Guest Star: Jen Ray
You are viewing a list of Jen Ray's 52 appearances on The Middle.
The Block Party
Season 1, Episode 5 - Aired October 28 2009Mike tries to encourage Brick to join the basketball team after a school teacher says Brick is "socially challenged".
Appeared as Nancy
Siblings
Season 1, Episode 9 - Aired December 2 2009Frankie encounters three "perfect" siblings and sets out to stop her kids from fighting. Meanwhile, Mike considers firing Aunt Edie.
Appeared as Nancy
Signals
Season 1, Episode 23 - Aired May 12 2010With the Heck's annual summer barbecue approaching, Frankie points out that Mike's social ineptness has been passed on to Brick. Meanwhile, Sue becomes infatuated with the new pastor in charge of her youth group.
Appeared as Nancy
Foreign Exchange
Season 2, Episode 5 - Aired October 20 2010Frankie convinces Mike and the kids that the Heck family should host a foreign exchange student from Japan to expose him to life in an average American family. But the Hecks become frustrated when the student shows no sign of interest whatsoever in the family.
Appeared as Nancy
Taking Back the House
Season 2, Episode 11 - Aired January 5 2011After years of being at their kids' beck-and-call and never having time for themselves, Frankie and Mike decide to take charge of their lives and regain control over the Heck household. But Axl, Sue and Brick don't plan on going down without a fight.
Appeared as Nancy
Spring Cleaning
Season 2, Episode 18 - Aired March 23 2011Spring Break turns out to be anything but peaceful when the Hecks try to clean up 20 years of junk accumulated throughout the house. But digging through the past leads to some things that were better left forgotten. Meanwhile, Brick opens up a lucrative neighborhood information stand, giving advice on everything for a dollar per query.
Appeared as Nancy
The Legacy
Season 2, Episode 19 - Aired April 13 2011After receiving multiple warnings about leaving his dirty, smelly socks lying around the house, Mike has finally had enough and punishes Axl by forbidding him to play in the final school basketball game of the season. But everyone assumes that Mike is being petty when they discover that Axl could end up beating his father's record for most free throws landed in a season if he does play in the game. Meanwhile, Sue is ecstatic - but Frankie and Mike are suspicious -- when she wins an MVP trophy for cross-country, and Brick is humiliated when he's forced to wear hand-me-down clothes from his rebellious cousin.
Appeared as Nancy
The Bridge
Season 2, Episode 23 - Aired May 18 2011Frankie and Mike attempt to cure Brick of his irrational fear of crossing over bridges. Meanwhile, Axl is pitted against nemesis Sean Donahue when a lifeguard position opens up at the local public pool, and Frankie is ready to pull her hair out when she tries to help an indecisive and emotional Sue pick out a two-piece bathing suit to wear on the pool's opening day.
Appeared as Nancy
Forced Family Fun (Part 1)
Season 3, Episode 1 - Aired September 21 2011With school about to start in a few days, Frankie realizes that she and Mike have barely spent time together with the kids over the summer, so she insists that they take a short family vacation. But when Mike decides that the perfect family getaway is a camping trip, memories of their campsite honeymoon 19 years earlier -- which was ruined by Nicky (Ray Romano), a sad-sack former high school acquaintance of Mike's -- come flashing back.
Appeared as Nancy
Forced Family Fun (Part 2)
Season 3, Episode 2 - Aired September 21 2011With school about to start in a few days, Frankie realizes that she and Mike have barely spent time together with the kids over the summer, so she insists that they take a short family vacation. But when Mike decides that the perfect family getaway is a camping trip, memories of their campsite honeymoon 19 years earlier -- which was ruined by Nicky (Ray Romano), a sad-sack former high school acquaintance of Mike's -- come flashing back.
Appeared as Nancy
The Test
Season 3, Episode 5 - Aired October 12 2011Frankie cracks down on Axl and forces him to focus on his future when she learns that the school PSATs are right around the corner and he hasn't even begun to study for them. Meanwhile, Sue once again tries out for a school activity that may not be a perfect fit for her - cheerleading -- and Mike tries to toughen Brick up when he learns that his son is being bullied at school.
