Heaton stars as a Middle American wife and mom on the ABC comedy ‘The Middle’

Patricia Heaton is a wife and mom again.

Of course, much is changed on “The Middle,” her freshman ABC domestic comedy, after “Everybody Loves Raymond,” where for nine hit seasons she played a frazzled hausfrau opposite Ray Romano.

“It’s not normally a great choice, to repeat yourself,” says Heaton, acknowledging her knee-jerk reluctance to go home again, sitcom-wise.

But “The Middle,” which airs Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. EST, offered her a different place to settle.

“It’s from the mom’s point of view, and it’s not with a bumbling dad who can never do anything right,” 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.”

It’s also far removed from the Barones’ testy Long Island homestead.

“The Middle” – presided over by its middle-class, nearing-midlife couple, the Hecks – is rooted firmly in the Midwest. There, home is more loving and hopeful than on “Raymond,” if no less challenging, frantic and funny.

And frumpy. At 51, Heaton is a looker, but as pushed-to-the-limit housewife Frankie, she looks authentically dressed down.

“The plainer I am, the better,” says Heaton. “I have these bangs that I clip on. The bangs are the last thing to go on. Then, I can really do the character.”

In their small Indiana town, husband Mike (Neil Flynn) is a manager at a local quarry while Frankie supplements her household duties by trying to sell cars at the town’s lone, struggling auto dealership. Adding to the mix are their kids: sullen high-school jock Axl (Charlie McDermott), insecure preteen wallflower Sue (Eden Shur) and quirky, brilliant 8-year-old Brick (Atticus Shaffer).

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