster when her mom, Pat (recurring guest star MARSHA MASON), decides to come out and join in the fun. Meanwhile, with Axl down with a bad case of the stomach flu, Mike turns his attention to Brick to help him win the tailgate cornhole tournament trophy that has eluded him for so long; and Sue volunteers to be the class liaison for Homecoming at the event.
8 Thanksgiving VII
11/18/15
Season-only
The Hecks agree to forgo Thanksgiving after Frankie finds out that she's out of a job until January and must pick up a holiday position, requiring her to work on Thanksgiving in order to make ends meet. Much to her dismay, she ends up, once again, having to portray an overworked 19th century woman back at Heritage Village during the Harvest Feast and finds herself going face-to-face with Sheila (guest star FAITH FORD), a woman who definitely takes her job too seriously. Meanwhile, Sue goes back to work at Spudsy's over her holiday break in the hopes that she'll once again run into Logan - the dreamy Abercrombie guy; Axl finds himself in foreign territory when he starts becoming emotional over how his life has turned out; and Mike and Brick find themselves needing to find a bonding experience when the electricity goes out at the house and they are forced to interact with each other.
9 The Convention
12/2/15
Season-only
Dr. Goodwin (recurring guest star JACK McBRAYER) informs Frankie that she must attend a convention on an all-expense paid trip to Des Moines as part of the dentist office's transition to being part of the Smile Superstars International team, headlined by the company's inspiring founder, Dr. Samuelson (guest star CHERYL HINES). Thinking that her husband could use a break, Frankie entices Mike to join her on the trip to experience the luxuries of a free mini vacation. Meanwhile, Axl informs a disapproving Sue that he's going to move into her dorm room until he finds a new place of his own, and roles become reversed when Mike's dad, Big Mike (recurring guest star JOHN CULLUM), agrees to watch over Brick while Frankie and Mike are out of town.
10 Not So Silent Night
12/9/15
Season-only
Dreading the fact that they are always late to church and end up in the overflow room, Frankie makes the decision to have the family watch a Christmas Eve service on TV from the comfort of the Heck house. But a string of events make their evening anything but a peaceful, silent night.
11 The Rush
1/6/16
Season-only
The ever optimistic Sue decides that she wants to become part of a social circle and thrusts herself head first into the college’s sorority rush in the hopes of being accepted into a house. Meanwhile, Axl tries to connect Mike into social media in an attempt to help generate awareness of Mike and Rusty's baby diaper business; and Frankie begins to feel like she's not needed as much in her son's life when Brick goes shopping for a pair of pants by himself for the first time.
12 Birds of a Feather
1/13/16
Season-only
Axl has big plans for his first day as a business intern at Little Betty. But his dreams of coming up with new ideas for the snack making company go out the window when he's reduced to doing menial tasks for an ungrateful boss (guest star ALAN RUCK). Meanwhile, Cindy informs Mike that she has kissed another boy and that he has to break the news to Brick, while Mike simultaneously listens to Frankie complain about how much she hates working for Smile Superstars International, the new dental office owners; and Sue's professor (guest star JOSH COOKE) challenges her to stop seeing the world through rose-colored glasses and really open up and hone in on her critical thinking for a writing assignment.
13 Floating 50
1/20/16
Season-only
Feeling guilty over floating Frankie’s 50th birthday for too long, Mike enlists Axl and Brick to help him set up a surprise party for her. Meanwhile, Sue finds herself being mocked after posting a sign in the dorm laundry room to help find one of her lost socks, and after Brick turns in an “I Can’t” project at school and indicates that he can’t do sports, Coach Babbitt (guest star BROOKE DILLMAN) makes it her mission to turn him into an athlete.
14 Film, Friends, and Fruit Pies
2/10/16
Season-only
While Frankie and Mike try to figure out which household appliance a piece of plastic belongs to, Brick becomes a tyrannical director when he casts Cindy and Troy (guest star JOVAN ARMAND) to re-enact scenes from Knots Landing for a school project; Sue's excitement over having new friend Lexie (guest star DANIELA BOBADILLA) become her college dorm roommate quickly sours when she finds herself being charged for half of the new things that Lexie is spontaneously buying for the room; and Axl finds himself becoming stressed out when his boss befriends him and tells him that the fruit pie division is on the verge of being shut down.
15 Hecks at a Movie
2/17/16
Season-only
After discovering that Brick has never seen a movie in a theater, Frankie and Mike take him to see a film with a small scene that was partially shot in Orson. But when Brick sees a trailer for an upcoming Planet Nowhere film that he completely disapproves of, he makes it his mission to ensure that it won't ever play in that theater – or anywhere else. Meanwhile, Frankie and Mike get into a major disagreement over how events really unfolded when Mike shushes Frankie after he perceives that she was constantly interrupting Bill Norwood (guest star PAT FINN) while he was telling a story, Sue runs into Logan (guest star DAVID HULL) – the hunky Abercrombie guy – and thinks she has a real chance of becoming his girlfriend, and Axl and Sean (recurring guest star BEAU WIRICK) discover that they have unexpected ties to an event that happened when they were young.
16 The Man Hunt
2/24/16
Season-only
After Brick attends a Bar Mitzvah and questions when he’ll officially become a man, Mike attempts to help him become more responsible in his quest to manhood. Meanwhile, Sue exudes a little too much enthusiasm as she tries to flirt and find herself a boyfriend; and Axl and Hutch find themselves a new home – in the form of a Winnebago.
17 The Wisdom Teeth
3/16/16
Season-only
An excited Frankie looks forward to re-bonding and taking care of Sue and Axl, who both have to stay home during Spring Break to recuperate from having their wisdom teeth removed. And since he's the only Heck child still living at home full-time, Brick tries to lay down some new house rules with his siblings during their stay. Meanwhile, Mike becomes furious with his brother, Rusty, after discovering that his ex-wife Marlene (guest star MARY BIRDSONG) came up with the diaper business idea and may be entitled to all profits made from the endeavor.
18 A Very Donahue Vacation
3/23/16
Season-only
After making some extra money from the diaper business, Mike surprises a rather unenthusiastic Heck family with a Spring Break vacation at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. In the hopes of livening up what is perceived to be a lame vacation, Frankie suggests that the Donahues join them. While Mike visits all of the attractions on his own, Nancy asks a not-so-thrilled Frankie to speak with Sean to try and talk him into taking his MCATs; Axl enlists Brick to help him pick up women by playing "Jerk/No Jerk" – with Brick in the role of the Jerk; and Mike is anything but excited when an exuberant Sue reveals some news to him about her upcoming summer plans.
19 Crushed
4/6/16
Season-only
Sue develops a crush on one of her college professors and goes to extremes to get him to notice her. Meanwhile, Frankie and Mike agree to meet (Brick’s girlfriend) Cindy’s parents, who end up being just as quirky as their daughter.
20 Survey Says…
4/13/16
Season-only
Frankie is thrilled when Sue invites her for lunch at the college. But lunch becomes awkward when Sue brings her new boyfriend along – Jeremy (guest star WILL GREEN), the school activist – and the two of them begin bombarding Frankie with everything she and the world, in general, are doing wrong. Meanwhile, Axl informs a very disappointed Mike that he wants to quit football, and Brick overly obsesses over filling out a satisfaction survey after ordering some graph paper online.
21 The Lanai
4/27/16
Season-only
Frankie is excited to stretch out and relax on her new backyard lanai (aka patio) that Mike and his workmates built for her. But peace and serenity become hard to come by when new neighbors, with three screaming kids, move in next door and make it next to impossible for Frankie to find some quiet time. Meanwhile, Brick questions Mike as to whether his workmates helped build the lanai because they are his friends, or because he's their boss; Sue and Lexie draw a winning number in the dorm lottery and score the perfect room but find it difficult to kick out its current occupants; and Axl and Hutch open up a grilled cheese food truck out of their Winnebago, with a reluctant Kenny as their chef.
22 Not Mother's Day
5/4/16
Season-only
After enduring year after year of botched Mother's Days, Frankie declares that the family gets to take a pass on doing anything at all for her this year. But after a man offers to buy Frankie's groceries at the market when she discovers that she forgot her wallet – and tells her to pay the kindly gesture forward – she decides to have the family pull each other's names out of a hat and do something nice for that person, which doesn't go as smoothly as planned.
23 Find My Hecks
5/11/16
Season-only
Now that summer vacation has begun for Sue and Axl, and they are both back at home, Frankie and Mike attempt to set a curfew for them after they end up coming home from a party at 2am. But after arguing that they don’t have a curfew while away at college and won’t abide by the rule, Frankie comes up with an idea that will clandestinely let her know where both of them are at all times. Meanwhile, as middle school graduation nears, Brick desperately tries to discover who he’s up against for class valedictorian.
24 The Show Must Go On
5/18/16
Season-only
After almost forgetting that Brick’s middle school graduation is only days away, Frankie goes on a mission to right a wrong when Brick discovers that the song he was supposed to sing at the ceremony has been cut. Meanwhile, Sue needs to be at Dollywood to begin her summer job on the same day as Brick’s graduation, and Axl takes a job as a country club counselor and finds himself being mocked by a 10-year-old carbon copy of himself.

