List of The Middle characters

The Middle is an American sitcom about a working-class family living in Indiana and facing the day-to-day struggles of home life, work, and raising children. The show premiered September 30, 2009 on the ABC network, and is airing its seventh season as of 2015–16. It features Everybody Loves Raymond star Patricia Heaton and Scrubs star Neil Flynn.

Below is a list of characters central to the series.

Main characters: The Heck Family

• Patricia Heaton as Frances "Frankie" Heck (née Spence), wife of Mike and mother of Axl, Sue, and Brick. Frankie is the central character in the show, as her voice is heard narrating at various points in every episode. She is a devoted wife and mother and sees family as the most important thing in her life. Her motto, "You do for family", guides her daily routine, despite the frustrations she encounters with her husband and three kids, as well as her older ailing relatives who often depend on her. Frankie attended college but did not finish. She worked as a salesperson at Ehlert Motors, a job she took after losing her position as a dentist's receptionist when the office closed, only to lose her job at Ehlert Motors early in Season 4. She completes dental assisting school, and gets a new job near the end of Season 4. Heaton wore a wig for Seasons 1–4; from Season 5 on, her real hair has been featured.

• Neil Flynn as Michael "Mike" Heck Jr., Frankie's husband, known for his straightforward manner and emotional stability. Mike works at the local limestone quarry as the manager, and despite his no-nonsense approach to work and family, he is a devoted and understanding husband and father who always seems to come through for Frankie and the kids. It has been said on several occasions that Mike's favorite film is Reservoir Dogs and he only asked Frankie out on a second date because she lied and said she also liked the film. Mike's reclusive, unaffectionate father, "Big Mike" (John Cullum), and Mike's well-meaning, but unreliable and unsuccessful brother Rusty (Norm Macdonald) both live in Orson. In the middle of season 2, the two move in together, as "Big Mike" recovers from a broken hip and Rusty needs a home as he has been living in a tent since his house burned down. Mike loves all sports, but is particularly passionate about is seeing the Indianapolis Colts play in the Super Bowl. He and his normally unreliable brother, Rusty (Norm Macdonald), start a side business designing disposable diapers with sports team logos on them, naming their creations “Li’l Rivals”.

• Charlie McDermott as Axl Redford Heck, who is the oldest son of Frankie and Mike, and cannot be bothered to wear more than boxer shorts most of the time at home. As the elder brother, he is sarcastic, lazy, narcissistic, and selfish to his siblings. However, he has shown flashes of kindness to his family occasionally and is good at heart, which he shows when he deliberately loses a basketball game in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend, Morgan. He is frustrating to Frankie, who wishes he would be more open with her, as he was apparently a very loving "momma's boy" when he was a child, something Frankie seems to want to re-capture. It is revealed in Season 3 that Axl is two years older than Sue as he starts his junior year at high school while Sue starts her freshman year. Mike has said that Axl is his favorite child. He has gone to prom twice with Weird Ashley (Katlin Mastandrea), an outcast at his school, both times accidentally inviting her. Axl gets another girlfriend in Season 4 named Cassidy, who tutors him after Sue runs over his foot and breaks it while learning to drive. Axl and Cassidy later break up in "Hallelujah Hoedown". As a running back on his high school football team, he was recruited by a Division II state college in Indiana. After being a star player in high school, Axl has thus far been a bench warmer in college, causing him to take his pursuit of a business degree a bit more seriously. He plays the electric guitar, and it's presumed that he was named after Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose.