Appeared as Nancy
Bad Choices
Season 3, Episode 6 - Aired October 19 2011As the Heck home begins to literally fall apart, Frankie and Mike consider leaving homeownership behind and moving the family to an apartment. Meanwhile, Axl tries to fake Frankie out by pretending that he's sick in order to get out of taking a school test - and must later convince her that he's well enough to attend a party that evening; Sue and her ex-sort-of-boyfriend, Brad, volunteer to prepare a school skit about showing the dangers of texting and drinking while driving; and Brick tries to offer a little bit of levity by spouting off Shakespearian quotes.
Appeared as Nancy
A Christmas Gift
Season 3, Episode 11 - Aired December 7 2011On a tipsy whim - and against Mike's wishes - Frankie decides to throw a Christmas Eve party at the house; Mike buys Frankie a much needed new dishwasher for Christmas, but has a hard time keeping it a secret when she begs him to replace the old one before the party; Sue calls on Reverend TimTom to explain the meaning of Christmas to Brick when he reads the Bible and begins to question it; and Axl gets annoyed with Bob when he tries too hard to be cool in order to befriend him while working together on a Christmas tree lot.
Appeared as Nancy
Hecking It Up
Season 3, Episode 14 - Aired January 18 2012With Indiana hosting the Super Bowl, Frankie is devastated when she hopes to land a plum assignment as an official volunteer and ends up with a less-than-stellar position. Meanwhile, the entire Heck household takes advantage of the Donahue's new car while they are out of town, and a scary, close call with the car causes Sue to profess her true feelings to her new boyfriend, Matt.
Appeared as Nancy
Valentine's Day III
Season 3, Episode 15 - Aired February 8 2012Frankie and Mike decide to try a fresh approach to Valentine's Day by having dinner out with friends. But a clueless Mike angers Frankie by refusing to present her with a simple romantic gesture. Meanwhile, Axl can't think of a life-changing moment that's occurred in his life when he's assigned to write a school paper on the subject, Brick is tasked with writing a report on love, and a hapless Sue doesn't understand why her new boyfriend has suddenly turned into a bad kisser.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Halloween III: The Driving
Season 4, Episode 6 - Aired October 24 2012As Halloween approaches, the Hecks get quite the scare when Sue receives her learner's permit, and it's time for Frankie and Mike to teach her how to drive. But when a freaked-out Sue loses her nerve, she ends up running over Axl's foot, which could put an end to his high school football career and his hopes for a scholarship. Meanwhile Axl looks forward to voting in his first election, and Brick undergoes an unexpected transformation when he eats too much Halloween candy.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Twenty Years
Season 4, Episode 10 - Aired December 12 2012As their 20th anniversary approaches, Frankie begins to think that Mike may be tiring of her company and is purposely trying to avoid her. Meanwhile, Sue frantically tries to coax Axl and Brick into helping her set up an anniversary party for their parents, and Brick falls into a non-responsive state when Axl tells him the ending of a book he's been waiting years to read.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Valentine's Day IV
Season 4, Episode 15 - Aired February 13 2013As Valentine's Day approaches, Axl takes Boss Co., with partners Sean and Darrin, to the next level by offering their services to help guys break up with their girlfriends. Meanwhile, Brick becomes upset with Frankie when he discovers that she has thrown out all of the school artwork he has made over the years, Sue is thrilled when ex-boyfriend Matt invites her to the school's Valentine's Day dance, and Mike accidentally sends a romantic text meant for Frankie to a co-worker at the quarry.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The Bachelor
Season 4, Episode 19 - Aired April 3 2013Frankie can't hide her disappointment over whom "The Bachelor" chooses to marry and ends up moping around the house for days about it; Mike tries to toughen Sue up when she joins the school's tennis team and continually compliments her opponents during their matches; and Axl and Cassidy try to figure out where their relationship stands after their big fight.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The 100th
Season 5, Episode 4 - Aired October 23 2013Marking the 100th episode milestone of "The Middle," the citizens of Orson, Indiana celebrate the Orsontennial - the town's 100th anniversary. During this momentous event, Frankie and Mike find themselves begrudgingly trying to drive a giant cow float in the parade; Axl, Sean and Darrin resurrect Boss Co. and attempt to make some big bucks by setting up a VIP area to view the festivities; Sue, still crushing on Darrin, tries to make him jealous by pretending to be dating Brad again; and Brick tries to earn himself a place in Orson history by entering a contest to come up with the town's new motto, which will be used for the next 100 years
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The Carpool