About this show

Emmy® winner Patricia Heaton stars as Frankie Heck in this warm and witty comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations. Middle-aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country, this harried wife and working mother of three uses her wry wit and sense of humor to try to get her family through each day intact.

Ratings and reviews

4.8
2.32K reviews
Ginger Cat
July 24, 2021
I LOVEEE this show sooo much that it's become another obsession of mine. But now i only watch season 1-3. So first of all Frankie reminds me of my mom and Mike reminds me of my dad. So when my mom was watching this I was like, "Seems like an old show she used to watch in the 90s." My mom said I reminded her of Axl the oldest son and my brother reminded her of Brick the youngest. I'm kinda bias about my opinion because I have a huge crush on Sue the daughter.
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Tina C. Lee
March 7, 2016
It's not bad. It's not Friends or Modern Family. But it's not bad. I have to be in the right mood to watch it because Francis (Patricia Heaton) yells and cries and throws tantrums all the time, which sometimes makes me want to reach into the TV and slap her.
54 people found this review helpful
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Judy Chapman
December 19, 2015
My whole family loves this show. We all get together to watch it, and I buy it on my tablet so my kids can both watch it on long, boring car trips. With the purchase of a cheap splitter from Radio Shack, some headphones and this series, long car trips are a silent breeze with constant chuckles and the occasional request for a restroom break.
49 people found this review helpful
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