• Eden Sher as Sue Sue Heck, socially awkward teen middle daughter of Frankie and Mike whose genuine nature, bubbly personality, and persistent sunny optimism tend to make her an object of ridicule, especially by her elder brother. Despite her best efforts, she is usually unrecognized by teachers and other students, and snubbed by her peers. Her best friends are Carly and Brad. She looks up to reverend Tim-Tom. Many of her plot lines involve her being overlooked, or trying to organize parties or events and receiving no help. In season 1, she is not pictured in the yearbook despite having her picture taken three times, and she finds her favorite teacher has no memory of her at all. (She is eventually placed in the yearbook, but in the section reserved for students who died, with the caption reading: "In Loving Memory of Sue Heck, Gone Too Soon.") She wears braces on her teeth, which were briefly removed in season 3, but it was determined that they over-corrected her condition. She had them removed at the beginning of Season 6, needing only a retainer. She is also left-handed, apparently the only southpaw in her immediate family. She is two years behind Axl in school, graduating high school in the season 6 finale. She is known for trying out for almost everything but never actually getting picked, because she is always terrible. In season 2, she joins the no-cut cross country team by heroically going around the track five times on crutches because she was hit by a deer the day before. She becomes a "wrestlerette" in season 3 (which turns out to be a group of fellow misfits) and dates a wrestler named Matt for a short time. In season 4, she dates Axl's friend Darrin. She is engaged to Darrin for three days in season 6, before deciding she doesn't want to get married yet and ending their relationship. This marks a rare moment where Sue is not a pushover, explaining her situation to Darrin in an intelligent, articulate, and socially mature manner. The season 3 episode "Leap Year" reveals she was a leap day baby, but then she had her 16th birthday the following season (season 4, episode 17, "Wheels of Pain").

• Atticus Shaffer as Brick Heck, youngest of Mike and Frankie's children. He loves to read and has a case of palilalia, which is demonstrated by his repeating words from previous sentences to himself in a whisper. In season 1 episode 5, it is revealed that he possesses an eidetic memory. He is smarter than most teenagers, having read Of Mice and Men, a book his elder brother is struggling with at the same time. He also loves the Planet Nowhere book series, which is native to the show, and the real-life Percy Jackson & the Olympians. He has referred to Diary of a Wimpy Kid as "the book that changed my life". He is exceptionally intelligent but easily distracted, leading him to procrastinate on doing his homework assignments and projects (it is loosely implied that he may perhaps have Asperger's syndrome). Brick is a known gephyrophobiac and is fascinated with fonts. Due to his awkwardness, he struggles to make friends. In season 2, he befriends an equally awkward boy named Arlo, whom even Brick struggles to deal with. He is five years behind Sue in school, starting the eighth grade in the seventh season. In season 2 Episode 7, it is revealed that he was accidentally switched at birth with another baby due to Mike watching a football game and taking home a child that the nurse brought up next to Brick, and he spent a month with that child's family while the other baby was with the Hecks.

Recurring characters

Extended Family

• Edie and Ginny Freehold (Jeanette Miller and Frances Bay, introduced in Season 1) are Frankie's elderly aunts who are heavy smokers and drinkers. Aunt Edie used to work in Mike's quarry as the bookkeeper, often showing signs of memory loss. One such occasion is when they went to a funeral for Edie and Ginny's brother, and Aunt Edie thought it was her birthday. Aunt Ginny uses a wheelchair and rarely talks. They have a sickly Basset Hound named Doris. On many occasions, Frankie is forced to care for Doris unexpectedly; on one such occasion, Doris gave birth to puppies. In the season 3 episode "The Map", which premiered in early 2012, Aunt Ginny dies. (The actress who portrayed her, Frances Bay, had died in real life.) Brick's elderly friend, Grandma Dot, then moves in with Edie to take care of her. In the early 2015 episode, "Hecks on a Train", Aunt Edie has just died and the Hecks are left to care for Doris.

• Michael "Big Mike" Heck Sr. (John Cullum, introduced in Season 1) is Mike's reclusive, man-of-few-words father. He appears to be an unloving, uncaring parent, but this is primarily because he simply does not want to be a "bother" for either of his sons. He is also depicted as a hoarder. In Season 6, Big Mike and Axl fixed the Hecks’ kitchen sink, which was a rare bonding experience for the two of them.

