Sue Heck-Centric Middle Spinoff: ABC Places Pilot Order, Reveals Premise

Small-town girl Sue Heck is headed to the big city. ABC on Monday officially confirmed what we reported back in July: It has ordered a Middle spinoff centered on Eden Sher‘s adorkable alter ego.

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In conjunction with the announcement, the network also revealed that the potential series will find Sue Heck leaving Indiana to pursue a career — and young adulthood — in Chicago. Middle creators Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline are penning the pilot script and will serve as EPs.

At San Diego Comic-Con last month, Sher told TVLine that a pilot order had been (informally) placed for the still-untitled project. Her admission (which can be viewed below) came two months after ABC first confirmed that it was in the early stages of developing a Sue-focused offshoot.

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Last May’s series finale of The Middle left off with Sue still in college, although a flash-forward revealed that she eventually married neighbor Sean (after a number of breakups and makeups). The would-be Sue series would pick up several years after the finale but before Sue settled down with Sean, Sher shared.

“The [flash-forward] was like a ‘happily ever after,’” Sher told us, adding that the new project would find “Sue being Sue as a young adult.”

As we previously speculated, If ordered to series, the spinoff could, in theory, take over ABC’s Tuesday-at-8 pm time slot at midseason after Roseanne spinoff The Conners wraps its 10-episode run.

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