Season 5, Episode 12 - Aired January 22 2014With the bus drivers on strike, Principal Barker (Rachel Dratch) asks the parents to form carpools to get the kids to and from school. But with time management not being one of Frankie's strong suits, her carpool kids find themselves facing the possibility of being on the receiving end of some tardy slips – which could ruin their chances of being invited to the "No Tardy Party." Meanwhile, Axl hits the books and becomes an expert in Astronomy – a class he’s not even taking – in order to tutor a hot student, and when Mike receives two IU basketball tickets, he tries to find someone to accompany him to the game, not realizing that Sue really wants to go with him.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Vacation Days
Season 5, Episode 15 - Aired March 5 2014After being forced by his work to take a paid vacation, Mike tries to relax but finds his alone time being invaded by Brick, who wants to cash in and implement all of the personal gift coupons he has given his dad for Father's Day and birthdays over the years. Meanwhile, Frankie is livid when she discovers that Axl has been hanging out at the Donahues for the past few days and didn't let her know that he was even in town, and Sue is horrified when she discovers that someone has given her service at Spudsy Malone's a bad review online and overreacts in her efforts to better please the customers.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The Walk
Season 5, Episode 17 - Aired March 26 2014After bumping into some old acquaintances on a walk around the neighborhood, Frankie and Mike realize that they are more interesting and charming with them than they are with each other and search for a way to remedy the situation. Meanwhile, Sue ends up with multiple dates to the prom because she is too nice to turn down any of the boys who asked her, and Brick enlists Axl's aid in preparing an “outside the box” book report.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Unbraceable You
Season 6, Episode 1 - Aired September 24 2014Frankie makes a giant blunder when she discovers that school started a week earlier than she thought, and Sue and Brick must scramble to catch up on the days they've missed and re-acclimate themselves to school life. Meanwhile, it looks like the “Year of Sue” might be starting off on a high when she finally gets her braces removed. Axl beats Mike at basketball for the first time in his life, and Brick gets creative in an attempt to find the perfect school book bag.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The Christmas Wall
Season 6, Episode 9 - Aired December 10 2014Frankie has had enough of schlepping out the Christmas decorations and trying to make the perfect holiday for her family -- who she feels doesn’t appreciate all that she does for them -- and decides to kick back on the couch and have a minimalist Christmas this year. Meanwhile, due to Sue’s allergy to real Christmas trees, Mike attempts to purchase an artificial one and ends up not getting what he paid for. Axl puts Boss Co. back into business for the holidays as Tree Wise Men but gets into such a heated argument with Sean over a misfit toy that the two can’t seem to work together, and Brick becomes fascinated by a Christmas letter the family has received and attempts to write one on his own outlining the past year of the Hecks.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Valentine's Day VI
Season 6, Episode 13 - Aired February 11 2015Valentine's Day aims its sights on the Heck kids when a nervous Brick finds out that his quirky girlfriend Cindy wants him to kiss her on the special day, Darrin asks Frankie and Mike to help out with an exciting scavenger hunt he's putting together for Sue, and Axl begins to question his girlfriend Devin's request that he not give her anything for what she considers to be a lame tradition.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Flirting with Disaster
Season 6, Episode 16 - Aired March 4 2015Frankie finds herself innocently flirting with Axl's hot friend, Finn. But when she makes a not-so-innocent remark about him to her sister, she fears that both Finn and Axl may have overheard her conversation. Meanwhile, Sue is forced to take Brick to a "Planet Nowhere" sci-fi convention, and Frankie's dad, Tag, asks Mike to secretly help him study and pass his driver's test so that he can keep his license from being taken away.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The Shirt
Season 7, Episode 3 - Aired October 7 2015Frankie is speechless when Mike — whose entire wardrobe consists of long sleeved flannel shirts — decides to wear a short sleeved Hawaiian shirt when they go out to dinner with some friends. Meanwhile, while Sue excitedly finds herself signing up for as many no-cut college clubs as she can, she accidentally tells Devin how much Axl loves her, which scares Devin and leads her to question their relationship; and Brick gets a little too ambitious while tackling his chore of cleaning the bathroom.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Homecoming II: The Tailgate
Frankie is looking forward to taking part in the annual homecoming tailgate. But she begins to feel like the event will become an embarrassing disaster when her mom, Pat, decides to come out and join in the fun. Meanwhile, with Axl down with a bad case of the stomach flu, Mike turns his attention to Brick to help him win the tailgate cornhole tournament trophy that has eluded him for so long, and Sue volunteers to be the class liaison for Homecoming at the event.
