‘The Middle’ Spinoff Officially Shooting a Pilot, ABC Boss Confirms

The Middle spinoff is closer to becoming a reality, as ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey revealed they ordered a pilot order for the potential series.

As she talked to reported during the Television Critics Association summer press tour, Dungey gave an update on the potential spinoff as well as on two pilots from last season, which were kept alive for redevelopment, drama False Profits and comedy Steps.

“I feel like we really own the family comedy brand, particularly in network TV,” Dungey told Deadline. “We want to continue to expand what our definition of family means.”

She added that while there they “still trying to figure out a way” of how they can speak more directly to the millennial audience, there are couple of ideas the network has floating around that are more in the “young adult vein.”

Comedy spinoffs have certainly been common on ABC, with black-ish, The Goldbergs and Roseanne all getting one. Another high-profile spinoff comes from the long-running comedy The Middle, which wrapped up its run in the spring.

The project, starring series co-star Eden Sher, from original series’ creators/executive producers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline and studio Warner Bros. TV, has a pilot production commitment.

Because of the flagship series, the spinoff is expected to get a green light, but that might not happen for some time. Dungey revealed she will be hearing a pitch for the show sometime this week.

Dungey’s confirmation comes a few weeks after Sher confirmed herself that a pilot would be shot soon.

We are shooting a pilot,” Sher exclaimed. “I hope it gets picked up. I think it’s going to be great.”

The Middle aired its series finale in May, with the show ended by letting fans see that Sher’s character, Sue Heck, would eventually go on to marry her neighbor Sean (but only after many years of being on-and-off).

The new series would reportedly pick up somewhere after Sue finishes college but before she marries Sean. It would be “Sue being Sue as a young adult,” Sher stated.

After The Middle ended its run, Sue spoke to Vulture about what she thought might be in Sues future.

“I want to be on the same page as the writers about Sue’s ending, and we definitely are. My shower and pooping thoughts are that I know for a fact that she wouldn’t stay in Indiana,” Sher said, half-jokingly. “Maybe she’d come back, but I don’t think so. She’d move to a metropolitan area — not New York City, but Madison or something similar. She’d get a cool, fun job. She’s in hotel management, so I see her running a little bed and breakfast. A bed and breakfast for preschoolers!”

While the entire series is not currently streaming, fans can watch a handful of The Middle season nine episodes on Hulu.