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The Middle season 3 facts for kids

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The Middle season 3
The Middle S3 DVD.jpg
Region 1 DVD cover art
Starring
No. of episodes 24
Release
Original network ABC
Original release September 21, 2011 (2011-09-21) – May 23, 2012 (2012-05-23)
List of The Middle episodes

The third season of the television comedy series The Middle began airing on September 21, 2011 and concluded on May 23, 2012, on ABC in the United States. It is produced by Blackie and Blondie Productions and Warner Bros. Television with series creators DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler as executive producers.

The show features Frances "Frankie" Heck (Patricia Heaton), a working-class, Midwestern woman married to Mike Heck (Neil Flynn) who resides in the small fictional town of Orson, Indiana. They are the parents of three children, Axl (Charlie McDermott), Sue (Eden Sher), and Brick (Atticus Shaffer).

Cast

Main cast

Recurring cast

  • Chris Kattan as Bob, Frankie's best friend at work. He appears in the following episodes.

Bad Choices, Heck’s Best Thing, The Play, A Christmas Gift, The Telling & The Wedding.

  • Brock Ciarlelli as Brad, Sue's ex-boyfriend. He appears in the following episodes.

Bad Choices, Year Of The Heck’s, The Map, The Telling & The Wedding.

  • Blaine Saunders as Carly, Sue's best friend. She appears in the following episodes.

Forced Family Fun Part 1, Valentine’s Day III & The Telling.

  • Jen Ray as Nancy Donahue, the Heck's neighbor. She appears in the following episodes.

Forced Family Fun Part 1, The Test, Bad Choices, A Christmas Gift, Hecking It Up & Valentine’s Day III.

  • Beau Wirick as Sean Donahue, Axl's best friend. He appears in the following episodes.

Forced Family Fun Part 1, Bad Choices, Halloween II, Hecking It Up, Valentine’s Day III, The Concert, The Clover & The Wedding.

  • Brian Doyle-Murray as Don Elhert, owner of the car dealership where Frankie and Bob work. He appears in the following episodes.

Major Changes & The Telling.

  • Moises Arias as Matt, Sue's first real boyfriend. He appears in the following episodes.

The Map, Hecking It Up, Valentine’s Day III & The Paper Route

Guest cast

  • Ray Romano as Nicky Kohlbrenner, a not so pleasant blast from Frankie and Mike's past. He appears in flashbacks in "Forced Family Fun".
    • This episode is a reunion between Romano and Heaton, who played husband-and-wife duo Ray Barone and Debra Barone on Romano's sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS, 1996-2005).
  • Chord Overstreet as Mr. Wilkerson, Brick's fourth grade teacher. He appears in "Hecking Order".
  • Mary-Pat Green as Mrs. Larimer, the principal of Orson Elementary. She appears in "The Test".
  • Casey Sander as Jack Tracy, a football scout who interviews Axl. He appears in "The Test" and "Heck's Best Thing".
  • Norm Macdonald as Rusty Heck, Mike's brother. He appears in "The Play" and "The Wedding".
  • Marsha Mason as Pat Spence, Frankie's mother. She appears in "Major Changes" and "Thanksgiving III".
  • Jerry Van Dyke as Tag Spence, Frankie's father. He appears in "Thanksgiving III".
  • Molly Shannon as Janet, Frankie's sister. She appears in "Thanksgiving III".
  • Ed Asner as Ben, the town's veteran newsman. He appears in "The Paper Route".
  • Richard Gant as Pastor Watkins. He appears in "Get Your Business Done".
  • Whoopi Goldberg as Mrs. Marsh, Sue's school guidance counselor. She appears in "The Guidance Counselor".
  • John Cullum as Big Mike, Mike's father. He appears in "The Clover" and "The Wedding".
  • Brandon Scott as Cory, a technician. He appears in "The Concert".
  • Mary Birdsong as Marlene, Rusty's wife. She appears in "The Wedding".

