An unaired pilot for the long-running sitcom best shows on Peacock.

A big reason The Middle found success is because of how it took its relatively common premise and put a spin on it. The Middle takes place in Indiana, which differentiates it from similar shows like Malcolm in the Middle, which was set in the Western United States. Though the Heck family lives in the suburbs, they're very close to rural America, and that setting comes into play in a number of ways throughout the show. The unaired pilot of The Middle was still set in Indiana, but it also had quite a few differences that contrast the final show.

The Middle’s Original Pilot Was Very Different From What We Got

Before The Middle became the show it is today, an unaired pilot was made two years before the show began, in 2007. That pilot followed the same story as the finished show's first episode, but it looked very different. Every single character was played by a different actor except for Brick. Frankie was played by Ricki Lake instead of Patricia Heaton, Mike was played by Lex Medlin instead of Neil Flynn, Sue was played by Brenna O'Brien instead of Eden Sher, and Axl was played by Michael Mitchell instead of Charlie McDermott.

Reuters suggested that ABC may have only ordered production of The Middle because Patricia Heaton agreed to take the role of Frankie Heck.

Most of the characters themselves were the same in the original pilot, except for Axl. Axl was originally named Elvis, and instead of being an irritable teenager, he was going through an existential crisis after his friend was hit by a cement truck. Additionally, the Hecks were supposed to live in the real-world town of Jasper, Indiana, and while it was still based on Jasper, the name was changed to Orson. Some other smaller details were also different: for example, the Hecks lived in a different house, Frankie used a pay phone when she was stranded on the side of the road instead of a cell phone.

All Of The Middle’s Changes After The Unaired Pilot Were For The Best

Even though the final pilot followed the same story as the original, it changed quite a bit. Those changes were for the best, though, because they made The Middle such a unique sitcom. The original actors who played the Hecks were all very good, but the show's final cast had an absolutely magical chemistry, and each actor was perfectly cast. The final pilot also reworked some of the jokes and the show's brand of humor to be lighter, which helped the show find its footing. The changes it made from the original pilot really gave The Middle its heart and soul.

The changes it made from the original pilot really gave The Middle its heart and soul.

Seeing the differences between the pilot episodes also highlights that good writing and good actors can't make a show into a beloved story. The original pilot worked in many ways: its jokes were funny, the actors gave good performances, and it was essentially the same story as the final product. The actual show added something that's hard to describe, and seeing the effects of that intangible addition played out side by side against the original pilot makes me appreciate The Middle even more. If it was just a bit more like the original pilot, The Middle wouldn't have had the same spark.

Why The Middle Was Canceled After 9 Seasons

The changes made to The Middle's pilot worked so well that the show ran for nine seasons on ABC before ending at the start of 2018. According to Variety, The Middle ended because the show's creators, Eileen Heiser and DeAnn Heline, felt it was the right moment to end the Hecks' story.

“Last year we sat down with our cast and made the bittersweet decision together that in this ninth season it is time to bring the Hecks’ story to a close. It’s been an amazing run, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we’re looking forward to having an entire year to say goodbye. Plus, we wanted to go out before too many people knew we were on the air.”

Heisler also spoke about how she and the rest of the team behind The Middle valued knowing that the show would end instead of being blindsided by an abrupt cancelation. "The decision for us to end the show was a very personal decision. Pretty much at the end of last year, we had the feeling that it meant a lot to us to know we had a season to think about it, and not to be here for nine years and [suddenly] that’s the end," (via The Wrap).

Aside from the creators' desire to end the show on their own , there was likely another reason for The Middle ending when it did. There was a plan for a Sue Sue in the City was never picked up. Still, the fact that a spinoff was in the works at all is a testament to how good each of The Middle's actors were, and how much it improved over the original pilot.

Sources: Reuters, Variety, The Wrap