Then there are the Heck kids.

Axl, portrayed by Charlie McDermott (Frozen River), is the teenage son, a jockey, semi-nudist (seriously) and often rebel who occasionally has a soft spot; Eden Sher (Weeds) plays the socially awkward teenage daughter Sue who has tried out for every sport and extracurricular at school known to man without ever being accepted into any of them; and Atticus Shaffer (The Unborn) plays Brick, the bookwork and youngest child who often whispers to himself and considers his backpack his best friend. Oh yeah.

Read the full story on Star Plus

“But the show is not so much about the bad economy,” says Heaton. “It’s about the American attitude of resilience, and trying to find a new way to do things and put a positive spin on it.”

“It’s from the mom’s point of view, and it’s not with a bumbling dad who can never do anything right [compared to "Everybody Loves Raymond"],” she says. “It’s about trying to keep the marriage lively and raise the kids right, but not having enough time and energy to do any of those things.”

Read the full story on cincinnati.com/

Read more: NY Post

“The Middle” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
Returning to original for the first time in 3 weeks, ABC’s “The Middle” ranked as the No. 1 scripted show at 8:30 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6), defeating the second half-hour of NBC’s “Mercy” by 24% (1.7/5) and CBS’ “Gary Unmarried” by 5% (2.0/5).

Source: RBR

They’re not precocious. They’re not the brightest kids in class. They’re not smart alecks. And they’re sort of shockingly real, in a somewhat exaggerated sort of way.

“We really set out to … not make them cliches,” said executive producer DeAnn Heline. “And I honestly think part of being a parent is you would do anything for your children. You love them so much. Of course, you think they are perfect.

“Yet there’s always something where you are going, ‘Really? Did you have to do that?’ They also sometimes have quirks that can drive a parent crazy.”
…
Having been Axl’s age just a couple of years ago, McDermott said he can relate to his character.

“I think we try to keep it as grounded and realistic in as humorous a way as possible,” said McDermott, 19. “There’s some stuff that is exaggerated, but like they said, there’s a lot of stuff that is taken from … people that you’ve met.”

Sher said she has no complaints about her character.

“She’s always happy. And even when she’s not happy, it’s always an extreme emotion with Sue, pretty much,” the 18-year-old said. “And to play anything to the extreme all the time … it’s awesome.”

Eleven-year-old Shaffer said he’s not even really acting.

“For me, playing Brick is actually playing me, only with a different family and a different name,” he said in total sincerity. “Because I love almost everything that Brick loves to do — read, talk to myself. So I like thinking of Brick as me, which he is.”

Californian Atticus Shaffer plays Brick, the younger son in the family comedy starring Northeast Ohio’s own Patricia Heaton. According to ABC, he began acting in 2006 and has appeared on The Class, My Name Is Earl, Days of Our Lives, Carpoolers, Out of Jimmy’s Head and Human Giant — as well as sharing a bus stop with Will Smith in Hancock and doing commercials. Other films include The Unborn and An American Carol. He is home-schooled, a Boy Scout and an avid Yu-Gi-Oh player. And he does all those things while dealing with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease; Shaffer has Type IV, which according to the OI Foundation’s Web site leaves people ”moderately affected.”

FRANKIE AND MIKE FOCUS ON TAKING THE FAMILY ON A ROAD TRIP TO CHICAGO FOR BRICK’S COMPETITION IN A REGIONAL SPELLING BEE, BUT ARE GOBSMACKED WHEN THEY REALIZE THEY FORGOT ABOUT SUE’S BIRTHDAY, ON ABC’S “THE MIDDLE”

“The Bee” When Mike discovers that Brick is a spelling wiz and won the school spelling bee, he puts all his efforts into training him to win the regional bee, which could ultimately lead to competing in the Scripps Spelling Bee. But as the family gets set for their road trip to Chicago for the regional bee, Frankie and Mike are horrified when they realize they forgot one thing — Sue’s birthday — on “The Middle,” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“The Middle” stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob.

Guest starring are Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Ehlert, Kiva Jump as Mrs. Thomas, Duane Shepard, Sr. as judge, Keith Gerchak as announcer, Jill E. Alexander as Penny, Ryan Agahee as Sanjit, Noelani Bailey as girl contestant, Harrison Boxley as boy contestant, Gregory Kasyan as kid #1 and Aidan Miner as kid #2.

“The Bee” was written by Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline and directed by Ken Whittingham.

“The Middle” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format with a 5.1 channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to the airdate.

Source: The Futon Critic

Eden Sher is the 18-year-old actress who plays her. She put on fake braces and dressed real young to help land the role on the show.
“I don’t know what came over me, but I just decided to wear fake braces to the audition,” Sher said during a phone interview with The Oklahoman. “When I tested for it, they didn’t know I was any different from the 12-year-old girls auditioning.
“It was really funny when I went in for wardrobe fitting after I booked the pilot. I came in normally without braces, and the director started freaking out. He was like, ‘Eden, did you get your braces off?’ No one knew they were fake.”

Sher already has a favorite scene from the show, though, and it has an Oklahoma connection.
“It was the ‘Kung-Fu Fighting’ scene when we challenged some boys to a fight, and we danced,” said Sher, who was born and raised in Los Angeles and has never been to Oklahoma. “That was so fun and funny.
“And Blaine Saunders, the girl who plays Carly, was in the scene. She is from Oklahoma, and she’s in a couple other episodes, too. We’re friends, and that’s my only connection to Oklahoma.”

Read the full interview on The Oklahoman

In the episode, Frankie and Mike (Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn) are excited to discover that Axl (Charlie McDermott) has found the perfect girlfriend, Morgan (Vega), and that he’s in love. But just as they start to get used to his new, sunny outlook on life, Morgan does the unthinkable and breaks up with him, leaving Axl completely heartbroken.

“The Break Up” premieres on March 10th @ 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC.

Read more: Buzz

The Oprah special will air March 3. On Feb. 17 and Feb. 24, ABC will try out repeats of “The Middle” — which recently hit a season high in its usual 8:30 p.m. slot — at 9:30 p.m. after “Modern Family.” ABC will air back-to-back “Cougar Town” repeats at 10 p.m. on those dates. The results might convince ABC to shake-up the order of its Wednesday nights, which has seen “The Middle” gathering strength in the ratings and “Cougar Town” fading. This week, “Middle” outperformed “Cougar Town” for the first time.

Source: THR