• Orville "Rusty" Heck (Norm Macdonald, introduced in Season 2) is Mike's unreliable, silly brother. He often makes up excuses why he can't be anywhere or do anything Mike asks him to do. He once took Brick out of school to bowl and to teach him how to drive, even though he was not old enough or ready. It is revealed in the season 3 finale that his real first name is Orville. In the season 3 finale the Heck's get an invitation to his wedding but it says the wedding is happening at their house. Rusty marries a woman called Marlene, but in season 5 when Marlene invites herself to Thanksgiving at the Heck's house, Rusty tells them that they got a divorce because she slept with his best friend. Rusty appears later in season 5 and is homeless (again). He ends up moving in with the Hecks, and accompanies Mike and Brick to Brick's spelling bee in Chicago, where Rusty makes a deal with Brick to lose so that he (Rusty) can win some money on a bet he made. In Season 7, Rusty comes up with a business idea that Mike shockingly thinks might work, and the two start a side business together.

• Pat Spence (Marsha Mason, introduced in Season 1) is Frankie's mother. Pat has appeared in every season so far. Her first appearance was in season 1 episode 22 Mother's Day. Her latest appearance was in season 7, episode 7, ("Homecoming II: The Tailgate').

• Tag Spence (Jerry Van Dyke, introduced in Season 2) is Frankie's father. Tag is a schmoozer and always talks to Mike endlessly, which Mike finds very uncomfortable and annoying. In season 4 Tag calls Mike to meet up at a Stuckey's restaurant, to have man to man-chats every Sunday. After a couple of meetings, Mike decides he just can't possibly stand to do it any longer, so he suggests that Tag should try chatting with people on Facebook. Tag's latest appearance was in season 6, episode 21 ("Two of a Kind"). The episode reveals a longstanding feud between Tag and his brother Dutch (played by Jerry Van Dyke's real-life brother Dick Van Dyke), which is mostly fueled by Tag's jealousy, and Mike and Frankie end up trying to resolve it.

Co-Workers

• Bob (Chris Kattan, introduced in Season 1) is Frankie's co-worker and friend at Ehlert Motors. He is depicted as a lonely, insecure man who lives with his mother and doesn't seem to have any friends. Thus, he tends to insert himself into the Heck’s family life whenever he can. Bob was a part of the main cast in the first two seasons. Since then, he was only recurring in season 3 and made one appearance in Seasons 4 and 5 (the latter when Frankie rushes out to work but accidentally goes to Ehlert Motors). Bob's role was significantly reduced after Frankie was fired from Ehlert Motors.

• Don Ehlert (Brian Doyle-Murray, introduced in Season 1) is the racist and misogynistic owner of the car dealership where Frankie used to work, and where Bob presumably still works. Frankie and Bob constantly worry that he is going to fire them. Ehlert's wife left him when he chose work over her, and Frankie was first sympathetic but later turned angry. He often drinks at work. Elhert, like Mike, likes sports. As with Bob, appearances by the Mr. Ehlert character were significantly reduced after Frankie was fired from Ehlert Motors.

• Pete Miller (Peter Breitmayer, introduced in Season 1) is Ehlert Motors' best salesman and star employee, and he is not afraid to tell everyone about it. Pete often brags about his success at Frankie’s and Bob's expense, putting them down about how little they contribute to the business while pumping himself up to Mr. Ehlert.

• Dr. Ted Goodwin (Jack McBrayer, introduced in Season 4) is the dentist who hires Frankie as a hygienist in season 4. He has few friends, and Frankie is forced to spend time with him after work in "The Jump" (season 5).

Neighbors

• Nancy Donahue (Jen Ray) is the Hecks' neighbor and president of the booster club. The Donahues (Nancy, her husband Pat, and their son Sean) are portrayed as the idyllic family Frankie yearns to be like. From Season 5, Episode 4 ("The 100th"), Nancy and Frankie's friendship has waned a little, mainly because Nancy overheard Mike and Frankie talking about her.

