Fracture
The Middle
Show summary:
This new comedy series uses a mother's point of view to shed light on the lives of a middle-class family in the Midwest.
The show focuses on the Heck family's life in an Indiana suburb and is narrated by Frankie, a dedicated—though frazzled—mother who works at a local car dealership and volunteers for school functions. Father Mike works at a quarry and takes a more laid back approach to most things, but backs up Frankie with force when the need arises. Oldest child Axl, a snarky, surly, high schooler, spends much of his time napping and roams around the home shirtless. Geeky, gangly, braces-wearing Sue is trying to navigate her way through junior high, join the cool crowd, and avoid Axl's endless onslaught of taunts, none of which she does with much success. Youngest child Brick is in elementary school and is the academic in the family, but suffers from near-crippling social anxieties and possesses an odd habit of repeating words he just said back to himself in a loud whisper.
Starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn, the Warner Bros. Television pilot was written by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, who also serve as executive producers.
This new comedy series uses a mother's point of view to shed light on the lives of a middle-class family in the Midwest.
The show focuses on the Heck family's life in an Indiana suburb and is narrated by Frankie, a dedicated—though frazzled—mother who works at a local car dealership and volunteers for school functions. Father Mike works at a quarry and takes a more laid back approach to most things, but backs up Frankie with force when the need arises. Oldest child Axl, a snarky, surly, high schooler, spends much of his time napping and roams around the home shirtless. Geeky, gangly, braces-wearing Sue is trying to navigate her way through junior high, join the cool crowd, and avoid Axl's endless onslaught of taunts, none of which she does with much success. Youngest child Brick is in elementary school and is the academic in the family, but suffers from near-crippling social anxieties and possesses an odd habit of repeating words he just said back to himself in a loud whisper.
Starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn, the Warner Bros. Television pilot was written by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, who also serve as executive producers.
Frankie's holiday plans are threatened when her parents come to stay with the family.
Mike reluctantly invites his brother (Norm Macdonald) and father over for Thanksgiving; Sue wants to start a holiday tradition.
Brick pleads with Frankie to leave him home alone when she runs errands; Mike overhears Sue's friend insult his daughter; Axl tries to grow a beard for the football playoffs.
On his ninth birthday, Brick wants to hear the true story about the day he was born; Axl's new manager at the movie theater is attractive but dumb, leading him to wonder if her attractiveness trumps her incompetence.
On his ninth birthday, Brick wants to hear the true story about the day he was born; Axl's new manager at the movie theater is attractive but dumb, leading him to wonder if her attractiveness trumps her incompetence.
Summary: Frankie is excited about being invited to a neighborhood Halloween party; Sue finds out that the Rev. TimTom is hosting a Halloween event at church; Axl and his friends go to an exclusive haunted house party; B...
Frankie is excited about being invited to a neighborhood Halloween party; Sue finds out that the Rev. TimTom is hosting a Halloween event at church; Axl and his friends go to an exclusive haunted house party; Brick choos...
Summary: Frankie convinces the family to host a Japanese foreign exchange student to expose him to American life; the Hecks get frustrated when the student shows no interest in the family.
Summary: Mike tries to teach Axl a lesson after he is suspended from school; Brick is baffled by his own magic trick.
Summary: A store clerk makes an assumption that leaves Frankie feeling humiliated; Sue falls for one of Axl's friends; Brick tests urban legends.
Summary: Mike and Frankie must decide whether to attend Axl's football game or Sue's first cross-country meet; after raking the yard, Brick wants to set the leaves free in the forest.
Parent-Teacher conferences cause Frankie to worry about the kids. In them she's told Axl is gifted but not applying himself, that her teachers still do not know who Sue is, and Brick may have to repeat the second-grade d...
After failing to pay the electric bill on time, the electric company shuts off the Heck's power. This leads Frankie and Mike to cut down on their unnecessary expenses, including their cable TV. The kids take up other act...
Summary: The Hecks hope Brick's spelling prowess will put him on the fast track to the orthographic hall of fame, but all the fuss over the upcoming regional bee in Chicago causes Frankie and Mike to overlook Sue's birt...
Summary: With Brick at his first sleep-over, Axl on a date and Sue at her first boy-girl party, Frankie and Mike believe that they will have the house all to themselves for a quiet and romantic Valentine's Day. However...
Summary: Frankie makes a deal with her kids, that if they do their homework and keep chores she won't nag them. Meanwhile, Mike takes a job as a night driver with Bob.
Summary: Mike begins searching for a new job when the quarry is shut down for scientific research because of the discovery of a dinosaur bone. He soon feels like a dinosaur himself when he realizes the drastic changes ...
Frankie feels that a fight with her trashy neighbor Rita is imminent when Sue has a confrontation with her sons. Meanwhile, Axl is asked to teach Brick how to kick a ball for gym class, and brides him in order to do so. ...
Sue demands that Frankie and Mike buy her a expensive pair of jeans so that she can fit in with the cool kids at school, while Axl wants a car so he can impress a girl. Meanwhile, Frankie makes Brick take care of Aunt Ed...
Summary: Frankie rehearses for a choir solo for her church's Christmas midnight mass, and Mike's handling of the family yuletide preparations makes her jealous. Meanwhile, Brick has a problem, and Frankie and Mike try t...
Summary: Frankie is determined to promote harmony among her children after observing what she thinks is a perfect, loving family. Also, Aunt Edie (Jeanette Miller) makes a big mistake at the quarry. Will Mike fire her f...
Summary: Frankie's plan to have an idyllic family Thanksgiving backfires when Mr. Ehlert demands his staff work over the holiday. Brick goes missing in a corn maze.
Frankie accidentally hits Brick in the head with a beer bottle when trying to get the trash out before the garbage truck leaves. But when Brick innocently tells his school that the scratch was caused by his mother throwi...
Brick's teachers tell Frankie and Mike that he is "socially challenged". Mike believes that enrolling Brick on a basketball team is a good way to get him to interact with others, but the idea falls through. However, when...
Summary: Sue sells sausage and cheese samples for the school. All her efforts go in vain as the school fails to see this. Frankie demands her daughter fights for her rights. Meanwhile, Brick discovers love with his curr...
Summary: Frankie and Mike's romantic anniversary get-away is ruined by various family matters, including Brick being sick, Sue being lovesick, Axl just getting his learner's permit, and two psychotic aunt's and their d...
Summary: Trying to save her job, Frankie organizes a publicity stunt by filling a car with jelly beans. Meanwhile, Sue fails to make the swim team and realizes that she needs glasses and Brick starts reading his mother...
Summary: Sue auditions for show choir; Brick asks Frankie to come to his class presentation dressed in a costume; Frankie thinks she has finally sold a car.
