‘The Middle’ renewed by ABC for season 9

Given that “The Middle” is starting to be at the point of its run where renewals start to become more and more perilous, we’re rather thrilled that this one is coming before things come down to the wire.

Sources confirm that the long-running ABC comedy featuring Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, and some of the best young actors working is coming back for a ninth season. This announcement comes after the show continued to perform strongly this season despite moving over from Wednesdays to Tuesdays for the first time in its run. In a statement, network president Channing Dungey had the following message to pass along:

“The Middle has been one of the network’s most consistent performers and helped us to launch a whole new night of comedy when it moved to Tuesdays this season … The Indiana Hecks have found America’s sweet spot with their authentic, acerbic and always loving take on parenting, work, kids, marriage and life.”

To us, one of the biggest strengths of “The Middle” is that like so many other comedies on the network, it has true universal appeal. It’s main draw is the charm of the family rather than any specific viewpoint it takes; it’s not political, it caters to all audiences, and it’s intelligent enough for adult viewers to be able to relate to it. These are all components that can make any series successful at this time — and given the need for escapism that is out there in a very divided world right now, we do think that this show becomes even more valuable than ever.

The ninth season will premiere at some point presumably this fall — so long as the ratings continue to be steady, we do think that this is a show that could really last for however long the people associated with it want it to. That’s always the dream for any show, to be able to leave at your own terms. Hopefully that’s not for a little while longer.

What do you think about “The Middle” being renewed for another season? Share some of your thoughts now in the attached comments!