Sue Heck-Centric Middle Spinoff: ABC Places Pilot Order, Reveals Premise
Small-town girl Sue Heck is headed to the big city. ABC on Monday officially confirmed what we reported back in July: It has ordered a Middle spinoff centered on Eden Sher‘s adorkable alter ego.
In conjunction with the announcement, the network also revealed that the potential series will find Sue Heck leaving Indiana to pursue a career — and young adulthood — in Chicago. Middle creators Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline are penning the pilot script and will serve as EPs.
At San Diego Comic-Con last month, Sher told TVLine that a pilot order had been (informally) placed for the still-untitled project. Her admission (which can be viewed below) came two months after ABC first confirmed that it was in the early stages of developing a Sue-focused offshoot.
Last May’s series finale of The Middle left off with Sue still in college, although a flash-forward revealed that she eventually married neighbor Sean (after a number of breakups and makeups). The would-be Sue series would pick up several years after the finale but before Sue settled down with Sean, Sher shared.
“The [flash-forward] was like a ‘happily ever after,’” Sher told us, adding that the new project would find “Sue being Sue as a young adult.”
As we previously speculated, If ordered to series, the spinoff could, in theory, take over ABC’s Tuesday-at-8 pm time slot at midseason after Roseanne spinoff The Conners wraps its 10-episode run.
I’m so excited for this to be a series!
The Middle was great, Sue was a great character, so sure, why not give it a shot. I’ll check it out.
I do think exactly the same, except that Eden Sher was so good at being Sue that I hoped we would see her doing something else soon. I still want that, but we’ll have to wait, it seems.
This is what I was waiting for! love Sue!
I love Eden Sher as Sue. She’s absolutely incredible. I’m excited for this series. I wanna know if Daniela Bobadilla will return as Sue’s friend, Lexie Brooks and be a series regular for the spinoff?
Love Sue Heck!! Can’t wait!! I hope Sean can make appearances. Loved them together.
Just wish it was set in Indy instead of Chicago. Sue always kep true to her Hoosier roots, and I could see her in Indy before Chicago. At any rate, I hope she takes Lexie along with her for the ride, and of course Brad. Brad could join a 2nd City rip-off. :)
I have to agree.
I like the idea of a Sue based spin off (featuring some of the Middle cast as, at least, recurring characters), but – and its a big BUT. . .I have real doubts about Sue in a Chicago setting.
I would’ve loved for Sue to remain in Indiana but I think it would make it difficult to explain why we’d see little of her family, or any of the other Orson characters, if she remained in Indy. With her in Chicago, it would allow for the other Hecks to make only occasional appearances. But I agree, Brad needs to be part of the spin-off (I’d be surprised if he wasn’t!); and hopefully Lexie too, though I’d be okay with her making a new female best friend.
Yeah, it opens her chapter up for a lot more storylines too. It’s a spin-off, so you kinda want it to be a little different, but a little the same (which you already have by having Sue!).
I agree about Sue moving to Chicago! I think so should stay in Orson and continue with the friends she has and also have appearances with her family. So many times when things change drastically, the familiarity, you’ll lose the audience. I hope the writers have taken that into consideration.
I’m glad they are moving it, the stories would be limited if she remained in Orson, as opposed to Chicago where Sue can explore herself, become a new person and hopefully she will get a new wardrobe in the process which she definitely needs. She needs to stop dressing like a child.
Who said stay in Orson? Are you dissing Indy? Believe it or not, it IS a real city, and a beautiful one at that…
You mean Jasper, Indiana which Orsen is based on and Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Have you ever lived anywhere else by the way? Everyone says where they live is beautiful. It definitely depends on where you have lived to form an opinion of someplace. I live less than 2 hours from the Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina so I think that’s beautiful but I couldn’t live in Indiana or in the Midwest at all because I like being near the ocean if I had my choice.
No, I mean Indy, and I have never lived in Indiana. You make a lot of assumptions based on nothing, don’t you? Personally, I have lived on several coasts and on several continents…
I think putting it in Chicago gives them way more stories to explore. Indy is nice but there is so much more trouble she can get into in Chicago! I moved there after college when I was just 20yrs old and navigating public transportation and living and working in a big city was exactly the adventure I would love to see Sue Sue take!