• Sean Donahue (Beau Wirick) is one of Axl's best friends, teammate on the high school football team, and Nancy Donahue's only son. He is helpful, polite, and friendly, which makes him outwardly the opposite of Axl; that said, he always supports everything Axl does. In season 2, Sue develops a crush on Sean, but eventually ends the one-way relationship. In season 5, Sean came back from college to take Sue to prom upon learning that she had no date, but by the time he arrived, Sue had made plans to go with Darrin. Similarly, he often makes the half-day drive home from college (at the request of his mother) to help the Hecks whenever there is a crisis, only to find the crisis resolved by the time he gets there. He made three appearances in Season 6 ("The College Tour," "The Christmas Wall," and "Food Courting"). In Season 7, Sean has taken on a "hippie" persona and has become a vegetarian (much to Nancy's embarrassment). It was revealed in the Season 7 episode “Hecks at a Movie” that his and Axl's respective first kisses were inadvertently with one another in a dark closet, something they have vowed to never speak of again.

• Rita Glossner (Brooke Shields, introduced in Season 1) is the Hecks' uncouth and troubled neighbor. She is the single parent of three boys, as she had kicked the boys' father out of the house some years ago. The Glossners appear to be the only family on the block that is worse off financially than the Hecks. Rita often shows her disdain for the Hecks' higher status, even calling Frankie a "one-percenter" in the Season 7 episode, "Halloween VI: Tick Tock Death".

• Derrick Glossner (David Chandler), Wade Glossner (Parker Bolek), and Little Glossner (Gibson Bobby Sjobeck) (all introduced in Season 1) make up the dreaded Glossner boys, Rita's children. They are neighborhood bullies who used to terrorize Sue and Brick. In the first season, Sue and Carly attempt to fight the two older Glossner boys via a dance routine set to "Kung Fu Fighting". In the fifth season, Derrick reveals he has a crush on Sue and unexpectedly kisses her multiple times. Despite describing her as a "rich girl" with "one dad and two different kinds of chips" (and thus out of his league), he vows to better himself and come back for her someday.

• Paula Norwood (Julie Brown, introduced in Season 2) is another of the Hecks' neighbors. She serves as somewhat of a counterpoint to the idyllic Nancy Donahue in that her life and family (including husband Bill) is depicted as being similar to Frankie's, having a lot of the same issues.

• Bill Norwood (Pat Finn, introduced in Season 2) is the Heck’s neighbor and Paula’s husband who frequently embarrases her.

Friends, Crushes and Classmates

• Brad Bottig (Brock Ciarlelli, introduced in Season 1) is Sue's flamboyant, theater-loving, tap dancing and slightly camp ex-boyfriend, who is on the high school wrestling team. They "date" during Thanksgiving (Season 1), but shortly broke up. Mike and Frankie assume the breakup was the result of Sue learning that Brad is gay, but Sue claims it’s because she found out Brad has a smoking habit. Brad and Sue have remained good friends despite their breakup, and she remains seemingly unaware of his obvious, if stereotypical, homosexual behavior. From Season 5 onwards, Brad seems to be Sue's closest friend. In Season 7, Brad prepares to tell Sue a secret (in which it is hinted he will come out as gay), to which she responds that she knows, and she shows him love and support.

• Carly (Blaine Saunders, introduced in Season 1) is Sue's best friend. She began in season 1 as a geeky character, wearing glasses and braces. Her braces were removed mid-season 1, and she became more popular as a result. Sue seems to be jealous, if only subconsciously, and wears makeup which her family finds garish. From season 2 onwards, Carly has reverted to a more geeky look. Carly only made one appearance in Season 5, in episode 14 ("The Award"). She also only made one appearance in Season 6, in the episode "A Quarry Story".

