A Visit To The Set ABC’s Hit Show The Middle! #ABCTVEvent

Middle_ColorLogo300Hey All!I recently had the amazing opportunity to have a media day for the ABC show The Middle which airs on Wednesday Nights at 8/7 c. The day consisted of an advanced screening of an episode, a chat with the shows creators, a chat with some of the cast, and visit the set of the Middle.

If you have not seen this show, here is a little about it:

Forget about athletes, movie stars and politicians. Parents are the real heroesā€”but we thinkĀ Frankie HeckĀ (Patricia Heaton), must be some kind of superhero. A loving wife and mother of three, she’s middle class in the middle of the country and is rapidly approaching middle age. Frankie and her husband,Ā MikeĀ (Neil Flynn), have lived in Orson, Indiana, their whole lives. A man of few words (every one a zinger), Mike is a manager at the town quarry and Frankie is the third-best used car salesman (out of the three) at the local dealership. She may not be a high-powered career woman, but when it comes to her family, she’ll go to just about any length. And with kids like these, she had better. There’sĀ AxlĀ (Charlie McDermott), her semi-nudist teenage son conceived while under the influence of Guns N’ Roses;Ā SueĀ (Eden Sher), the awkward teenage daughter who fails at everything… but with the utmost of gusto; and their seven-year-old sonĀ Brick (Atticus Shaffer), whose best friend is his backpack.

Sometimes it seems like everyone is trying to get to the top, or struggling not to hit bottom, but we think Frankie and her family will find a lot of love, and a lot of laughs, somewhere inĀ The Middle.

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The cast is pretty fantastic and it’s great to hear from the show runners that this cast was almost entirely their first choices to play these characters.Ā  It was incredible to see the show and then be on the set only a short time after. Julie Fanton (the set decorator for The Middle) took us on the tour of the Heck household. She shared that she furnishes the house with things she finds at Thrift Stores, Target, Kohls and the Salvation Army.

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The set really felt lived in as you can see from the photos. It honestly looks like my house on any given day! A disaster! If you see my house right now it would look like a clone to this set! I’m not ashamed to admit it.

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It truly showcased how out of control the household is and how this mom really can’t keep up. I know we’ve all been there. I’m there right now!

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To make the set feel even more realistic they often use actual baby and personal photos the cast provides. They sometimes use photos the crew donates. Julie also shared that all the kids drawings hanging around the house were actually her sons old drawings that she found when she was cleaning out her house. Her son is grown and she figured why not put them to use on the show. She truly does a fantastic job dressing this set. She really does pay attention to every detail.

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Neil Flynn and Charlie McDermott who play Mike and Axl Heck on the show stopped by to say hi and snap some pictures with us. We chatted about how unlike they are from their characters and how much they’ve grown to feel like a real family.

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Atticus Shaffer also stopped by. He’s so fun to be around. He’s always goofing around and his baby pictures around the house are adorable.

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Jack McBrayer also paid us a surprise visit. He is on the show as Frankie’s boss Dentist Dr. Ted Goodwin! He stopped by very quickly so we didn’t get a good shot of him.

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It was such a fantastic experience to learn about this show and to see how it’s brought to life! After seeing the episode we saw, taking a tour of the set, and meeting some of the cast we’re now big fans of the show.

We’re definitely going to be tuning in from now on!

You should definitely check out The Middle which again airs on Wednesday Nights at 8/7 c.

 

Photo Credits ABC TV/ERIC MCCANDLESS, Dawn Wells, and The Queen of Swag!

I was provided an all expense paid trip by Disney to attend this Media Trip. All Opinions are that of my own.

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