The Middle has more in common with Malcolm in the Middle than just the name. Some of the feel is the same, although the central hero is the mom, and the dad seems curiosly sane, stable, and supportive for a wacky-family sitcom dad.
But, well, about a week after seeing the pilot, about all i remeber is that the weird little kid is weird, that the actions are often improbable, and it all seemed too invented and not that funny. I really can’t tell you much about the details any more. It didn’t settle into my brain, and that’s nota good sign.
I’ve seen two episodes now and likely to drop it from the DVR roster if I remember to do so. I get that it’s a sitcom but too many of the characters seem to have their one-dimension quirk (Dad being the most notable exception) and it’s trying too hard for its jokes.
I do find it interesting that we’ve got a show that trumpets “We’re the show for the flyover states.” This (with Hank and Leno on nightly) could suggest an interesting take on what TV programmers are thinking these days, what with the “east coast liberal elite” ascendant in national politics.
This felt more like people from Hollywood doing something about what they think the Middle is like.