On ABC's Wednesday night schedule, "Modern Family" (9 p.m.), the Emmy Award-winning comedy, is like that couple with the perfect kids, immaculate lawn and a house bigger than they really need.
"The Middle" (8 p.m.) is more like Mike (Neil Flynn) and Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton), who have quirky kids and a patched-up dishwasher that sounds like a jet coming in for a landing every time it is turned on. "If you Google underappreciated, it comes up 'The Middle,' " said DeAnn Heline, one of the co-creators.
"We were wondering: When are we going to get appreciated?" she said.
Starting now. Viewership is higher than ever before in its third season, and, more important, people are starting to recognize the subversive charm of a show that represents that swath of America between the two coasts.
Heline and co-producer Eileen Heisler have arguably been working toward "The Middle" for their entire lives and careers, in a partnership that began when Heisler moved into Heline's dorm room at Indiana University in the mid-1980s. Their joint writing and production credits include "Roseanne," "Murphy Brown" and "How I Met Your Mother."
Both grew up in the Midwest (Heisler near Chicago, Heline near Cincinnati) and were feeling a little homesick as they kicked around ideas for a new series.
"We looked at each other, at the lines on our faces, and said, 'Well, we're tired and we're moms and we miss the Midwest,' " Heisler said. "It was: Write what you know. It might have been laziness on our part."
But there was some conviction. They thought TV had plenty of shows with rich people or friends living in fancy apartments. The voices of shows such as "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement" — of families who struggle but stick together — were missing.
"There's more humor to be found there, and sometimes it's more noble," Heisler said. "It means more when you can't afford something and your kid wants something. There's drama there, and there's comedy there."
Flynn, the janitor from "Scrubs" who plays the Heck family patriarch, said, "The Middle" reminds him of " 'Roseanne' 20 years later with nicer people."
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