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
49 1 "Forced Family Fun" Lee Shallat Chemel Vijal Patel September 21, 2011 (2011-09-21) 3X6901 9.74
50 2 Ken Whittingham 3X6902
51 3 "Hecking Order" Elliot Hegarty Roy Brown September 28, 2011 (2011-09-28) 3X6903 8.68
52 4 "Major Changes" Lee Shallat Chemel Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline October 5, 2011 (2011-10-05) 3X6904 9.13
53 5 "The Test" Elliot Hegarty Tim Hobert October 12, 2011 (2011-10-12) 3X6905 8.87
54 6 "Bad Choices" Lee Shallat Chemel Jana Hunter & Mitch Hunter October 19, 2011 (2011-10-19) 3X6906 9.13
55 7 "Halloween II" Elliot Hegarty David S. Rosenthal October 26, 2011 (2011-10-26) 3X6907 10.16
56 8 "Heck's Best Thing" Lee Shallat Chemel Vijal Patel November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02) 3X6908 9.41
57 9 "The Play" Eyal Gordin Story by : Roy Brown & Jana Hunter & Mitch Hunter
Teleplay by : Roy Brown
November 16, 2011 (2011-11-16) 3X6909 9.19
58 10 "Thanksgiving III" Elliot Hegarty Tim Hobert November 23, 2011 (2011-11-23) 3X6910 9.08
59 11 "A Christmas Gift" Blake Evans Jana Hunter & Mitch Hunter December 7, 2011 (2011-12-07) 3X6911 8.72
60 12 "Year of the Hecks" Elliot Hegarty David S. Rosenthal January 4, 2012 (2012-01-04) 3X6912 9.99
61 13 "The Map" Lee Shallat Chemel DeAnn Heline & Eileen Heisler January 11, 2012 (2012-01-11) 3X6913 9.45
62 14 "Hecking It Up" Blake T. Evans Vijal Patel January 18, 2012 (2012-01-18) 3X6914 8.08
63 15 "Valentine's Day III" Lee Shallat Chemel Jana Hunter & Mitch Hunter February 8, 2012 (2012-02-08) 3X6915 8.44
64 16 "The Concert" Phil Traill Roy Brown February 15, 2012 (2012-02-15) 3X6916 8.04
65 17 "The Sit Down" Lee Shallat Chemel Tim Hobert February 22, 2012 (2012-02-22) 3X6917 7.48
66 18 "Leap Year" Alex Hardcastle David S. Rosenthal February 29, 2012 (2012-02-29) 3X6918 8.23
67 19 "The Paper Route" Lee Shallat Chemel Jack Burditt March 14, 2012 (2012-03-14) 3X6919 6.93
68 20 "Get Your Business Done" Blake T. Evans Vijal Patel April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) 3X6920 7.06
69 21 "The Guidance Counselor" Lee Shallat Chemel Jana Hunter & Mitch Hunter May 2, 2012 (2012-05-02) 3X6921 6.63
70 22 "The Clover" Phil Traill Roy Brown May 9, 2012 (2012-05-09) 3X6922 6.60
71 23 "The Telling" Lee Shallat Chemel Tim Hobert May 16, 2012 (2012-05-16) 3X6923 6.53
72 24 "The Wedding" Phil Traill Vijal Patel May 23, 2012 (2012-05-23) 3X6924 6.52

Ratings

No. Title Air date Rating/Share
(18–49)
Viewers
(million)
Reference
1 "Forced Family Fun Part 1" September 21, 2011 (2011-09-21) 3.1/9 9.74
2 "Forced Family Fun Part 2" September 21, 2011 (2011-09-21) 3.1/9 9.74
3 "Hecking Order" September 28, 2011 (2011-09-28) 2.7/8 8.68
4 "Major Changes" October 5, 2011 (2011-10-05) 2.8/9 9.13
5 "The Test" October 12, 2011 (2011-10-12) 2.9/9 8.87
6 "Bad Choices" October 19, 2011 (2011-10-19) 3.0/9 9.13
7 "Halloween II" October 26, 2011 (2011-10-26) 3.2/10 10.16
8 "Heck's Best Thing" November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02) 3.0/9 9.41
9 "The Play" November 16, 2011 (2011-11-16) 3.0/9 9.19
10 "Thanksgiving III" November 23, 2011 (2011-11-23) 2.5/8 9.08
11 "A Christmas Gift" December 7, 2011 (2011-12-07) 2.8/8 8.72
12 "Year of the Hecks" January 4, 2012 (2012-01-04) 3.0/9 9.99
13 "The Map" January 11, 2012 (2012-01-11) 2.9/8 9.45
14 "Hecking It Up" January 18, 2012 (2012-01-18) 2.5/7 8.08
15 "Valentine's Day III" February 8, 2012 (2012-02-08) 2.6/8 8.44
16 "The Concert" February 15, 2012 (2012-02-15) 2.4/7 8.04
17 "The Sit Down" February 22, 2012 (2012-02-22) 2.2/7 7.48
18 "Leap Year" February 29, 2012 (2012-02-29) 2.6/7 8.23
19 "The Paper Route" March 14, 2012 (2012-03-14) 2.1/7 6.93
20 "Get Your Business Done" April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) 2.1/7 7.06
21 "The Guidance Counselor" May 2, 2012 (2012-05-02) 2.0/7 6.63
22 "The Clover" May 9, 2012 (2012-05-09) 1.9/6 6.60
23 "The Telling" May 16, 2012 (2012-05-16) 1.9/6 6.53
24 "The Wedding" May 23, 2012 (2012-05-23) 2.0/7 6.52
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