ABC has officially ordered the long-discussed “The Middle” spinoff to pilot.
Led by Eden Sher, the untitled comedy will follow the twentysomething adventures of eternal optimist Sue Heck as she leaves the small town of Orson to navigate the ups and downs of a career and young adulthood in the big city of Chicago.
“The Middle” creators Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline will write and executive produce the pilot, which hails from the duo’s Blackie and Blondie Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.
As TheWrap reported in May, ABC was in development on a Sher-led spinoff shortly after the single-camera comedy wrapped its nine-season run, though at the time no deals were in place.
Premiering in 2009, “The Middle” starred Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn as a middle-class couple raising their three kids in the fictional town of Orson, Indiana. Charlie McDermott and Atticus Shaffer also starred.
The single-camera comedy was a reliable performer for the network, and should it go to series this season, it would be the second comedy spinoff at ABC, joining the “Goldbergs” offshoot “Schooled.”