Season 7, Episode 7 - Aired November 11 2015Appeared as Nancy
Not So Silent Night
Season 7, Episode 10 - Aired December 9 2015Dreading the fact that they are always late to church and end up in the overflow room, Frankie makes the decision to have the family watch a Christmas Eve service on TV from the comfort of the Heck house. But a string of events make their evening anything but a peaceful, silent night.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Floating 50
Season 7, Episode 13 - Aired January 20 2016Feeling guilty over floating Frankie's 50th birthday for too long, Mike enlists Axl and Brick to help him set up a surprise party for her. Meanwhile, Sue finds herself being mocked after posting a sign in the dorm laundry room to help find one of her lost socks, and after Brick turns in an "I Can't" project at school and indicates that he can’t do sports, Coach Babbitt makes it her mission to turn him into an athlete.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Hecks at a Movie
Season 7, Episode 15 - Aired February 17 2016After discovering that Brick has never seen a movie in a theater, Frankie and Mike take him to see a film with a small scene that was partially shot in Orson. But when Brick sees a trailer for an upcoming "Planet Nowhere" film that he completely disapproves of, he makes it his mission to ensure that it won't ever play in that theater – or anywhere else. Meanwhile, Frankie and Mike get into a major disagreement over how events really unfolded when Mike shushes Frankie after he perceives that she was constantly interrupting Bill while he was telling a story; Sue runs into Logan - the hunky Abercrombie guy - and thinks she has a real chance of becoming his girlfriend; and Axl and Sean discover that they have unexpected ties to an event that happened when they were young.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
A Very Donahue Vacation
Season 7, Episode 18 - Aired March 23 2016After making some extra money from the diaper business, Mike surprises a rather unenthusiastic Heck family with a spring break vacation at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. In the hopes of livening up what is perceived to be a lame vacation, Frankie suggests that the Donahues join them. While Mike visits all of the attractions on his own, Nancy asks a not-so-thrilled Frankie to speak with Sean to try and talk him into taking his MCATs; Axl enlists Brick to help him pick up women by playing "Jerk/No Jerk" - with Brick in the role of the "Jerk"; and Mike is anything but excited when an exuberant Sue reveals some news to him about her upcoming summer plans.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Survey Says...
