Deals with Sher, Heisler and Heline are still being finalized for the potential comedy series, which would be centered on Sher’s Sue character. I hear the new show will be set a few years in the future from The Middle finale, chronicling the next stage of Sue’s life as a young adult with a new cast of characters around her.
ABC
The concept for the series is still being honed in, with a couple of other writers from the original series expected to join Heline and Heisler. The project is still in development, with a pilot possibly filming in late October. If picked up to series right away, that would put it in contention for a midseason 2019 launch. ABC also could opt to consider it with the rest of its 2019 pilots for the 2019-20 season.
Talks about a Sue-centered Middle spinoff started several months ago; that is why Sher did not entertain any pilot offers this past season. While negotiations had been ongoing, there likely is some added urgency following ABC’s decision yesterday to abruptly cancel its hit blue-collar comedy Roseanne.
While The Middle spinoff could not possibly be ready for fall to replace Roseanne on ABC’s schedule, the cancellation opens up real estate. The network had been considering different scenarios for filling the void left by Roseanne, including picking up another comedy pilot — with Steps starring Ginnifer Goodwin being buzzed about, along with untitled Justin Noble starring Kat Dennings — or moving up the premiere of The Goldbergs spinoff Schooled from midseason to fall.
If The Middle spinoff goes to series, it would the the third spinoff from a recent ABC comedy series, joining Schooled and Black-ish offshoot Grown-ish, which airs on ABC sibling Freeform. While the other two are running alongside the mothership series, The Middle spinoff would succeed the original series, which wrapped its nine-season run earlier this month.