• Darrin McGrew (John Gammon, introduced in Season 1) is Axl's other best friend (along with Sean Donahue) and teammate. Darrin is the most passive and simple of Axl's friends, often landing himself, Sean, and Axl in problematic situations. In season 3, he takes Sue to the prom because of her "sunny disposition" and explained to Axl that he (Darrin) just wanted to go with someone and dance. In season 4, Darrin takes Sue to a Valentine's Day dance after her date cancels; and when tidying up in the hall after the dance they share a kiss. Later Darrin confides that he wants to continue dating Sue, which angers Axl. However, near the end of season 4, Sue breaks up with him after he accidentally punched her in the face while she was trying to break up a fight between him and Axl. After high school, Darrin enrolls in a heating and air conditioning repair school. In season 5, Sue feels like the breakup was a mistake and realizes that they only broke up because Axl was being so weird about it, and seeing as Axl had gone off to college Sue felt like she didn't have to live her life for Axl anymore. So she gains a renewed interest in Darrin until she sees that he has a new girlfriend (Angel). Darrin later decides that his current girlfriend is too high-maintenance and he brings flowers to Sue, only to see her being kissed by Derrick Glossner. Despite a series of misunderstandings, the two ultimately reconnect at Sue's prom in season 5, and become a couple again. He proposes to Sue in the 6th season, and under pressure, she accepts. (In this episode, Darrin's last name is revealed to be McGrew, after Axl jokes that Sue's married name would be Sue Sue McGrew.) After realizing she doesn't want to be married yet, Sue breaks off the engagement with him three days later.

• Alan Hung (Kenny Ridwan) is the Computer hacking, genius friend of Axl Heck who did a favor for Axl after telling him his sister's password.

• Zack (Andrew J. Fishman) is Brick's friend from the socially challenged class. He has a tendency to behave like a cat. Zack has not appeared in the show since season 3.

• Morgan (Alexa Vega, introduced in Season 1) is Axl's first girlfriend on the series, whom Frankie takes an instant liking to due to her straight-A grades and talent in multiple areas. However, after she breaks Axl's heart time and time again, Frankie eventually explodes with anger and throws a beanbag at Morgan during a birthday party.

• Arlo (Nick Shafer, introduced in Season 2) is a friend Brick meets during the second season. He has an obsession with keeping everything on a schedule and takes frequent and lengthy bathroom breaks in the episode "Mother's Day II" when he is accompanying the Hecks to Brown County. He does not show up in the third or fourth season, although in "Year of the Hecks", he is mentioned.

• Ashley "Weird Ashley" Wyman (Katlin Mastandrea, introduced in Season 2) is Axl's weird classmate who has twice been his accidental date to prom. She is also on Sue's wrestlerette team. She has a keen interest in wizards, although she has never heard of Harry Potter. At their third prom together, Ashley is not Axl's date but dances with him when he's announced as prom king, as Axl and his date Cassidy had broken up only a few moments before the announcement. Axl is known to have a hatred towards her as he still regrets sending a text message about going to a prom with her. In season 5, Ashley invites Sue to hang with her at prom, as they are both there without dates, while Frankie's voice-over chides: "It wouldn't be prom if a Heck wasn't accompanied by Weird Ashley." In season 6, Ashley appears in Axl's dorm building out of nowhere, announcing she has transferred to East Indiana State because of their hotel management program. She tells Devin Levin that Axl was her boyfriend, which Axl of course vehemently denies.

• Matt (Moisés Arias, introduced in Season 3), a boy on the wrestling team at Sue and Axl's school who likes Sue; he becomes Sue's first real boyfriend but eventually ends the relationship after moving away and falling for another girl. In season 4, Matt asks Sue to the school Valentine's Day dance because he broke up with his girlfriend Sherrie. He later calls Sue at the last minute to say that he and Sherrie got back together, and he is no longer taking her to the dance. This paves the way for Darrin to swoop in and save the day for Sue.

• Ruth (Grace Bannon, introduced in Season 3) is a member of Sue's wrestlerette team, depicted as an extreme religious conservative, often referencing "the rapture". Unlike the other wrestlerettes, Ruth wears an ankle-length skirt.

• Courtney and Debbie (Brittany Ross and Natalie Lander, introduced in Season 3) are cheerleaders in Axl and Sue's high school who date Axl as one. Because the two are inseparable, Axl struggles to figure out which one is his real girlfriend and which one is just hanging out with the other. He makes a calculated guess that Courtney is his girlfriend and kisses her, which causes both girls to slap him and break up with him. They perpetually overlook Sue, often thinking she is a new exchange student, and later calling her a freshman during her senior year.
• Mrs. Tompkins (Krista Braun) is Brick's social skills mentor and guidance counselor.

