ABC is planning ‘The Middle’ spinoff around Eden Sher’s Sue Heck
Eden Sher might come back to ABC as Sue Heck in her own spinoff of The Middle. EW reported that, while no deals have been made yet, the current idea is to focus a show around Eden Sher’s awkward late-teen middle daughter character Sue Heck.
Sher has been an essential part of The Middle since the comedy show first aired in 2009. In 2013, she won a Critics’ Choice TV award for her work on the show. She is also known for voicing Star Butterfly on Disney XD’s Star vs. the Forces of Evil.
Set in the fictional town of Orson, Indiana, The Middle is a sitcom about a middle-class couple Frankie (Patricia Heaton) and Mike (Neil Flynn) and their three children, Axl (Charlie McDermott), Sue (Sher) and Brick (Atticus Shaffer).
The series wrapped nine seasons on ABC last week showing Sue’s love life and final year of college as she juggles them with optimism and sees the world through rose-tinted glasses. However, it is unclear if the turn of events in the finale is going to form the storyline for the spin-off.
Though it was considered underrated by the critics, the show delivered solid and high ratings for weeks on Wednesday nights.
Deals with Heisler, Heline and Sher are yet to be finalized for the comedy show which would be about Sher’s Sue character. The timeline of the show would be set up a few years after The Middle finale and will show Sue leap from teenage into adulthood with new characters around her.
The concept for the spinoff is yet to take shape. Filming of the pilot episode would be done by late October.
While the spinoff wouldn’t possibly be ready to replace Roseanne on ABC’s schedule, the network has also considered starting another comedy pilot or advancing the premiere of The Goldbergs spinoff Schooled.
Spinoffs have been high on demand on broadcast networks as they come with built-in viewership which makes it easier and affordable to market. If The Middle spinoff goes on air, this would be ABC’s third spinoff apart from Schooled and Black-ish offshoot Grown-ish.
“Our ratings have been great and ABC was very clear they did want more seasons — it was our decision to bring it to a close. And hey… I can’t tell you what’s next… gotta save it for the reboot. See you in ten years!,” said Heisler in an interview with Deadline after The Middle season finale.