This is fabulous news! Eden Sher is fantastic, I can’t wait to watch it!
Such great news, missing The Middle already! Just hope they have Brad on as a regular, love their scenes together!
Eden Sher is so funny. She’ll be great in the TV series. I can’t wait to see it on ABC.
That a sitcom could be placed in dystopic crime-ridden Chicago is a jarring note.
Please tell me this is a joke and that aren’t actually this ignorant.
Sarcasm probably – Based on 13 murders last weekend alone and 650 murders last year and over 300 this year so far.
Forgot to add that those 13 were of 72 shot.
These people seem too naive to realize that these shootings are all occurring in a handful of specific violent neighborhoods on the south side. None have clearly ever been to Chicago which is huge and comprised of many different neighborhoods.
I have only been once, but I thought Chicago was a BEAUTIFUL city!!!
Best news I’ve heard all day!! Can’t wait.
I’m glad they’ve given more info about the pilot. Hopefully they’ll announce the rest of the cast soon. I’d love it if Sean and Brad were in it.
We LOVE SUE HECK!
I had hoped for a Brick spinoff. I see him 18 years later as the press secretary for his brother Axl who is now the president. Mike and Frankie hang out at the White House and actually sleep in the Lincoln bedroom. Axl has been married 3 times, but all were annulled. He now dates a different girl in each episode. He puts Sue in charge of the social schedule for the WH. But the main story each week is Brick explaining what his brother has done in the previous few days.
… This is the dumbest sht I’ve ever read.
Hate to admit it, but that gave me a little chuckle!
That sounds good.
I hope they put the reruns (if it performs well) on ABC’s TGIF in Winter or Spring 2019.
Also, I hope that Lexie and Sean makes appearances.
ABC’s possible new TGIF lineup (if the block is a hit)
Winter 2019
8:00pm- Fresh off the Boat
8:30pm- Speechless
9:00pm- Single Parents (moved from its Wednesday timeslot due to low ratings, finds niche on TGIF)
9:30pm- The Middle Spin-off (repeats)
10:00pm- 20/20
So (moved from its Wed time slot due to low ratings) deserves to be the lead in for The Middle spin off??? Won’t happen anyway so whatever.
It’s just my prediction, pal.
What do you think they going to do?
I am so happy this sue may go forward, will miss the middle. I hope her brothers come to visit and maybe freeload! 😉
Not expecting much from this but as a fan of The Middle, I’ll definitely check it out either way. It isn’t even possible that this will be worse than the so called “comedy” grown•ish. I love black•ish but the spin off is beyond awful.
This is the happiest news I’ve read on the internet today.
The flash-forward sort of ruined it for me. I would have preferred to be left wondering. Thinking of a spin-off possibility made me believe it would be a no-brainer to set it for her college years. Now that they are skipping that, apparently, I am not sure where they will go with this in a way that really works. I may very much depend on a supporting cast. By the way, Lexie was a very minor character, if you think upon it. Sue’s friends generally had a way of disappearing off the show. Axl should have married the smart redhead.
This is the rainbow on my horizon that I so desperately need right now. Eden Sher and her alter ego Sue Heck are everything good and right in this world. I am so thrilled by this announcement! Thank you ABC, Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline for developing such a wonderful character!
I love Eden Sher and loved watching her on The Middle. I also thought a spin off for her sounded like a good idea. Sending Sue Heck to Chicago just sounds like a bad idea to me.
My guess is that the ep knew of this possibility before they wrote the finale and that’s why she and Sean broke up twice. Gives them more leeway for a spin off. Now they can focus on her and not just the relationship or have her tied down the whole time. Potential more stories to explore but audience knows they get the happy ending.
I hope Sean will factor greatly in the spinoff.
And of course BRAD!!!
Sue was awesome she brought this to the show that was super contagious. I love that she is getting a spinoff that’s cool