• Cassidy Finch (Galadriel Stineman, introduced in Season 4) is Axl's girlfriend in his senior year of high school. She met Axl when he was trying to boost his grades and needed a tutor. They didn't get along very well in their first session, but then Axl kissed her and soon found out she had a boyfriend. She later broke up with her old boyfriend to be with Axl. Late in season 4, Cassidy's ex-boyfriend returns, putting tension between Axl and Cassidy for a while before they come back together. They break up in the episode "Hallelujah Hoedown", after Cassidy reveals she is going away in three weeks for an internship program and that they will be in different colleges come September. They begin speaking again in "The Award" (season 5), after Cassidy leaves an embarrassing message on Axl's voicemail. After a brief reconnection during spring break, Cassidy breaks up with Axl again, saying it isn't fair to either of them to pursue a relationship while being 800 miles apart.

• Charles "Hutch" Hutchinson (Alphonso McAuley, introduced in Season 5) is Axl's football teammate, best friend and eventual roommate at college. Like Axl, Hutch does not get much playing time on the East Indiana State football team.

• Kenny (Tommy Bechtold, introduced in Season 5) is Axl's college roommate who does nothing but play World of Warcraft. He is mostly shown from behind as he sits at his computer. His face was shown briefly at the end of the season 5 episode "The Kiss". In an episode of season 6 ("The Table") Axl and Hutch move out of the dorm and into a rental house, but realize they can't afford it on their own. They look up Kenny and invite him to be their roommate, too, as he apparently is reliable in paying bills and rent. Kenny speaks on-screen for the first time (and his face is shown again) in the Season 7 episode "Halloween VI: Tick Tock Death".

• Devin Levin (Gia Mantegna, introduced in Season 6) is a relative of Frankie's hairdresser who was only an acquaintance of Axl's in the past. In season 6, he notices how she has blossomed and that they share many interests, and they begin dating. The two briefly break up when Devin notices that Axl still has her listed as "Uggo from Idaho" in his cell phone contacts, But they got back together later on.

• Cindy (Casey Burke, introduced in Season 6) is a classmate of Brick's who becomes his sort-of girlfriend in season 6. Though she's about a head taller than Brick, she's very odd like him. She always wears a safari hat.

• Troy (Jovan Armand, introduced in Season 7) is Brick's large classmate who initially protects him at school, then later becomes his friend.

• Lexie (Daniela Bobadilla, introduced in Season 7) is Sue's college classmate who, like Sue, fails to get accepted by any sororities at the school. She later becomes Sue's dorm mate.

School Staff

• Dr. Fulton (Dave Foley, introduced in Season 4) is the school therapist that works with Mrs. Tompkins. He is an odd character who helps Brick bond with his peers and try to fit in more at school. An insecure man himself, Dr. Fulton is obsessed with his ex-wife Shelly, whom he mentions nearly every time Brick talks to him for "help".

• Coach Tink Babbitt (Brooke Dillman, introduced in Season 5) is a physical education teacher and detention monitor at Orson High.

• Principal Barker (Rachel Dratch, introduced in Season 5) is Brick's Middle School Principal. She has only appeared in the fifth season, for two episodes.

Miscellaneous Characters

• Reverend Timothy "Tim-Tom" Thomas (Paul Hipp, introduced in Season 1), is a youth minister whom Sue deeply admires. He surprised Sue by remembering her name after only having met her once, and always seems to appear just as Sue needs help the most. He is known for frequently playing his acoustic guitar and making almost anything into a song. He plays guitar with Axl on one occasion when encouraging him to do the right thing. In season 5, Reverend Tim-Tom gets a girlfriend (Reverend Tammy, played by Casey Wilson). Sue takes a disliking to Tammy and isn't sure how to tell Reverend Tim-Tom, but Sue changes her mind about Tammy after the two talk.