The Middle

A new batch of reality shows is facing up to the fact we live in difficult times

“The Middle” was always going to get picked up for a third season (it’s doing quite well in a difficult time slot), but I’m glad ABC showed its confidence in it by making it one of the shows that got an early renewal (along with Modern Family, Cougar Town, Private Practice, and so on). It’s by far my favourite comedy in ABC’s Wednesday lineup, and probably the comedy I find the most solid and satisfying — it doesn’t hit the heights of some other shows, but it doesn’t have many weak links, either.

Two comedy pilots for this season that didn’t exactly thrill me were what we might call the Back To You pair: The Middle, a single-camera quirk-com starring Patricia Heaton, and Hank, a multi-camera quirk-free comedy with Kelsey Grammer. The former incorporates too many clichés of its genre, like the abrasive tone, the voice-over narration, the wacky flashbacks, and the determination to give almost every character some kind of wacky dysfunction. It may get better, but it may not, since this is exactly the type of show that tends to burn itself out fast.