Season 7, Episode 20 - Aired April 13 2016Frankie is thrilled when Sue invites her for lunch at the college. But lunch becomes awkward when Sue brings her new boyfriend along – Jeremy, the school activist – and the two of them begin bombarding Frankie with everything she and the world, in general, are doing wrong. Meanwhile, Axl informs a very disappointed Mike that he wants to quit football, and Brick overly obsesses over filling out a satisfaction survey after ordering some graph paper online.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The Show Must Go On
Season 7, Episode 24 - Aired May 18 2016After almost forgetting that Brick's middle school graduation is only days away, Frankie goes on a mission to right a wrong when Brick discovers that the song he was supposed to sing at the ceremony has been cut. Meanwhile, Sue needs to be at Dollywood to begin her summer job on the same day as Brick's graduation, and Axl takes a job as a country club counselor and finds himself being mocked by a 10-year-old carbon copy of himself.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Halloween VII: The Heckoning
Season 8, Episode 3 - Aired October 25 2016As Halloween approaches, Frankie is taken aback when she discovers that, if the circumstances ever arose where she and Mike got divorced, the kids would all choose to live with Mike. Meanwhile, Sue tries everything in her power to get her room back from Brick, and having to be so nice around girlfriend April all of the time leads Axl to lash out at his family.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Road Kill
Season 8, Episode 5 - Aired November 15 2016Frankie and Mike are embarrassed to admit that they once again forgot Brick's birthday. But their embarrassment turns to fright when they discover that he has turned 15, and it's time for them to teach their not-so-sure-footed son driver's ed. But when Axl takes a shot at letting Brick drive his Winnebago, he ends up running down one of Orson's most treasured landmarks. Meanwhile, while Sue anxiously tries to choose a college major before deadline, she learns a shocking secret from Frankie.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Thanksgiving VIII
Season 8, Episode 6 - Aired November 22 2016Frankie has come to the conclusion that April is not good enough for Axl and does everything in her power to keep her out of their annual Christmas family photo. But she finds herself vying for Axl's attention by trying to rearrange timing for the family's Thanksgiving dinner when she discovers that he plans to go to April's multiple family get-togethers that day. Meanwhile, Sue goes ballistic when she discovers that Brick will now be her new co-worker at Spudsy's.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Escape Orson
Season 8, Episode 10 - Aired January 3 2017The Hecks find themselves spending New Year's Day attempting to stave off a zombie apocalypse in the Orson Escape Room, desperately trying to beat the Donahue’s record of getting out with more than one minute, eight seconds to spare. Meanwhile, Brick is convinced that the mild-mannered man assigned to the family's Escape Room group is really the famous author of the "Planet Nowhere" books; Sue divulges a secret about herself to Axl that's she's been keeping since childhood; and Mike is stunned when Frankie reveals that she had a romantic dream involving Frank Sinatra.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Hoosier Maid
Season 8, Episode 11 - Aired January 10 2017Frankie is ecstatic when she wins free maid service for a month. But the Heck house turns out to be quite the frustrating challenge to clean. Meanwhile, when Mike and Rusty's dad, Big Mike, starts to have trouble taking care of himself at home, the brothers begrudgingly begin to look at assisted living facilities for him; and when the Winnebago gets too cold and dangerous to inhabit since snow is coming through a hole in the roof, Axl, Hutch and Kenny attempt to move in with Sue and Lexie in their temporary college housing.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Swing and a Miss
Season 8, Episode 16 - Aired March 7 2017Lexie spends Spring Break with the Hecks and confesses to Sue that she has a crush on Axl; with the quarry softball team on a losing streak, Mike hires high school coach Babbitt as a ringer to pull the team out of their slump; and Frankie desperately tries to uncover what has happened within the Heck family to make Nancy Donahue exclaim that she must be very proud of one of her family member's achievements.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Exes and Ohhhs
Season 8, Episode 17 - Aired March 14 2017After Axl runs into just about all of his ex-girlfriends while attending a St. Patrick's Day party – including Devin Levin, Cassidy and even Weird Ashley – Hutch tells Axl that the universe is trying to tell him something about his love life, and that he must speak with each of them to try and figure it out. Meanwhile, Brick discovers that Frankie and Mike aren't half as thrilled as he is when he buys an old microfiche machine at a library sale; and not knowing that Tyler is set to take Sue to the Chancellor's Ball, Sean Donahue pays her a surprise visit and offers to escort her to it.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Clear and Present Danger
