Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair has exceeded expectations, with largely favorable reviews and a staggering 8.1 million views globally in its first three days of streaming. The revival has also sparked a renewed interest in the original series, which garnered an increase of 18 million viewing hours compared to the previous week (per Collider). But where do you go now? You could turn to Agent Cody Banks for more of the talented Frankie Muniz, but with a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, perhaps not the best idea. Your best bet lies on Netflix, which has the perfect 9-season sitcom available to binge in order to sate that appetite: The Middle.
‘The Middle’ Features a Quirky, Loving Family
The Middle was originally slated to air in 2007, with Ricki Lake as the lead, but ABC pivoted, ordering a second pilot after recasting all but one role, and switched out Lake for the vastly underappreciated Patricia Heaton. The revamped show, set in the fictional town of Orson, Indiana, premiered on September 30, 2009, with Heaton cast as, funnily enough, “Frankie.” Frankie is the matriarch of the Heck family (and narrator throughout the series’ run), a lower-middle-class family who love one another deeply, simply struggling to get by.
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In the grand tradition of sitcoms, the Hecks have their idiosyncrasies that naturally complicate the most benign of situations. Frankie is a borderline neurotic, overworked, and perpetually stressed out by the surrounding chaos, a good portion of which is self-inflicted thanks to procrastination, laziness, and white lies that always come back to haunt her (but God help anyone who wrongs her family). Mike (Neil Flynn), her husband, is the sane voice of reason, a perfect complement to Frankie, and a practical, no-nonsense blue-collar worker with a snarky wit who steers clear of sentiment and social interaction as much as he can.
Rounding out the family are the three Heck children: Axl, Sue, and Brick. Axl (Charlie McDermott), the oldest, is unrelentingly sarcastic, unmotivated, overconfident, and eternally wearing only boxer shorts inside the home. He’s a talented athlete who is smarter than the “dumb jock” persona he has built, and takes great delight in tormenting his siblings. Sue (Eden Sher), the middle child, is optimistic to a fault, holding a stunningly positive outlook on life despite the awkward quirkiness that makes her a social misfit and a magnet for failure. Then there’s the youngest, Brick (Atticus Shaffer), an intellectual who would rather read a book than do anything else, characterized by his unique quirks: inexplicable “whooping”, whispering the last words of his sentences, licking things, and a passionate love for fonts.
‘The Middle’ Is a Heck — Literally — of a Good Show
Bolstered by memorable side characters like crazed neighbor Rita Glossner (Brooke Shields), Brad (Brock Ciarlelli), and standout youth pastor Reverend Tim Tom (Paul Hipp), The Middle is a Heck of a good show, proving popular enough that ABC picked up the series for a full season after airing only two episodes. The choice to center around a lower-middle-class family, woefully underserved in sitcoms as a whole, is brilliant, offering relatable moments like having to choose between fixing the dishwasher or eating, or simply trying to balance work with the chaos of family life. And unlike the trope that sees a childish husband constantly berated by a nagging wife, of which Heaton’s previous series, Everybody Loves Raymond, is a prime example, Frankie and Mike are a team, facing challenges together, making for a more cohesive and grounded family.
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Full disclosure: The Middle doesn’t have that same chaotic, slapstick humor of Malcolm in the Middle, but it is equally laugh-out-loud hilarious. Moments like Axl inadvertently asking “Weird Ashley” to the prom, a hellish road trip to the wrong Disney park, the failed driving lesson that sees Brick crash Axl’s rusty Winnebago into the beloved Orson cow statue, the Heck vs. Glossner battles, or Frankie eating Axl’s toenails, clipped into a chip bag, by accident, are just some of the highlights.
The two series do, however, have a number of parallels. Brick and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) are intelligent, often overlooked, and odd, while Axl and Reese (Justin Berfield) play the stereotypical “older brother as tormentor” role. Both families struggle financially and exist in a decidedly non-glamorous suburban environment. Both mothers are the primary decision makers when it comes to the family, and are often seen as nagging, while the fathers are more passive. And both series ended on their own terms. Yet the most important element the two series share is the love of family, sometimes hard to see in the moment, but what it all comes back to in the end. That doesn’t, however, make up for the one glorious missed opportunity: a crossover episode. Who wouldn’t want to see Malcolm in the Middle in the Middle? Add Jimmy Eats World‘s “The Middle” into the soundtrack, and you’ve got a winner.