Season 8, Episode 21 - Aired May 2 2017Frankie frantically searches the house for Axl's graduation gift, which she bought months before and hid; Sue decides that she wants to make a sweet video for Mike's upcoming birthday - even though the family warns her that he probably won't like it; and after Cindy embarrasses Brick by strong-arming and chasing away a boy who was bullying him, Brick turns to Axl to help get him into shape so that he can stick up for himself.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Fight or Flight
Season 8, Episode 23 - Aired May 16 2017Having finally graduated college, Axl tells Frankie and Mike that he's planning on going to Europe over the summer with Kenny. Although Frankie thinks this is a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Mike is less than pleased and thinks his slacker son should be putting all of his summer efforts into finding a job. Meanwhile, Sue begins to panic after she barely scrapes a parked SUV and doesn't hear back from the owner after leaving several notes on the windshield, and Brick discovers that his sudden onset of backaches is due to not sitting in his lawn chair, which was replaced by a normal kitchen-table chair.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Please Don't Feed The Hecks
Season 9, Episode 2 - Aired October 10 2017After Frankie gives neighbor Nancy Donahue an old scarf that is just sitting around gathering dust, Nancy returns the favor by baking her a delicious apple pie. Believing she's stumbled upon a way to get free and tasty meals, Frankie makes it her mission to find miscellaneous items around the house to give to her in exchange for some culinary delights. Meanwhile, Sue and Lexie prepare to move back into their college apartment but find that it's been sublet to a man who refuses to leave; and Axl's new job as the school bus driver gives him a chance to see how Brick’s high school sophomore year is treating him, and he discovers that Mike has refused to speak to Brick's class on Career Exploration Day.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The 200th
Season 9, Episode 9 - Aired December 5 2017"The Middle" celebrates its milestone 200th episode! When Orson is named as one of the top 200 most livable cities in Indiana, Frankie is reminded that she has to come up with something to place in the time capsule that will be buried in the base of the newly rededicated Orson Cow. Meanwhile, when Bill Norwood informs Mike that he and Paula are separating, Mike is gobsmacked and starts to appreciate Frankie more; in order to win back Cindy, Brick must complete three acts of bravery for her; and Axl volunteers Sue to be his personal assistant to impress prospective employers.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The Christmas Miracle
Season 9, Episode 10 - Aired December 12 2017It's Christmastime, and Frankie and Sue are devastated after Axl informs them that he's not going to church this year because he's beginning to question his faith. Meanwhile, Mike goes to war with the Glossner kids after they keep defacing his new, giant inflatable snowman; and Brick goes all out in an attempt to wrap his first present for a planned Christmas Yankee Swap.
Appeared as Nancy
New Year's Revelations
Season 9, Episode 11 - Aired January 2 2018As New Year's Eve approaches, Sue admits to Frankie that she likes Sean Donahue and that she kissed him at the Christmas party. But she's still trying to figure out if her kiss with Sean was a fluke or if it actually meant that he likes her. Meanwhile, Mike forces Axl and Brick to take a drive with him and Mike's dad, Big Mike, and they are shocked to discover what is planned when they reach their final destination.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
Hecks vs. Glossners: The Final Battle
Season 9, Episode 17 - Aired March 20 2018It's the Orson showdown of the century when the Hecks - along with the Donahues and Bill Norwood - wage a war against the Glossners after they steal Sue's car.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
The Royal Flush
Season 9, Episode 21 - Aired May 8 2018In an attempt to get Frankie the best Mother's Day gift ever, Sue and Brick enter a trivia contest where they could win a trip for two to London for the upcoming royal wedding; and Axl is offered a job interview that could change his life.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
A Heck of a Ride: Part One
Season 9, Episode 23 - Aired May 22 2018After nine hilarious and heartfelt seasons, a Heck leaves the nest as the family takes a road trip to Denver, where Axl will start his new job - and new life away from home.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue
A Heck of a Ride: Part Two
Season 9, Episode 24 - Aired May 22 2018After nine hilarious and heartfelt seasons, a Heck leaves the nest as the family takes a road trip to Denver, where Axl will start his new job – and new life away from home.
Appeared as Nancy Donahue